Jump to seven questions with Coach Sallee
Surely you can picture him: young, intense, athletic, competitive, pushing the players on the court to excel. Kind of reminds you of the passionate, energetic Brady Sallee that has led the Eastern Illinois University women's basketball out of OVC squalor into title contention. The Brady Sallee of yesteryear was playing against the women's basketball team of Thomas More College in Crestview Hills, Kentucky.
It was the late 1980s and, along with his teammates on the college's baseball team, Sallee was asked to scrimmage against the women's team. That casual cross training grew to assisting then-head coach Sharri Brumfield with recruiting and coaching to working the summer basketball camp circuit to a fateful call from the Head Coach of Idaho State, Ted Anderson. He called a friend at the University of Kentucky basketball camp to see if there happened to be an enthusiastic coach that displayed panache for women's basketball at the camp that may be looking for a permanent position.
Sallee fit the bill and a quick flight to Idaho State to meet with the Athletics Director and 48 hours later, had convinced himself he was destined to be the next John Wooden. In the same moment of supreme confidence came shock: “I had NO CLUE what to do,” Sallee joked.
Hailing from basketball-crazed Kentucky, it's no surprise that Sallee grew up with a special place in his heart for the sport. His dad, who coached him with the same dynamic mannerisms Panther fans see Sallee demonstrate on the sidelines from time to time, had season tickets to University of Kentucky basketball. So young Sallee sat and watched and learned from the Wildcat coaching greats: Joe B. Hall, Eddie Sutton, Rick Pitino – they all influenced the coach he didn't even know he was going to be become.
The excitement and energy athletics brought to the crowd in the packed University of Kentucky Rupp Arena kept Sallee tied to the sporting world. As a member of his high school's baseball team, his focus on preparation and intensity assisted in bringing a state championship – and pride – to the program. The success led him into the world of Jim Conner.
At that point, Conner already had 30+ years under his belt at the helm of Thomas More's baseball team. “Conner was a no-nonsense, good man,” remembers Sallee. In fact, during a bus ride returning to Thomas More after an away game, the starting centerfielder on the team was “acting a fool. When we arrived at the school, Conner calmly stood up, turned to the guy in front of the whole team and said 'You can turn your uniform in tomorrow'. After that, he exited the bus and, with that, left with the team a message that taught them more than the words he had spoken.”
Sallee himself had a bit of a “check” by Conner. During his freshman year, Sallee led the first game of a doubleheader with a winning pitching performance. Feeling like a self-proclaimed stud, Sallee propped his feet up on a water cooler, wrapped some ice around his shoulder, pulled his ball cap over his face and proceeded to relax while his teammates worked to make the doubleheader doubly successful. Conner's response to Sallee's lackadaisical display: “He walked over to me and lambasted that water cooler to the other side of the dugout. Yeah. That stuck with me.”
Somewhere along the line, Sallee changed and realized his ability to be a positive force. Maybe the lessons learned during his adolescent days playing for his dad finally kicked in. Maybe it was that fateful day that Coach Conner launched the water cooler from under his feet. Maybe it was when he got his first coaching position at Idaho State or maybe it was when he took the path so many in the athletics profession take when he “moved to move up” by heading to Kent State.
The Kent State move allowed him to learn from another great, Bob Lindsay. While at Kent State, Lindsay let Sallee “do what he wanted” – as long as he did what Lindsay wanted as well, of course. The duo proved great: Sallee's efforts assisted Lindsay in becoming the winningest Mid-American Conference (MAC) coach in history.
Over the seven year period Sallee was in Kent, Ohio, he married, had his first child, won countless games and elevated the program. He began to interview for head coaching positions and learned, after missing out on a head coaching position in the MAC to a Big 12 assistant coach, that what was lacking on his resume was the big name job.
East Carolina was the answer. A member of one of the top six women's basketball conferences in the country, East Carolina had just hired Sharon Baldwin, a past assistant and standout player at the University of Georgia. Their task was clear: elevate East Carolina from the bottom of Conference USA. Sallee's task was recruiting, recruiting, recruiting. In his first year, he brought in a class ranked in the top 40 nationally. His second year wasn't far behind with a top 50 recruiting class.
“The girls we brought in weren't coming to East Carolina because of the shoe deal or the arena or the dorms. They were coming because of the people. Baldwin and I sold who we were and what we stood for. That resulted in girls being there for the right reasons.”
“We talked about being 100% body in: being totally committed to the program, the team and success. That philosophy is true here at EIU.” In fact, when Sallee started at East Carolina, he told Baldwin that, should head coaching positions open at one of three universities (EIU was one of them), that he would do all he could to get the position and would like Baldwin's support in the endeavor.
In 2003, the EIU head coach position did become available and Sallee's calculated rise through the coaching ranks proved worthwhile. Linda Simpson, a member of the position's search committee commented “When Brady interviewed, he immediately came across as being extremely personable. He was an excellent salesperson and (the committee) knew that would be great for recruiting. He also educated us on his coaching strategies and focus on up-tempo style of play. That seemed to match his personality exactly. ”.
But like Sallee learned when he headed to Idaho State, one cannot become John Wooden overnight. There are lessons to learn, relationships to build, games to win and games to lose. Change happens over time, but, as has shown evident with the program at EIU, change needs a spark, too.
Sallee has proven to be that spark for Eastern Illinois University women's basketball. When he came to campus, he employed the same strategy that brought notoriety to East Carolina: “Build from the bottom, don't go for the quick fixes, and understand that we're not going to change overnight.”
And success has come. Pre-Sallee, the Panthers were the team that opponents thought would give them the easy win, and they were oftentimes proven right. Now, teams scout the Panthers, pore over video and don't step into Lantz Arena unprepared for a fight. Last year's team set a school record for regular season wins in the Division I era, clear evidence that the first Sallee-era recruiting class grew in leaps and bounds from their freshman year. They learned to believe, learned to push, and learned to be a team that wanted more.
As a result, the fans in the stands have multiplied, in part to watch the Panthers fight to bring another win to EIU but also to catch a moment of Brady Sallee coaching greatness. Part court-stomping, part humor, part fun, part seriousness – but all basketball – whose coaching influence is that peeking out? His dad? Pitino? Lindsay? Conner? Baldwin?
Whoever inspired that facet of his coaching repertoire, Sallee is doing his best to pass the positive elements on. “Down the road, whether it's during the next game or 10 years from now, I hope my players look back and realize a little piece of what I passed along to them and go, with a smile, 'Oh, now I get it. I learned that from Coach Sallee.'”
Seven questions with Coach Brady Sallee:
1. Angelina Jolie or Jennifer Aniston? Not sure who Angelina Jolie is, so I guess Jennifer Aniston.
2. Favorite commercial? Wendy's “Where's the beef?” commercials
3. Allergies? People who don't play hard.
4. Sushi? No! (Responds with furrowed eyebrows)
5. Rank the following music genres: classic rock, country, rap. #1: Country, #2: Classic Rock, #3: Rap
6. Sing in front of the mirror? Daily, as long as rearview mirrors count.
7. Dream job? In women's basketball, I don't have a “dream position”, but the ultimate job would be the University of Kentucky men's (basketball) job.
