ROSHAWN RUSSELL – ST. RITA (IL) HIGH SCHOOL BOYS’ BASKETBALL HEAD COACH – EPISODE 707

Website – https://il.8to18.com/StRitaHS/athletics/basketball/b/v

Email – rrussell@stritahs.com

Twitter – @sritabasketball

Roshawn Russell is the Head Boys’ Basketball Coach at St. Rita High School in Chicago ,Illinois.  Russell took over the head job at his alma mater after serving as an assistant coach for five seasons under the previous head coach Gary DeCesare. 

Russell also has experience at the college level having been an assistant coach at Division 3 Fontbonne University in St. Louis for three seasons.

Roshawn played his high school basketball at St. Rita’s and then attended North Park University in Chicago where he enjoyed an outstanding playing career for the Vikings.

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Take some notes as you listen to this episode with Roshawn Russell, Boys’ Basketball Head Coach at St. Rita’s High School in Chicago, Illinois.

What We Discuss with Roshawn Russell

• Being inspired by Michael Jordan, the Bulls, and the Globetrotters
• Having an older brother that pushed him and made him better
• The lack of patience in basketball today
• His experience playing against Derrick Rose in high school
• Playing D3 Basketball at North Park University in Chicago
• “I don’t think kids today understand how competitive college basketball is, period. Whether it’s division 1, 2, 3, if you’re playing in college, you’re good.”
• “It’s definitely sad to me that a lot of kids today don’t understand the value of small colleges.”
• “Treat everyone with respect. You don’t know when that person might come in your life and be able to help you.”
• Getting an opportunity to coach at Fontbonne University in St. Louis with his form assistant coach Steve Schaeffer
• The crazy hours he had to keep balancing classes and coaching at Fontbonne
• “I’m always on and some might say, Well that doesn’t sound too healthy, but if you want to be great at this, it’s kind of how it has to be.”
• Leaving college coaching for an admissions/coaching job at St. Rita in Chicago, his alma mater
• Key differences between coaching in college vs high school
• What makes coaching at his alma mater so special
• “I want a national program. I want a team that can compete at the highest level.”
• “If you want guys to play for you, relationships have to be number one.”
• “I want you to be you within what we’re trying to do.”
• Playing in practice with his guys
• Taking a step away when watching film to see the big picture
• “Once you show that you’re going above and beyond, parents normally will settle in.”
• “My philosophy is under promise, over deliver.”
• I have to tell the truth because if I don’t, that’s going to hurt the guy coming after you.”
• His way of handling AAU Basketball as a high school coach
• “Your staff has to be a staff that you trust.”
• I’d rather have someone that I trust than maybe someone with more knowledge.”
• Having his older brother on staff with him at St. Rita
• “Our goals never change. Number one is we want to help them grow as men.”
• Incorporating skill development into practice each day
• “I want my team to be a reflection of who we are and what we stand for.”
• “I’m always critiquing myself through a win or a loss or after practice.”
• “It’s humbling that whether it’s good or bad. People want to talk about St.  Rita basketball.”
• “To have the program where it’s at right now. I couldn’t be more excited for these guys.”

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THANKS, ROSHAWN RUSSELL

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TRANSCRIPT FOR ROSHAWN RUSSELL – ST. RITA (IL) HIGH SCHOOL BOYS’ BASKETBALL HEAD COACH – EPISODE 707

[00:00:00] Mike Klinzing: Hello and welcome to the Hoop Heads Podcast. It’s Mike Klinzing here tonight without my cohost Jason Sunkle. But I am pleased to be joined by the head boys’ basketball coach at St. Rita High School in Chicago, Illinois. Roshawn Russell Roshawn, welcome to the Hoop Heads Pod.

[00:00:14] Roshawn Russell: Thank you for having me. Been looking forward to this.  I appreciate it.

[00:00:19] Mike Klinzing: Absolutely. Going to be fun to dive in, learn more about you, all the things that you’ve been able to do thus far in your coaching career. Let’s start by going back in time to when you were a kid. Tell me a little bit about some of your first experiences of the game growing up in Chicago.

[00:00:34] Roshawn Russell: Well, I would say for me, probably started before I even knew what was going on. My parents always told me the only way to get me to stop crying is to give me a ball . It kind of started there, but actually I have an older brother Rachey Russell. He actually ended up playing division 1 basketball and as a kid your older sibling, normally you want to copy what they do. So obviously he played basketball and watching him I couldn’t get enough of it. And obviously the Chicago Bulls were the team to be so watching Michael Jordan obviously, and the Bulls that was obviously my favorite thing to do.

Definitely love watching the team and it’s pretty cool even though I didn’t fully understand what was happening. But definitely was really cool whenever they were playing, always watch the games and the Harlem Globetrotters were popular then. I remember going to watch them. I remember after my friend and I got back home, I literally spent the entire night in the basement trying to, to the ball on my fingers.

So and eventually I actually got it, I got it the same night. So just kind of from the beginning just was a basketball junkie from birth really.

[00:01:42] Mike Klinzing: So that’s cool because the globetrotters. Kind of the, the heyday of the Globetrotters predated you, You were a little bit younger than me, so I was a kid when the Globetrotters were kind of a really big thing.

Used to be on ABC’s wide world of sports on the weekend. They’d show ’em traveling and playing all over the world. And obviously at one point in their history, they had some of the best players. In the world that that played for the, played for the Globe Trotters Will Chamberlain among them.

So it’s kind of, it’s kind of crazy thinking about the…I don’t know if I’ve had anybody tell me that the Globetrotters had an influence on them. So that’s a, you’re, you’re a, you’re a 1 of 1 now. Lots of people have told me Jordan, obviously Jordan, it’s a lot of throws a lot of inspiration out there to people, but I you’re the first one with the Trotters.

I like that because kind of growing up in that era, thinking about you know, Meadowlark Lemon and Curly Neil and all the guys that made up the globetrotters when they were in their heyday, it’s cool that that was something that inspired you. When you think about your older brother and you being the younger brother, how much do you think that trying to keep up with him and just chase him made you into a better athlete, a better basketball player as you got older.

[00:02:54] Roshawn Russell: Well, it helped a lot. You know, I’ve always considered myself a student of the game, so I always enjoy watching basketball just generally, but let alone being able to watch my brother go through the process. Whether it was grammar school, choosing us high school I used to always look forward to going to St. Rita basketball game. So to watch my brother and really obviously the big brother, he’s not going to take it easy on you, right? So we’d have our battles and he never let me win . But ultimately it made me tougher. It made me want to work harder. So I’m forever thankful for having an older brother to look to who was really talented, who showed me how to work hard and again definitely got a lot of my competitive edge from him as well.

[00:03:39] Mike Klinzing: Was it always basketball in your guys’ house, or were there other sports involved too when you were younger?

[00:03:43] Roshawn Russell: So ironically my father, he actually was a football guy, baseball I’m left-hand, so if it was his choice, I probably would’ve played baseball, but

[00:03:55] Mike Klinzing: Should’ve been a left-hand pitcher, right?  That’s where the money is.

[00:03:57] Roshawn Russell: Looking back at it, I should’ve , but no, I mean, once I started playing basketball and a combination of the Bulls, my brother and I just fell in love with it. I played small fry early on I was pretty talented as a kid.

So once I started playing basketball, I just I was natural at other sports, so I would do it for fun, but I definitely didn’t want to do anything else seriously other than basketball.

[00:04:22] Mike Klinzing: When you got up into high school and you started taking the game even more seriously, You were trying to get better and improve.

What did you do to work on your game as a high school player? What was your process? Were you playing a lot of pickup? Were you working on the game, on the playground, in the gym by yourself? What, obviously the, at the same time when you’re growing up, they’re not, you don’t have the proliferation of trainers that we have today.

So just what was your process for getting better?

[00:04:49] Roshawn Russell: Yeah. Well, I’ll say actually the coach my brother played for, and I end up playing for for two years during high school. And ironically, we actually work together now. His name is John Bunk and he’s a Hall of fame coach. And growing up I used to go to his camps and I feel like honestly that’s missing today.

While the game is certainly advanced and there’s some great trainers out there for sure just in terms of breaking down the game and the fundamentals, doing the simple things. I know there’s a lot of times now out walking in gym and I’ll see a 12 year old doing a step back and but he doesn’t know how to reverse pivot, right?

So you know, I was very fortunate to learn from one of the best probably the best teacher of the game I’ve ever been around. So coming into high school I was actually a four year varsity starter, so I got thrown in a fire right away, But I spent a lot of time with my coach. He definitely helped me out a ton in terms of sharpening my skills and again, obviously having a brother who was playing division 1 basketball I know when he first went down to Toledo, which is where he ended up playing, I would go train with him and his teammates as well.  So that certainly helped a lot.

[00:05:58] Mike Klinzing: Yeah, absolutely. Getting a chance to play against older, better players. I think that’s one of the things that, we’ve talked about it a lot here on the podcast, just the fact that. The way the system is set up today where kids spend a lot of time playing against other kids their own age, and so they’re not going and pushing themselves, playing against older kids, where back in the day you might have been on the playground and you might have been a high school player playing with college players or playing with adults, or you might even been in grade school and trying to keep up with the high schoolers.

And today kids just don’t get that same opportunity. I think they have more access to gyms and in some cases they have more access to better coaching. But I think as far as like those older players that kind of would take guys under their wing and watch out for ’em and show ’em the tricks of the trade, I think that’s something that just isn’t out there as much.

And I’m sure you got that from your brother and some of the players that played with him that you got a chance to play against and compete with.

[00:06:54] Roshawn Russell: Yeah, I mean, just to continue that, I would say, I think that’s a lost art un unfortunately with the world of social media and having access to everything right now.

The patience has changed. So when I was coming up it was, it was great to have someone older to look to, to learn from someone, to kind of push you around a little bit and wait your turn. Where nowadays the kids, the parents they want everything right now.

So. Yep, for sure. Fortunately, the patience is not what it used to be.  

[00:07:27] Mike Klinzing: Yeah. I think there’s something that is different there in terms of, I think it used to be more where you were focused on kind of what you were doing in the moment. I think now the way that our youth basketball system is set up, it’s kind of everybody’s pushing for what’s.

And so if I’m on a fifth grade AAU team, I’m thinking about, well, what middle school team? What AAU team am I going to play on when I’m in middle school? And what, am I going to be a varsity starter when I’m a sophomore? And if I’m a varsity sophomore, am I, where am I going to be going to school? And I think so often we get caught up in looking ahead to the next thing, and we sometimes forget to enjoy the moment where we are and just enjoy our experience as a high school basketball player.

I’ve talked to so many people that have had varying degrees of success as players, as coaches. And when they look back, inevitably I think most of ’em look back and say, Man, my time as a high school basketball player, there really wasn’t much better than that. It’s almost like it was, It was pure basketball because it just was, they just enjoyed it so much.

And I think sometimes we get lost in that, especially today where kids are so focused on what’s next that they forget to enjoy. What’s right there in front of ’em. So when you look back to your high school experience, do you have a memory or two that when you think high school basketball, that stands out for you?

[00:08:49] Roshawn Russell: Yeah, I would say two. One is positive, one not so positive . So my senior year we, on my senior night, we, we played our rivals Mount Carmel, and we had some pretty serious battles with them just even from our summer league game. So we had that date marked obviously for senior night, but then again it was Mount Carmel.

So long story short that night we ended up going into four overtimes. And I remember, I wasn’t even tired. I was just like, I’ll play them all night, but I’m not losing to Mt. Carmel . So you know, most of our start foul out I was the one who lasted through and our team, we actually ended up pulling out the game.

But what the memory that I remember the most about that game was too really as each overtime went on, other people from other games were coming to ours, like the St. Rita Mt. Carmel game is still going on. So the gym just kept getting more power . And  that was pretty cool to see.

And then once we won the game my classmates they rushed the floor and really excited and they carried me off the floor. Oh, that’s awesome. Way to the hallway to a reporter. And that’s just something that I’ll never forget St. Rita’s really. A Tightknit community truly your brotherhood.

So I was really thankful for that. That’s something that I always remember for the rest of my life. The second one would be my junior year and the playoffs. We were in the regional championship and it was Derrick Rose’s last home game at Simeon. And that did not work out so well for us , but

[00:10:25] Mike Klinzing: That’s surprising.

[00:10:27] Roshawn Russell: What I will say though, it was cool to be matched up against him and, and have that opportunity. I’m a fearless competitor and you always want go against guys of that caliber. So to have that opportunity is definitely something I’ll never forget. But again, the score did not work out in our favor.

So that ended our season. All right. So what’s

[00:10:46] Mike Klinzing: All right. So what’s high school Derrick Rose feel like look like on the court?

[00:10:51] Roshawn Russell: So I’ll be honest. So I play against a lot of great players. Jerome Randall I can just go down the line of, of great players. I played against Patrick Beverly. Derrick Rose was the one player I was on the court with, and I was like, Right, he can score when he wants to

I can’t score if I tried, even though I’m trying my hardest I’m not, not afraid I’m coming at him. But it was just one of those weird things. He was so strong, he was so fast. I, I remember there was a play in the game when we were, when there was actually competitive and you know, it’s kind of one of those things where you kind of want your team like, Hey, don’t say anything.

Don’t make them mad. Let’s just try to hang in there and hopefully we have an opportunity to win the game. So one of my teammates, he had an opening, he goes for a dunk, he misses it, but it was like a good miss. And shortly after that, like two plays later. Derrick Rose finally makes his first serious move and I, I’m at half court, he’s coming at me and by the time I react he’s at the free throw line,

And then about a play later, I turn a ball over. Derrick Rose is coming on a break. It’s a two on one guy flips it back to Derrick Rose. Our sinner’s waiting on him and he just dunks all over ’em. And that was pretty much the ballgame. . I say it to say that being on the court with him was definitely different than any experience that I had experienced up to that point.

And I even played against Derrick Rose when he was a sixth grade and every time he was just a, a man amongst boys. So I’m always proud to say I played against him.

[00:12:24] Mike Klinzing: It’s kind of amazing when you think about guys that obviously as a league MVP in the NBA, clearly completely different from most of. All of us have experienced as basketball players out on the floor.

And those guys that reach that highest level, they just have, they have something both from a physical standpoint of things that they just are capable of doing that you know, other people are not capable of doing. And then I think what people discount is just how good they are from a mental standpoint and a toughness standpoint.

And there’s lots of guys that have talent, but there’s not a lot of guys who maximize that talent and get the most out of it. I think when you look at a guy like Derrick Rose especially obviously pre-injury, but coming back and being able to do what he’s done in his career since he got hurt and he, it would’ve been easy to pack it in and be like, Man, I’m not the athletic marvel that I was before. And he obviously had to adjust his game to play differently. But when you look at pre-injury, Derrick Rose and what he was capable of doing from a physical standpoint, but then also just the way he understood the game. And I think those guys are just on a different level as you got to experience firsthand.

And I experienced several times in my career playing against guys that played in the pros. Like it’s just those guys are breed apart.

[00:13:45] Roshawn Russell: They certainly are. And there wasn’t a player growing up in, in our era, even my brother’s era that didn’t want to be Derrick Rose. I mean he was a success story.

You know, he was the chosen one he got to put on the hometown uniform and couldn’t be more excited for him. I mean, In a weird way, feels like a, a, a distant brother to a, to a degree from just passing him grow up and going through the process. So I’m so happy that he’s been able to recover and continue his career and selfishly, I would love to see him retire in a Bulls uniform.

So hopefully, hopefully we can, we can make that happen before he hangs it up. But definitely was, was really cool to, to grow up playing against him and watch him play.

[00:14:27] Mike Klinzing: Yeah, that was cool. I mean, it’s one of those things where when a guy can have success in his hometown’s, professional athlete doesn’t get much better in that.

I know here in Cleveland, obviously we got to experience our one and only championship of my lifetime with, with LeBron. So I’ll, I’ll forever be indebted to LeBron and the opportunity to. Watch that championship with something that even, even as it was happening I don’t think I could, I still couldn’t really wrap my head around it like, wait, it’s over and Cleveland won?

Is that even, is that even possible? And so for LeBron to have done that and to have done it in his hometown, and again, you think about a guy like Derrick Rose or you think about LeBron probably to an even greater degree where here’s these guys that have, as you said, I’m sure Derrick Rose in Chicago was a celebrity from the time he was in sixth, seventh grade.

And yet you think about how some people handle that fame, right? And fame gets to him and they don’t make it for whatever reason. They end up making a series of choices that doesn’t allow ’em to maximize and fulfill their potential. And you look at Rose and obviously, unfortunately had the knee injury, but man, a guy who, who made it, and LeBron, same thing.

Like, it’s hard to imagine that. With all the notoriety and publicity those guys have had that they’ve been able to, to go through and, and do the things that they’ve done and be as successful and be just the role models that they’ve been for people in both communities. Whether you think about Chicago or Cleveland, it’s just, to me, that’s one, It’s incredible that somebody can handle that at such a young age and, and still make it to the highest levels of their profession is pretty incredible.

[00:16:07] Roshawn Russell: No, I couldn’t agree more and actually, fun fact, my brother is the same year as LeBron and he actually played against him, but when he played against him, LeBron was like maybe 6 1, 6 2 at the time. Okay. And then I remember seeing LeBron years later as a senior and he was a full grown man and at six eight at that time it was crazy.

Yeah. But, but to your point, I mean one thing I’ll echo about Derrick Rose and LeBron James is obviously, I mean, he’s been incredible. Definitely my favorite player is the humility part. Derrick Rose. Never displayed arrogance. You know, I always speak to you humble on the court.

Now if you said something to him that was probably different, but that’s natural, right? But, but definitely God full of humility and it has been really fun to watch LeBron James. Not only what he’s doing on the court, but off the court. I think that’s so important. And he’s hopefully these guys coming up will, will model what, what he’s been able to do.

[00:17:07] Mike Klinzing: Yeah, I think when you look at where the league is today and you compare it to what the league was like in the, the late seventies, early eighties where you just didn’t have the role models and guys were getting into drugs and there was lots of things going on that, that probably weren’t the best for, for players’ careers and for the league in itself.

And now you look at these young guys coming to the league and clearly they’re coming in way younger than they ever have. And yet at the same time, they, they come in way more polished simply because they’ve, they’ve been talked to, they’ve been they’ve been educated, they’ve educated themselves and they’ve been media sensations in a lot of ways since they were younger.

So they’ve had to kind of figure it out and understand how to how to handle those things. And if you get good people around you, I think that that bodes well for, for what ultimately is going to be your success. Let’s talk a little bit about your decision to go and, and play college basketball and maybe how it relates to the experience that your brother had being recruited and being a college basketball player.

So maybe just talk a little bit about how, what your brother went through. From the standpoint of being recruited and eventually going to play Division one basketball and how that impacted maybe your thought process as a high school player and then how you ended up making the decision to go to North Park and play there.

[00:18:27] Roshawn Russell: Yeah, no, absolutely. So my brother he got the good genetics, so he was six feet much bigger than I am. He actually played with two other teammates who went on to play division one basketball, Jerra Young, Mike Rembert two guys that are  6-8, 6-8 piece. So definitely have one of the best teams in the state.

So again, their games are always packed and exciting to watch. And my brother actually, he was offered the first scholarship between them. And really the coaches were coming out obviously to see those guys. And obviously those guys were great and had Stellar careers. And it was kind of a surprise, I think to my father because basketball was fairly new to him.

And I don’t think he was even thinking scholarship where parents today. Right. They’re like they wanted when they’re freshmen . Right, exactly. So it was a really exciting time for our family and my father all he could think about was, Hey we don’t have to pay for college. you’re committing now.

So my brother he committed shortly after, remember going on a visit with him and it was just a really cool experience. And at the time I had a, a quick growth spurt that, that did not continue when I got in high school.

[00:19:42] Mike Klinzing: You thought you thought you were going to catch him, huh?

[00:19:45] Roshawn Russell: Yeah, I thought so.  Everybody thought so. So I mean, if you talk about just skill I was probably more skilled. There’s a lot of people especially my father was like, Oh, well big brother got one. Well, we know you’re getting one. And this is why I think we’re so great together now as coaches.

We were able to see how this can work out for you. So fast forward I get into high school. I’m a four year varsity starter, have a really good career all area, all conference average 19 points a game as a senior. However, my recruitment was really slow.

I had some opportunities had some division ones looking at me. Had some division twos. Seems like every school that was talking to me, their staffs got let go by the end of my senior year,  So actually what ended up happening was there was a teammate of mine Emmanuel Crosby, who I actually coached with.

Now he’s on our varsity. And he wanted to continue his career. He’s like, Hey I’m going to go to North Park. And at the time, to be honest, I had never heard of North Park. I was like, What is North Park ? And so anyway, I end up talking to the assistant coach, Steve Schaeffer. They were surprised I was still available and when I went on campus, it just felt like home.

I played with the team. The competition was much better than I thought. And I was not interested. prep school or junior in college had a lot of those reaching out to me like, Hey, if you come here, you’ll definitely get a scholarship. You’re good enough. You know, just probably just need to put on weight, whatever the case may be.

And I’m like, you know what? I don’t need another senior year. I want to go get my degree. I think I found a place so I can, I can go be successful at, have an opportunity to play early and be a big fish in a small pond. And that’s pretty much what happens. So having my brother go through his experience and just kind of telling me like, Hey, division one isn’t everything you think it is.

If you have opportunity to go somewhere and play, you should do it. So it really helps us now as, as we guide our players today through their process of what to look for in terms of college and do you just want to go to a school because it’s a big name? Do you just.So you went division one or do you want to play in college and actually have a career?

And those are things that kids and families don’t necessarily consider. But thankfully because of our experience, we’re able to share those experiences with them.

[00:22:03] Mike Klinzing: Yeah, no, that’s great that with both of you guys being resources and having gone through the experiences that you did, I’m sure that’s invaluable when you’re talking to your players.

What’s something your brother shared about the Vision one basketball that he was like, Man, this wasn’t necessarily what I thought. You remember anything specific that he said that sort of stands out?

[00:22:21] Roshawn Russell: Well, two things. Although one is kind of similar to really college level, but Right. It doesn’t matter.

But I think the first one was, I know when he first got down there, I remember he called my father and he was like, Hey, I don’t know if I could do this. Just from the early morning workouts, how intense it was. You know, they kind of own you at that level. So that was definitely an adjustment for him.

And really just the business side of it You go to college and it’s like, hey, you’re the point guard. You’re going to pass that guy the ball. You’re going to defend this guard full court and if you don’t want to do it, you can sit down next to me. We don’t care. It’s very cutthroat. So he was very clear about that and from going to where I went to school and again, very competitive.

I don’t think kids today understand how competitive college basketball is, period. Whether it’s division 1, 2, 3, and I, if you’re playing in college, you’re good.

[00:23:13] Mike Klinzing: Absolutely. I think that’s a huge, that’s a huge piece that people I don’t think really understand. It’s a big misunderstanding that’s out there with people and you’re not, you can kind of understand it.

But it’s funny because you know, you’re talking about division three basketball and we’ve had so many division three coaches on that we’ve talked about when they’re recruiting kids and they’ll be like, Hey, have you even seen a division three? And most of the kids you’re talking to are like, No, You know?

And so it’s like people look at it and they’re like, Ah, Division three. And most people have no idea how good you have to be to play at that level.

[00:23:46] Roshawn Russell: Yeah. It’s funny you bring it up, so I won’t name the player, but a few years ago actually had a player and he was like I want to play division one.

And I’m like, Do you know how hard it is to play Division one ? And I said, You know what? I said, let’s do something. Let’s go to Division three basketball game. And so it was a high level game. I believe it was North Central versus Elmhurst, two teams that  are always nationally ranked teams that beat division one schools in exhibition games every year.

And so we go watch the game and it’s very competitive. Even I’m looking like, how did I play out, Right? ,

[00:24:24] Mike Klinzing: I’ve been to, I’ve been to games like that now where I’m like, Man, holy cow.

[00:24:28] Roshawn Russell: Right? So I’m looking like I actually played out there. I did well. So midway I think about halftime. I started talking.

I said, Hey do you think you can play out there right now? He said, Honestly, coach, no. And I said, What about… I named a few guys on our team. He was like, No. I mean, we might have. And I think it was just such an eye-opening experience and you know, I wish that smaller colleges were taken more seriously and was able to maybe cast a bigger net because again, like I tell players all the time, no one trains all their life and make all the sacrifices to not play division.

And I get it. But there’s truly value and plan small college basketball and, and it’s extremely competitive and in a lot of cases it can be the best time of your life opposed to being a walk on at a division one or being there and not playing at all. So I think kids and families now need to think more thoroughly about what they really want out of this.

Now, the free tuition part, I get , right? Sure. And that’s the goal. But from a pure basketball standpoint it’s definitely sad to me that a lot of kids today don’t understand the value of small colleges.

[00:25:35] Mike Klinzing: Tying to find the right fit, whether that’s the right fit, first of all with the school and the academic piece of it.

And then you start talking about the fit with the coaching staff. And then like you mentioned, in your own situation, you’re looking at it and you’re going, Hey, am I going to have a chance to, to play and actually get out on the floor? Because I think people, that’s another thing that I think they underestimate when you start talking about college basketball is anybody who’s coming into a college team is going to have been a really good player at their high school and probably had the ball in their hands a lot and probably got to do a lot and been a big fish.

And now you go to college and suddenly you don’t have that same role or maybe you don’t have any role at all. And college practices compared to high school practices, it’s a lot different, as you know. And I think sometimes people romanticize what any level of college basketball is, but certainly romanticize what division one basketball is all about.

I know that probably the most difficult. The year I spent in my life was as a freshman and I played maybe, I don’t know, between four and six minutes a game and went through the grind of practice every single day. And man it’s one thing if you’re going to play, it’s one thing you’re going to play 35 minutes on Saturday or Wednesday night, but when you’re not playing those minutes and you’re still going through the grind of, of practice every day, that that’s tough.

And it’s, you have to man manufacture your own funds sometimes. And I think people underestimate what it takes actually to play at any level.

[00:27:06] Roshawn Russell: Absolutely. I couldn’t agree more. I mean, just a opportunity to really build community and I was a RA in college and just things that I probably wouldn’t able never been able to do if I did try to play at a higher level. So certainly understand what you’re saying for sure.

[00:27:22] Mike Klinzing: When you’re in college, what are you thinking about in terms of career? Is coaching on your radar at that point?

[00:27:27] Roshawn Russell: So actually in high school there was a friend of mine Anthony Ra, we played together and we had always talked about coaching together.

And in college, I remember might’ve been on Facebook, even though I wasn’t even a social media person. I was like the last person to get started. But , I remember we connected and we kind of talked about man, like, wouldn’t it be cool if we can coach together? So as my college years went on to be honest somewhere along the lines, not that it got lost, but I just didn’t know how to go about it.

I was the guy on a team that knew everything on the Scout. From the first guy to the last guy. Sometimes I whisper to one of my teammates so we don’t get in trouble, We’re getting quiz. I knew exactly what the game plan was. I knew defensively, right? This is what they’re giving up.

You know, if I’m driving on the strong side, I’m looking opposite because they’re helping two passes away. I was just always a student of the game. So actually when I graduated, my assistant coach, he was only there for my first year at Steve Schaffer and he knows I was mad at him because he left and he was a big reason why I came

But as you get older you start to understand everyone has to make decisions for their family, right? And I remember when I graduated I didn’t know what I wanted to do, so I was working at a hotel actually as a pool attendant for the summer. Just trying to figure out what I wanted to do.

So just wanted to make some money at the time. And Steve Schaeffer, he called me, I want to say like mid July. And he’s like, Hey you’re moving to St. Louis. And I was like, Oh, yeah, I’m coming tomorrow. And I didn’t know what he was talking about . And he was like, Hey, I just got the my head, I’m my head college coach at Fontbonne University, a small school in St.  Louis. I need someone here that I trust. I also need a full-time guy. So he said you would get a full-time, you basically be a full-time student and a full-time coach. And at the time, I didn’t know what that meant. So for anyone listening, I would say part-time, don’t, don’t do the full-time thing.

But obviously, I mean, it was something that I could not say no to. It definitely was too great of opportunity. I mean, I’m the first person in my family to pursue a master and actually get a master’s. I hadn’t even thought about grad school, but having an opportunity to coach at that level I’m forever thankful for Steve Schaeffer for the opportunity ththat he gave me.

And that’s one message I always pass along to my players is treat everyone with respect. You don’t know when that person might come in your life and be able to help you. And I had no idea that my, my coach my freshman year, just staying in touch with him just being a person that that I always try to be, my parents wanted me to be.

And clearly he saw something in me to give me that opportunity. So I was very fortunate.

[00:30:18] Mike Klinzing: What do you remember about stepping into that coaching world for the first time? Was there things that surprised you about it? That, ooh, man, I didn’t know that coaches spent so much time doing this or doing that.

Did you take to it immediately? Just what do you remember about your initial thoughts.

[00:30:34] Roshawn Russell: thouWell, my initial thought, honestly, well, it was a couple things. I had a serious girlfriend at the time, .

[00:30:41] Mike Klinzing: Oh, that never helps when you’re moving away.

[00:30:46] Roshawn Russell: No, but thankfully she was supportive.

She said, There’s no way I can turn it down. So obviously I go, The other part was The age I was fresh out. I was 22, so you know, when I got there these guys are like my age. So my initial question was how can I find a balance of obviously there’s a luxury to having a coach on your staff that can maybe be more relatable.

Be someone that those guys can confide in, but also draw the line and say, Hey, I’m still coach. So that was something that I was concerned about for sure. And then as I got down there, that actually went a lot better than I anticipated. I didn’t realize just how big of a difference a few years can make, even just in terms of society.

And I know social media really started to grow around that time. And again, I was definitely more old school. So there was definitely some maturity gap there, which was, which worked in my favor. and then just the hours, I mean, they’re insane. I mean you’re talking, sometimes I’m working out guys at 10:30 at night coach wanted me up at six in the morning if I had to punishment run or a workout

So I’m really doing I’m like, well, what am I supposed to do? My work coach? Right, Right. And you know, I’m doing my coursework between literally 12 and four those are the hours. So I was living off Red Bulls, but you know, it taught me how to grind taught me how to work hard, make no excuses.

And it definitely helped me grow up really fast.

[00:32:30] Mike Klinzing: So what’s something that you take from that experience with Coach Schaeffer? That you think is still part of who you are as a coach today?

[00:32:39] Roshawn Russell: I would say two things, and one I’m still not good at. But I try my best. His organization was off the charts. I thought the way he organized every aspect whether it was his practice game planning, the way he recruited, everything he did was extremely organized.

And that’s something I’ve certainly tried to take with me. I don’t even compare to his organization. I still don’t know how he does it, but I like to think that I stole a few tricks from him and, and really just his passion. You know, if you have passion for anything, you’re going 110% and he always did.

I mean, he’s got a different battery and I think he passed that battery on to me that I’m around the clock whenever my players need me. Parents obviously a lot of my guys are getting recruited heavily. So college coaches, they don’t care what time they contact you.

I’m always on and some might say, Well that doesn’t sound too healthy, but if you want to be great at this, it’s kind of how it has to be.

[00:33:52] Mike Klinzing: No question about that. I think that when you look at the baseline amount of time that you have to put in just to be average is probably way more time than the average person, especially the average parent or the average high school player thinks about what you’re doing.

And then you talk about if you want to really excel and be the best, the amount of time that you have to put in is crazy. When you think back to your time as a college coach. Did you have an idea that you would eventually end up back at your alma mater coaching at the high school level? Did you think I want to continue to work my way through and up the ladder in college basketball?

What, what was your thought process as after you had been there at Fontbonne for a year or two in terms of where you sort of thought your career might head?

[00:34:41] Roshawn Russell: Okay, so I’ll go back. So after I finished my master’s degree, Steve Schaffer took a better opportunity in Arizona. So during that time, our players were going crazy and they’re like, If you leave, I’m leaving

And so we basically built that program from the ground up. So those first two years we took our lumps, but we brought in a great recruiting class. Loved those guys. I’ve actually been to their weddings, still keep in contact. Certainly a special group and I remember they were like, Hey we want you to interview for the job.

And I’m like, Guys, I just finished. I’m not getting this job. So anyway, the administration and I always thankful for the administration. They saw some of my value and I certainly appreciated that. So they offered me a contract a third year to stay on and basically I made the decision on the spot before I even talked to my family because I got pulled into a conference room with the entire team.

And of course young men pressure the moment right there. I’ll never forget it. You know, young men we can be impulsive sometimes, so they’re all like, coach if you’re staying, we’re staying, but if you can’t tell us, we’re going to look at other places. And I just remember looking at all them in that room and I just, there was no way I could say no.

I knew we had more to accomplish, so I stayed on for that third year. We actually made it to the conference tournament championship and we were a game out of the national tournament and it was so cool just to see where we started o where we were able to get to around that time.

My niece was recently born and it was bothering me being away from my niece. And so in terms of, to answer your question, in terms of coaching, to be honest, I really didn’t know what was next. But I knew I wanted to get home. Cause I really wanted to be close to my niece. That was something that was really important to me.

For some reason her and I kind of clicked right away and it was just, it was, it was weird, but very, very cool thing between my niece and I even, she’s at a very early age. She’s like, uncle come home. So that’s cool. So anyway after that year, I knew I was coming home.

I had no idea what I was going to do and there was a opening at St. Rita and the head coach at the time who I did not play for. I had been back a few times where brother had helped out the staff and he was like, Hey I think you should interview for this position. And I’m like I guess, yeah, so sure it was admissions job, so I interview and I get the job.

So it’s kind of like anything, once you get in your foot in the door you let the work from there speak for itself. So from there I was head sophomore coach. From there I was the athletic director. Then I became a head varsity basketball coach and athletic director. Then I realized I don’t want to worry about 15 other sports while I’m coaching

So I gave that up. So now I’m back in admissions and I’m the head of varsity basketball coach. So just blessed, honestly, just kind of right place, right time.

[00:37:47] Mike Klinzing: Before we dive into what you’ve been able to do at St. Rita and get into some of the specifics of your program, just tell me a little bit about similarities, differences between college and high school.

Maybe likes, dislikes about each level. Just gimme an idea of the comparison between the two.

[00:38:05] Roshawn Russell: Well, let me first by saying I love all my parents . But what, what I’ll say is what I do miss about college and even though today from speaking with, with college coaches is the landscape has changed.

Parents are involved now in college, which is very interesting. But when I coached in college, we did not really talk to parents. And that was a beautiful thing. It was, it was really, Just focused on continue to make them men. And if you have an issue come talk to me. You know, we’re going to hold you accountable.

But this is about you taking ownership of your career. So we did not talk to parents and that was much better than high school because it’s very different for high school. But I’ll say honestly, what, what I do miss the most if there was anything to miss I’ll say, is the access to players. You know, now you kind of depend on rides.

There’s the gym is only open to a certain time where in college, I mean, you kind of have it around a clock and if I’m wired or you know, there’s a kid I want to give my hands on, I could shoot ’em a text, say, Hey, let’s get in the gym tonight at, at 10:00 PM when you get outta class.

And they have to say yes right? Where now just with the schedule and the commute it’s, it’s a lot tougher to do those things. And even just in terms of the rules like right now I can’t coach my kids. You can have open gyms and and whoever comes, comes and colleges come out and watch them.

But it’s really difficult as a coach to see things and not be able to have the opportunity to correct it. Where in college the season starts sooner, you can work ’em out. So definitely just that hands on approach of kind of having them around the clock. That’s definitely a big difference from college to high school.

[00:39:52] Mike Klinzing: Yeah, absolutely. I don’t think there’s any doubt that with the high school kids, there’s, there’s a lot of things that go into it. You mentioned kids getting rides. You talk about just again, having to go to school right. All day. And that’s a piece of it that as a, as a, as a high school coach that you’re, you’re, you’re trying to help those kids navigate and grow up and grow up, not just as athletes, grow up as students as well.

And you guys, as a Catholic school, how far is the furthest commute for one of your players? Right.

[00:40:24] Roshawn Russell: About an hour . Yeah. It’s and that’s what’s unique about St. Rita right now. So we have buses that pretty much go everywhere and it’s crucial for our enrollment. So with that is very different than when I was a student where we have students just generally that come from literally all over and they make the sacrifices.

They get up in the morning, they pass up 20 plus schools just to come to St. Rita. But again I’m biased obviously. But St. Rita truly is a special place. And I know those guys while some days might be tough and they’re tired, I know they don’t regret it and they’re a hundred percent behind their decision.

[00:41:04] Mike Klinzing: Tell me about the benefits of being the coach at your alma mater. What are some things that makes that special for you?

[00:41:14] Roshawn Russell: Well, one thing about me, just as a person, I do feel like I always embrace the culture where I’m at, and I embrace the rivalries. So when I was at North Park, I knew who our rival was.

I couldn’t stand their colors, nothing everything about. Right. I get it. When I was at Fontbonne University, same thing. They told me, Okay, you, you don’t like this university. Okay, I’m in. I don’t like them. But it is something that’s, that’s just special about the place that, that helped you grow up and the jersey that you wore and put on and, and have the opportunity to teach these, these young men, the tradition and those who came before them.

And there’s so much pride in that watching my brother go through it first, then me and us having an opportunity to do it together is so special. And the passion that I coach from I don’t believe I could really max that anywhere else. You know, obviously you’re going to put your best foot forward and you know you’re going to put, you know everything you have in it, but there’s kind of coach from a different place when you’re at your alma mater and I certainly do.

[00:42:19] Mike Klinzing: Yeah. It feels like it’s a part of you, right? There’s that chunk of your heart that you left there when you, when you graduated initially, and you think about growing up there and all the time and sweat and effort and that you put into it as a student, as as a player. And then you get to come back and to be able to, to talk to kids who are in the same place that you were years earlier.

To me, I think that that has to be a really special piece of it. When you first get the job, obviously you had been there as an assistant coach and so you had seen what the previous coach had done and how he had done things. And you, as you’re going through and your experience. I’m sure you had things that you’re like, I’d like some of this, here’s some things that I might do differently.

What do you remember about that first day on the job, that first week on the job as the head coach? What were some of the things that you were thinking that you wanted to do to take the program to an even higher level?

[00:43:17] Roshawn Russell: Well, actually, you know during that time it was, it was a difficult transition. You know, it wasn’t smooth by any means.

But from day one I knew I wanted to focus on the kids that were there and put my best foot forward. So I remember my brother and I, we sat down together and he just said, Hey, what do you want to do? Like, what is your goal? And I said, I want a national program. I want a team that can compete at the highest level.

I want St. Rita basketball to go to a level that it’s never been before, and. You know, every now and then as a coach, you’re fortunate enough to have someone on your staff that’s crazy enough to believe something like that . And that happens to be my older brother. And from that moment forward, we really didn’t talk about it, to be honest.

We just started to work and we just worked nonstop. And to be where we are four years later, with one of those years being a covid year to being 23 in a country, I can’t tell you how humbling it is. And while every day it’s like you’re always on a go, you’re always trying to figure out the next thing or figure out this issue or plan for this tournament, or whatever it is, you know the day brings.

I have tried my best to take a step back sometimes and just appreciate where we started and, and where we are now. Even though it’s hard to do that sometimes, but it’s, it’s very humbling to be where we are.

[00:44:48] Mike Klinzing: I think that’s really well said. When you think about sort of the day to day minutiae that coaches deal with and you’re trying to figure out how do I get ready for this next game?

How do I prepare for this next opponent? How do I write the next practice plan that sometimes we get caught up so much of that day to day that we forget to step back and as you said, see that bigger picture of, man, here’s where we were four years ago and wow, here’s where we are now and what are the steps that we had to take in order to get there?

And it’s obviously all a process. When you set and you said, Hey, we want this to be a national program, What are some steps that you had to take along the way to make that a reality?

[00:45:30] Roshawn Russell: Yeah. Well the first one was I had to prove myself . So we had to win . And actually in year one, we actually broke the school record for a first year staff with the most wins.

And we actually won our division and our conference. There was a Thanksgiving tournament we had been in for the past, I think four years. And that was the first time we actually won it. So we won the Thanksgiving tournament right off you know, got to regional championship, played Whitney Young, which obviously is their traditional speaks for.

And we actually were up at halftime, our game plan’s working. I mean, we take them as far as we can until, you know DJ Stewart who was on his way to Duke and had another guy, I can’t think of his name, he’s going to Georgetown among other Division one players. You know, eventually talent just takes over

Nonetheless, it was, it was a very competitive game. And I think just being where I was.. I’m the first African American coach at St. Rita at a St. Rita being at Catholic High School and people seeing that. Seeing me at my age, I think a lot of people were attracted to that.

Like, who is this guy? Let me find out about what he’s doing. On top of that, my brother his undergrad is marketing and he might, he might be a marketing genius. I don’t like to compliment him, but he might be . And you know, he was real big on like, Hey, we have to market our program. You know, we have to use social media we have to get people attracted to who we are and what we’re doing.

And then just working for St. Rita, you know the school sells itself. You know, unfortunately in Chicago there are not a lot of strong options in Chicago when, when you factor in safety education you know sports a place where you know you’re going to be held accountable.

So to be at St. Rita again, being a coach, having success early on and then have an opportunity to, to come in and play right away I think was very intriguing. For those that were looking at St. Rita High School and our program.

[00:47:33] Mike Klinzing: On the floor, what are some things that you felt like you had to bring to the program from a coaching standpoint?

Again, you mentioned about proving yourself. What did that look like day in, day out on the basketball floor with your guys?

[00:47:48] Roshawn Russell: Well, really again, I was very fortunate from where do I start? I mean, again, John Bunk a guy that really taught me how to play basketball, how to think the game.

He’s extraordinary. There’s a reason why he’s in the Hall of Fame from my next two years of high school. You know, Rob Santo, who was a West Coast guy who wanted to play in transition and. He was really big on relationships. And, and that’s really where I start to understand, okay, if you want guys to play for you, relationships has to be number one.

From moving on to and every experience is different. So there’s some coaches, I learned what not to do and sometimes that’s the most valuable lesson you can have from being an athletic director where I was able to study some of our great coaches that we had our football coach, Hall of Famer, state championship state champion our baseball coach nationally ranked program at one point.

So I had a lot of people to steal from . And, and basically you just try to make it in into your own. So for me I think it was just my guys seeing my passion every day, being prepared every day and being a player’s coach that’s something I pride myself on. Definitely teaching the game.

But you know, also letting ’em know, Hey, I’m going to, I’m going to instill confidence in you. I want you to be you within what we’re trying to do. And those guys bought into it. And they had fun while I pushed them. And our staff pushed them really hard. It’s always important to make sure that they’re having fun and I think a lot of those guys would say we accomplish that.

[00:49:24] Mike Klinzing: How do you balance that? I know that’s something that coaches sometimes struggle with, right? We talk about the game should be fun, and yet at the same time we talk about the need for making sure that we hold players accountable and that there’s discipline in the program. And I think when you’re straddling that line, we just talk to Mike Taylor.

I talk to him. His, his episode is going up actually I think it’s going up tonight. Probably went out like an hour ago. And yeah. And Mike said that his philosophy was, and I had never heard it expressed this way, but very simple, was fun with discipline. And I think when you, when you start talking about as a player, what kind of program would you like to plan?

If you’re somebody who likes to win and likes to be coached and wants to get better, to me, that atmosphere of fun with discipline it just, that resonated with me when he said that. So when you think about the environment, the experience that you’re creating for your players, what does that, what does that fun piece look like in your mind?

To go along with all the things that you have to do in order to, to win, to win games on the floor?

[00:50:34] Roshawn Russell: Yeah. You know, I think it starts with the relationships, right? So there’s times where I might call a player in my office or maybe we’re talking as a team and we’re not even talking about basketball.

You know, maybe I see in practice, alright, they’re going through the motions today. They clearly don’t want to be here. So let me tie up my shoes and pray. I don’t tear anything.

You know, not super young, but a young enough staffer, we can still get out there and play a little bit. And it’s amazing how the level of competition just rises because they want to beat coach. If I’m coming through the lane, I’m getting elbow  which is great it is fun. And I encourage them to do that.

You know, maybe when we’re doing some skill work, I’ll turn on some music just to, just to get the juices flowing and you know, get ’em in in good spirits. So you have to be creative. You know, sometimes when I think of going practice maybe instead of practice we’re going to do a team bonding session, maybe we just need it because there’s a lot happening.

So I think it’s just important to, to stay creative and understand what’s needed at times. So I feel like as a coach you can get caught up into, you have to fix this, we have to fix that. We really need to practice to not understand that maybe these kids just need a break and obviously there’s a fine line with that on.

No, they don’t. You need to push ’em. But I think, but I think you have to find a balance with that. And I’m fortunate that my brother and coaches around me that I trust and I listen to them. I would not be where I’m at without those guys. So there might be times they see something I don’t see and I’ll definitely listen to ’em.

[00:52:13] Mike Klinzing: That’s the magic in coaching, right, is being able to understand and have a feel for your team and what they need at a given moment. And sometimes they need to be pushed and sometimes they might need you to back off or take a step back and do a team bonding activity or do something fun that is maybe a little bit different than what might have been done 30 or 40 years ago where it’s just, Hey, we have to keep grinding through.

And now I think coaches have a. A feel, a better understanding of, hey, what are what is it that our players need? You look at it from the top down, right? We started off the episode kind of talking about Derrick Rose and LeBron and, and the nba, and you, you think about how they’ve, how they’ve shifted and how important it’s for guys to get rest.

And the, the whole load management thing where it used to be you just kind of ground players into the ground through the season and no, they don’t need a day off. And no, we, it doesn’t matter if we practice for three hours a day before a game. Like it’s just, we have to, we have to keep preparing. And now I think people have a much better understanding of what it takes to ultimately get your players to perform at their best on game night and for every team, and I’m probably, for every player that looks different and coaches all figure out ways that they can.

do what suits their team so that they can get the best performance out of them. And I think that’s really what, that’s the magic that’s the art of coaching. You know, it’s not like, sure there are some tried and true things that coaches do, but for the most part it’s, it’s not, it’s not, it’s not a science as much as it is in art and having a feel for your team and knowing what it is that, that you need to do.

When you think about growing as a coach and learning and, and the people that you go to, and obviously you have your staff and you have your brother when you think about people outside, maybe of, of your staff or, or reading or, or going to clinics or, or doing video, what, what’s your go-to method or go-to source for trying to learn and become a better coach?

[00:54:14] Roshawn Russell: I don’t know if I have a go-to source. I’m just a basketball junkie, so I’m always looking up drills. If I have a opportunity to go to a college practice I’m definitely going, or clinic. What I will say is that if I ever find myself in a situation where I need to change up practice or can’t figure out maybe I’m not communicating to my team the right way that’s where I really lean on my mentor, Steve Schaeffer.

He’s the secret ingredient for me. I’ll give him a call and, and ask him for a suggestion and he, he knows me and, and we have a, a trust that I can’t even explain. So I would say he’s definitely a guy that I lean on and just being fortunate enough to have the players that I have, I’ve been able to build relationships with a lot of college coaches.

So sometimes I’ll just call one of them and pick their brain and they’re always resourceful and, and very helpful. And as weird as this may sound sometimes just taking a step back.  I spent so much time watching film over and over  I can’t even watch an NBA game without Oh, look how they got Steph curry open, or look at the hard balance play.

I need a paper. I need to rewind that to draw it up. So I can’t even watch game in the normal sense, like, I guess some people do, but you know, nonetheless, I think sometimes it’s important to just maybe take a step back, get your mind off of it kind of reset and, and you know, sometimes you know the answer’s right in front of you.

You don’t realize it. You just need to take a step away.

[00:55:48] Mike Klinzing: It’s a great point. I think it is a coach, it’s sometimes difficult to turn off that coaching mindset. So you’re sitting there and you’re watching and you’re, you’re scribbling, you’re diagramming, you’re looking at it going, Hey, how’d that happen? And hey, what could we do to incorporate that in there?

And I think the ability to bounce ideas off of a mentor or a group of mentors is, is a great resource for. For coaches, and it’s great that you have Coach Schaefer to be able to do that so that you can call ’em up and be like, Hey, here’s the situation. Cause I think sometimes we, we think that the situation that we’re facing is something that has never happened in the history of coaching and we get sort of stuck on our own island and then we talk to other people like, Oh yeah, lots of other people have experienced something similar.

And if you can learn from others, I think that really helps you to, to grow and improve as a coach. Which as, which as you know, is something that’s really, really important. And you talked a little bit here about the relationships with your players and talking about a relationship with a mentor. And I know earlier you spoke about parents and how involved they are in their players’ careers at this point.

And certainly it’s always been that way, I think at the high school level, slowly creeping up. And when you think about the amount of time that parents spend from the time kids.  in third grade, and they’re traveling to tournaments and they’re staying in hotels and they’re going here and they’re paying for a trainer and the amount of money that they have invested in the kid, it’s no surprise that that parents are, are really, really involved in their kids, in their kids’ careers.

So when you think about the parents that are part of your program, I think one of the most important things is how do you get them to buy into your program and to be supportive parents rather than the type of parents that are in the stands grumbling about this or that. So just what are some things that you do to engage the parents of your pro in your program to make sure that they, that they stay on the right you know, on the right pathway and are supportive of what you’re trying to do?

[00:57:44] Roshawn Russell: No, absolutely. So I definitely in open communication with my parents and, and honestly they really have been great to me. And I think a large part of that is may sound very simple, but it just comes down to the, the work and the hours that we put. Whether it’s supporting them in their AAU tournaments, whether it’s watching them at a showcase in terms of recruiting being at the front line of that process.

So I really think that’s just built over time. Unfortunately early on some parents might feel like they need to be hands on or they’re afraid to let their baby go. But over time, once they, once they see like, you know what these guys, they’re holding my son accountable.

They’re getting him better. They have his best interests at heart. You know, we’re doing things outside of our job description. Right, Absolutely. And in terms of just time and, and commitment and I’m trying to do better. But so family needs me regardless of the time, you know?

I’m normally there for them. I players know they can contact me in the middle of the night if, if they need me and they know I’m going to answer my phone or if they need something, they know I’ll do it. And if I can’t, they know I absolutely can’t.  maybe I really have something going on. But I think once you show that you’re going above and beyond parents normally will settle in.

My philosophy is under promise, over deliver. And while I don’t like talking about myself or pat myself in the back, I do believe that if anyone said that with my parents, I do believe that was, that is how they would describe what my staff and I have been able to do.

[00:59:26] Mike Klinzing: I love that when you talk about doing more than what’s required, more than what’s in your job description, I think that goes a long way towards demonstrating the commitment that you have to your players and to their families and to their ultimate success because,

As I said, the amount of time that is the baseline for even being competitive in high school basketball today is I think higher than it’s ever been. And I don’t think that the average high school parent, the average high school player, understands how much time you as a head coach and other head coaches like yourself put in, in order to make that happen.

And, and when they do see it and they do see the amount of time and they do see you showing up for recruiting and they do see you opening up the gym and they do see you meeting players at odd hours to be able to, to work with them and all the things that you do that just are beyond what the average person or the average coach might do, I think that goes a long way to getting people on board.

It’s hard to argue with somebody who is constantly available that, Oh man this guy is clear that he has the best interest of his student athletes at heart. And that’s really, I think, critical. You mention. being at the forefront of your players recruitment, and obviously you’ve had quite a few players in recent years that had an opportunity to go on and play college basketball.

So just talk about how you view your role as, as a high school coach in their recruitment. Just walk us through what that process is like and what you think is important for you to provide as a high school coach to your players as they’re going through the college recruiting process.

[01:01:09] Roshawn Russell: Yeah. Well, first and foremost, and this is not a knock at my high school coaches.

My high school coaches were phenomenal. I mean, to have two guys that were very different and those are guys who not only shaped me as a player, but shaped me shaped me as a person. More importantly however the landscape has changed in terms of just how early recruitment starts and how you have to advocate for your players.

So one thing that we wanted to do right off is let our families know that we’re going to advocate for your son right away. Now again, they have to earn that, right? I don’t believe in kids getting anything because that’ll hurt them later on in life. But to take over the recruiting side of it a lot of times what happens now and really across the board, especially in a sport like basketball where these showcases is where a lot of these guys are getting scholarships.

So now they get back to their high school team and they’re almost looking like, well, why do I need you? And you look at basketball and the AAU coaches and you know, God bless them a lot of them do a great job. But oftentimes for the, the struggle is sometimes AAU might seem more valuable than high school to some degree if you allow that to lead the charge in terms of that recruiting.

So for us, from day one we basically said we’re going to control that part. And we were reaching out to colleges and using our resources and building those relationships. So you know, that recruitment really started with us and that certainly has helped our program a ton in terms of trust and, and believing in us and what we think.

And we study colleges we let our guys know, Hey I’ve watched this coach, you would fit in this system. You know, this is who they’re recruiting. You know, our parents would come to us for information like, Hey, this school just offered this guy last night, or they just offered him today.

So our parents really lean on us heavily and colleges know that. And so they’re, while they’re definitely working on better relationship with our players and their families, they’re working almost as hard to make sure that they earn our trust as well.

[01:03:16] Mike Klinzing: I think that’s really important when you talk about that relationship between you as a high school coach and those college coaches and being able to know and understand going both ways that each side can trust the other, where the college coach can trust that you’re going to give an honest evaluation of your player and obviously you’re going to sell your player, but at the same time, you can’t sell the college on who this player is or who this kid is too many times and not have it be true before those college coaches don’t trust you anymore.

So you obviously have to, you have to sell ’em, but at the same time, you have to be honest. So I think that’s what the college coaches are expecting from you as a high school coach. And then conversely, you as a high school coach have to be able to trust that the staff that you’re going to send your player to, that they’re going to do what’s in the best interest of that player.

They’re going to develop them both as a basketball player, but also as a student, that it’s the right fit. And that those college coaches are being honest when they come in and they talk to you and they talk to their player. And so to me, I guess that’s a process that has to go on. over time, and you build that and you get to know staffs and they get to know you.

And eventually you get to the point where you feel comfortable, where, hey, if this staff is ever recruiting one of my players, I’m going to feel totally on board with being able to recommend, Hey, this is a great place for you. These guys have your best interest at heart. And conversely, college coaches didn’t come to you and be able to trust you, that you’re going to be, you’re going to tell them the truth about, about your players.

[01:04:50] Roshawn Russell: Oh, absolutely. I always tell my guys like, Hey, I have to tell the truth because if I don’t, that’s going to hurt the guy coming, coming after you. So I’m always going to be, be honest I’m definitely going to advocate for you, but I have to be honest and what I see every day from your character, from your work ethic, Academic standing I check their grades every week,

So I’m always all over that part. But I, I’ve definitely you know, built a lot of relationships with coaches and really me and my brother and they trust us and it’s been great to see those relationships evolve over time and just that reinforcement of colleges saying, Hey you guys are doing it the right way.  And that’s really humbling.

[01:05:32] Mike Klinzing: What about the relationship with AAU coaches there in the Chicago area when you’re trying to figure out and help your players navigate that whole system and make sure you get ’em to programs and coaches that are going to do right by them in terms of getting ’em exposure, but also just the experience that they’re going to have from a basketball standpoint.

being coached and being in an environment that’s at least semi-structured so that you’re putting ’em in the right you’re putting ’em in the right program with the right AAU coaches. What’s that process look like for you?

[01:06:02] Roshawn Russell: Well, I might be unpopular in this, but I don’t like AAU . But it’s a necessary evil almost.

So for us honestly, we try not to get too involved. You know, it’s more so if a family comes to us and say, Hey, what do you recommend to our certain AAU programs that we feel very strongly about in terms of what they stand for and what they represent. You know, it’s important for us we understand that the type of coaching may not always be exactly what they’re going to get at St. Rita. But for us it’s, it’s the role models there around and you know, the environment and, and we definitely want them to, to be in a professional environment where that program is, is viewed in a positive light with college coaches that that winning is important and not just a, a showcase of yourself, so to speak.

That they’re instilling the right values in you. That’s consistent with what we teach. So we do help you know, especially if someone comes to us and if we feel like alright, you need to get out of this program, we will intervene needed. But we definitely have a great rapport with, with some well respected AAU programs here in Chicago for sure.

[01:07:22] Mike Klinzing: What’s the relationship like coaching with your brother? I could. So there’s good, And I won’t say bad. There’s good. How about there’s good and challenges.

[01:07:33] Roshawn Russell: That’s a great way to put it. Definitely challenges, especially him being the older brother. Right. It is definitely a challenge. We butt heads. There’s no doubt about it.

But we’re actually the perfect combination, to be honest. I’m probably more level in even keel, and he’s very spirited . But it’s a nice balance. It’s a nice balance for us and for everything. I don’t see he sees and vice versa. And ultimately the one thing I learned from Steve Schaeffer in coaching in college is in order for you to have a successful program, you have to obviously one, you have to have a supportive administration, but two, your staff has to be a staff that you trust.

So even to the point of, you’d almost take, you’d rather have someone that you trust than maybe someone with more knowledge. And that’s how we’ve really tailored our staff. And it just so happens that we’re fortunate to have experienced staff who, who does know what they’re doing. From, again, my brother division one basketball player coaching, the E Y B L been coaching for a long time.

Bill judge, state champion actually coached my brother. I’ve been knowing him since I was a little guy he Crosby who I played in high school and in college with Issa Avery played in college with Dallas Haywood. I actually coached him in college at Fontbonne university.

So we really have a family dynamic on our staff where they’ll get on me where they, where they need to. And, and I listen to them I trust those guys. It’s easy when everyone’s pulling in the same direction.

[01:09:14] Mike Klinzing: How do you make sure that everybody’s on the same page?

What do the discussions look like behind closed doors in the coach’s office, and how do you make sure that, when you’re talking about the lower levels of your program, so you’re talking about your freshman team, you’re talking about your jv, your sophomore team, making sure that they’re teaching the things that you know, that your players are going to need when they get up to you on the varsity level.

Just what’s your philosophy as a head coach of sort of delegating that out, or how do you make sure that they’re teaching the concepts the way that you want ’em taught?

[01:09:47] Roshawn Russell: No, absolutely. I mean first and foremost, our goals never change. So number one is we want to help them grow as men.

You know, that’s being a better brother being a, a better son, a better student you know, being a positive influence on the community. So. That is, that is first and foremost Second is definitely the academics. We check the entire program every week, and if we don’t like what we see we either motivate them with Sprint or we’ll get them help

But however we need to do it, we’re going to get that done. And then the third aspect is, that’s where the basketball comes in. And there are drills that we do as a program that we teach through and through just to name a few we work on wall ups, everyone thinks they’re a shot blocker and they’re not.

So definitely drill contesting shots without fouling stepping through traps, squaring up when you catch the ball, not just putting on a floor right away. So there are drills that we kind of do universal throughout the program. Then obviously we’ll expand some things at each level as these guys get older.

[01:10:53] Mike Klinzing: How do you guys structure your practice? Are you guys varsity practicing by yourself? The JVs sometimes practice with you guys? How do you break that down?

[01:11:00] Roshawn Russell: So normally everyone kind of practice on their own, but sometimes we might mix in freshmen and sophomores.

Varsity is usually by themselves just kind of just the physicality, just the caliber of guys we have, we try to keep those guys with each other. But you know, definitely not afraid to mix it in here or there when it makes sense for us.

But in terms of typical varsity practice, I think as coaches and it is always a pet peeve of mine, especially at the grade school level is you have to find a balance at our level between, obviously you want to win and you want to be competitive, but you have to make sure these guys are getting better.

So one thing that I’ve been on myself about my staff, about, and we have to continue to improve on this because while I think we do a fairly good job there’s always room for improvement and that’s, how much time are we emphasizing skill development in practice?

You only have the gym for so much time, so you have to make sure everyone’s on the same page defensively. You have to make sure everyone knows what the offense or play calling or what our game plan is for the specific game. But at the same time, we’d be doing these guys a disservice if we’re not doing some form of skill work day in and day out.

So that’s something that’s, that’s really important to us as a staff that we want these guys to, to continue to hone in on their skills while we’re trying to compete as a team.

[01:12:27] Mike Klinzing: What does that practice planning process look like for you? Is that something where you’re sitting down by yourself and putting together the practice plan and then sharing it with the staff?

Is that something that you guys do together? How do you go about putting together that daily practice plan?

[01:12:44] Roshawn Russell: So actually usually by myself. But what happens is, again, because my coaches are so dedicated and you’re only as strong as a supporter around you. So there’ll be times it’s almost like they’re reading my mind.

So there’ll be times where I’m working on a practice plan and I’ll get like five texts, You have to remember, we have to go over this today, or we need to do this, or Hey man, we have to get some shots, or, our free throws were terrible. Make time for free throws today. So my staff is always great about reminding me of things that we need to do or suggestions they have.

And one thing I always tell those guys, I want you to coach. You know, it’s important that you coach. So if you have something you think we need to do or a drill, maybe a different drill to make practice exciting or whatever the case may be don’t hesitate to let me know.

So again, a lot of times it’s kind of more about myself, but again I’m always getting feedback from my staff.

[01:13:42] Mike Klinzing: Do you have a standard structure slash order that you like to go in where, hey, we always work on defense first and then offense or skill development’s always at the end? Or just how do you organize a daily practice?

[01:13:56] Roshawn Russell: I would say as the season goes on, it changes. So week one, and it’s all about your identity and what you want to be, right? So week one, it’s a no brainer. They already know defensive rebounding, toughness, diving, taking charges. It’s going to be brutal. And it has to be because I want my team to be a reflection of who we are and what we stand for.

And, and I want our passion to show through them for St. Rita and what their Jersey means. So week one is definitely really tough. And kind of as we go on and especially as the season goes on and we get into games, maybe we try to fine tune the offense and I always feel like the offense will evolve over the season, but it’s really important  that we come out with a certain intensity on a defensive side of the ball, that we communicate in a certain way. That when a ball’s on the ground we’re laying out completely forward. On offense those are things that you can fine tune as the season goes on.

[01:14:54] Mike Klinzing: Yeah, I think it’s interesting that different coaches have different philosophies about how they like to, to put to their, their practice plan. You have some coaches who every day you want the sort of same structure. So you have this going to that, and then you have other coaches who want to do it a little bit differently and mix it up and keep it fresh.

And I think you have to coach to your personality ultimately and figure out what, what process works the best for you. And once you do that, then you end up getting the most out of your practice minutes. Cause as you said, no matter where you are, you got limited time on the floor. Your players have limited attention spans and how much time that they can, they can put in on the floor before it starts being diminishing returns.

So, How far along into your head coaching career was it before you felt like you had a good handle on sort of what your philosophy was? And you could take philosophy of maybe the overall program philosophy offensively and defensively. What did you want, what you wanted to do? Was that something that you felt like when you first took the job there at St.

Rita’s? That okay, I kind of through my experience here as an assistant and being a college assistant, that you already felt like you, you kind of had established your philosophy, or do you feel like it took a year or two as a head coach to kind of figure your way around it, to you felt comfortable with, Hey, this is really who I am as a coach, as a head coach, or what I want to do with my program?

[01:16:19] Roshawn Russell: Honestly, I really do feel like I was prepared for that moment. In terms of my philosophy again, I just have to thank St. Rita for believing in me to run our athletic programs as director of athletics. So when I took over, I knew philosophy wise, what I wanted to do and what I wanted to look like.

For me, I think it’s more of seeing the things you believe in work and staying with them when it doesn’t seem like it is . So even to this day any coach at least for me anyway you’re going to doubt things. Sometimes I’m my own worst critic I can win a game and I’ll just, you know brutally like, what, why did you do that?

This was a horrible play. Why? You know? So I’m always critiquing myself through a win or a loss or after practice, like, maybe I should did this different, I should communicate this a certain way. But I definitely stick to my principles and what I believe in. And again, from day one, from a philosophy standpoint, I 100% felt prepared.

I’s more of just that day to day grind and staying with it, I think can be the most challenging part, especially when you know you’re hitting some adversity.

[01:17:35] Mike Klinzing: Yeah, absolutely. That makes a ton of sense. I think when you get, I think when you feel like you have that, that confidence, right?

That you’ve, you, you’ve seen success, you’ve seen that what you’ve done and are doing is, is allowing you to have success on the floor, and you’re also having success impacting your young people off the floor, and you’re, you’re checking in on with students and keeping, just keeping tabs on what they’re doing.

I think if you can establish that philosophy and really make sure that, that you’re buying into it and that you have confidence in it, and then. Pass that confidence along to your coaching staff and then ultimately down to your players. And then that’s what leads to the type of success that you’ve been able to have there at St.  Rita. We’re coming up towards an hour and a half Roshawn. I want to ask you one final two part question before we finish up. So, first part of the question is, when you look ahead over the next year or two, what do you see as being your biggest challenge? And then the second part is when you get up every morning, you think about what you get to do as the head boys basketball coach there at St. Rita High School. What brings you the most joy in what you get to do day in and day out? So your biggest challenge and then your biggest joy.

[01:18:45] Roshawn Russell: I’ll say the biggest challenge is just really outside noise. It’s humbling that whether it’s good or bad. People want to talk about St.  Rita basketball. So you know, that it’s, it’s, it’s humbling. And I’m. I’m a little weird. I’m motivated by the negative comments personally. But I’m an adult. At the end of the day. It’s more about these kids and sometimes I feel like it’s too much, whether it be too much praise or the way certain people want to talk about the program or these kids are our playing.

It’s like, hey, at the end of the day, these are 15, 16, 17 year old kids. It’s just not that, It’s not that serious. So really just getting my team to just focus on what we’re preaching, leaning on each other. Understanding the big picture of what sacrifice means for the greater.

So the biggest challenge definitely is just all the noise that comes with playing today. Just where we are as a society. So that’s certainly the biggest challenge. Outside of that in terms of what we do, what we’re about. The caliber of character that is on my team that’s easy and thankful to my parents for raising great young men and trusting our staff.

That’s the easy part. But it’s everyone else that has an opinion that that makes it complicated sometimes . And then really when I’m looking forward to the most honestly, is just watching them just grow up and enjoy this process to watch them sign on the dotted line on what college they’re going to and watching them win big games and hopefully win something big enough that they can always come back and, and point up in the rafter and say, Hey, look what we accomplished as a team.

But just them being at their best whether that’s, you know 3.0 in the classroom. You know, we’ve been fortunate. Have an average of a 3.5 gpa. Since I’ve been a coach, which is incredible. I’m as happy as I am about our national ranking. I’m happier about the GPA to be honest with you.

So just these guys reaching their goals and just accomplishing, seeing their hard work pay off. I get no greater satisfaction in that I don’t coach for myself. I coach for these guys and, and I want them to play on a big stage and play against the best.

And I’m just really excited for them this, this opportunity that they have at St. Rita to potentially be the greatest team that’s ever been there. And to have the program where it’s at right now. I couldn’t be more excited for these guys. So truly, truly blessed to be in the position I’m in.

I’m just thankful. I’m thankful for the, for the guys that I get to coach every day.

[01:21:31] Mike Klinzing: Yeah. It’s fun and exciting and you got a lot to look forward to. I know this season, I think it’s well said that you’re going to get to have an impact and, and hopefully put together the best team that you’ve ever had there at St.

Rita. And as we talked about earlier, just the ability to do that at your alma mater and to be able to share that with your guys and know that at one point you were sitting in the same chair that they’re sitting in now, I think has to bring even more satisfaction to the whole process as you talked about earlier.

Before we get out, Roan, I want to give you a chance to share how people can. Find out more about you and your program, whether you want to share social media, website, whatever you feel comfortable with, and then I’ll jump back in and wrap things up. No,

[01:22:12] Roshawn Russell: I really appreciate that. Yeah, so if you, if you want to follow our program, our Instagram and Twitter is under the same name as @sritabasketball.

So please follow us. It’s definitely going to be a fun season. We’ll definitely have highlights and scores and our schedules, so please follow us. This is really an exciting group with high character guys, so it’s going to be a fun season and any information on our school, you can always visit ww.st rita hs.com.

Definitely the best all male school in Chicago. I know I’m biased, but come check it out for yourself. It’s a great place.

[01:22:46] Mike Klinzing: Well, Roshawn can I thank you enough for taking the time out of your schedule tonight to jump on with us? It’s been a pleasure getting to know you, getting to learn more about your program.

Wish you nothing but the best of luck. This season and in the coming years, and to everyone out there, thanks for listening and we will catch you on our next episode. Thanks.