Friendly ties on men’s basketball coaching staff
By JP Sinclair | Business Manager
The University of Indianapolis men’s basketball team went through another transition during the off-season, as former assistant coach Shane Brown took a new job in Tennessee and former graduate assistant Chase Smith decided on a different career path.
To fill the gap, head coach Gouard sought out an old friend from his early coaching days at Southern Indiana University, Aundrey Wright.
Wright and Gouard have known each other for 10 years. They met when they both were assistant coaches in the NCAA Division I Final Four in Atlanta, Ga. At the time, Gouard was on his way to making the move to UIndy to become an assistant coach under then head coach Royce Waltman.
Despite their fellowship off the court, the decision to appoint Wright wasn’t based on the friendship.
“He [Wright] brings a great wealth of knowledge to the table,” Gouard said. “He was not the only person considered for the job. We interviewed three other coaches for it as well.”
Senior Associate Athletic Director for Compliance Lynn Griffin also was present during the interviews.
“[Lynn] really helped me out with the process, and I am sure we made the right choice,” Gouard said. “She was excited about Aundrey [Wright] like I was.”
According to Gouard, the changes will immensely improve the staff. Already the two new coaches are running individual practices for the players currently on the roster; and Wright is overseeing the day-to-day operations, recruiting, scouting and keeping up with the players.
UIndy plans to implement many of Wright’s ideas for the team, particularly on defense. During Wright’s tenure, Southern Illinois University-Carbondale kept opponents to less than 60 points per game over the last three seasons.
“Starting out, you have to implement something new to everybody,” Wright said. “So far, the guys are buying into it; and by the time the season comes, they will have an understanding of what we want to do defensively.”
Wright also said that he believes that he will have more opportunities here at UIndy, despite leaving his alumni and coaching job at Southern Illinois. Overall, this is Wright’s 16th year as a coach.
After Wright joined the UIndy coaching ranks, he recommended SIU-Carbondale graduate manager Collin Lanam to fill the other vacancy. Lanam hails from Crawfordsville, Ind., where he graduated from high school and coached for a couple of years.
