Mid-Major Madness sits down with Arkansas State University assistant coach Elwyn McRoy this week to get inside the mind of one of the best recruiters in Mid-Major college basketball.
MMM: Recruiting has been one of your specialties. What advice would you give to a young high school basketball player looking to play college basketball?
Elwyn: My advice to a HS athlete would be to do the little things that others aren't willing to do. Such as diving on the floor, being a good teammate, handing the ball to the refs, playing through bad calls with no facial expressions or negative body language, always giving eye contact to his coach when being spoken to and be coachable. In short be uncommon, do things that set your self apart from everyone else.
MMM: What are your expectations for the team this season?
Elwyn: My expectations for this team is to compete and execute at a higher level, be closer as a team on and off the floor and improve our win total by how many ever games we can. We started off great last year, but then hit a wall and couldn't finish. We need to fight through the adversity better and make sure we don't tail off at the end of the season again.
MMM: What is the most important thing for a player to remember on and off the court?
Elwyn: I think the most important thing for a player to remember on and off the court is to be accountable. Basketball is a team sport, and more often then not a player can forget just how many people are depending on him. The ones that learn how to be a true team player are the ones that end up making the biggest impact.
MMM: How do you think having played college basketball has improved your coaching ability?
Elwyn: I believe it has improved my ability to relate to the players on and off the court. More times then not I have felt the same as they do in a lot of situations, so it helps me explain why they need to do it this way or why they don't need to do something. Also I think it has helped by not having unrealistic expectations of what could and should be accomplished, because the same things were asked of me as a player
MMM: If you weren't coaching basketball, what would you be doing?
Elwyn: I would probably be teaching at a high school or college. I enjoy being around different people on a daily basis. Or I would be a social worker because I enjoy the task daily of dealing with different issues that arise and helping people see things from a different point of view that may benefit them.