Kerry Rupp joined Wayne Tinkle’s Griz staff as an assistant last month. Here is a portion of an interview with Coach Rupp. The rest of the Q&A appears in the Sunday, June 17 edition of the Missoulian.
Q. Having been a head coach, is it tough to go back to being an assistant?
A. I don’t know that I’d think that. I’m a 24/7 guy who likes to dig in there and be involved in every aspect – I love recruiting, I love working with players individually – those are things that sometimes as a head coach you don’t have the opportunity to do because of the time commitment and other obligations. I have always enjoyed my time as an assistant. It’s different, but I think it’s something I’m going to really enjoy.
Q. When you were hired, Coach Tinkle raved about your recruiting ability and connections. What makes a good recruiter?
A. You have to foster relationships with a lot of different people. I have very, very good international recruiting ties. When I was a high school coach the Rocky Mountain Review was the summer pro league the NBA teams came into at my high school, East High School. A lot of the international coaches would come there because a lot of the players in the summer league weren’t going to make it in the (NBA) and I was responsible for taking care of a lot of those international coaches. When I got into college, I was able to reach back to those people and get a lot of connections and a lot of help.
