Men's Basketball | February 08, 2016

Twenty-six years into his Austin Peay tenure, Dave Loos has his system down to a science.

I'm not talking about his offensive schemes or defensive philosophy—I mean how he wants his gameday to go. Loos is a head coach, a creature of habit, and he has a certain way he wants to spend the lead-up to a game. A couple of weeks ago, before the Governors hosted Texas A&M Corpus Christi, I got a chance to follow Loos and the Govs' assistants as they prepared to avenge a 61-48 loss to the Islanders in Texas, Dec. 2.

9 a.m. – Staff meeting. Loos is joined in his office by assistants Jay Bowen, Kevin Hogan and Julian Terrell. A few house-keeping items open the discussion—Bowen wants to make sure the coaches are distributing their ticket allotment to get people to the games, while Hogan wants to firm up plans for summer camps to ensure that they will have dorms and gym times reserved.

Terrell, meanwhile, is hard at work on the next two scouts, for Westminster and Eastern Kentucky. He's finished Westminster and has some preliminary thoughts on the Colonels (transition defense will be paramount, as EKU jumps lanes and pushes 1-through-5), but all told the first part of the meeting takes about 10 minutes.

9:10 a.m. – The second part takes a little more time. The quartet starts talking recruiting, with Hogan up first. He mentions heading to Huntsville, Tuesday, for a tournament featuring a dozen teams—the holiday tournaments are crucial one-stop viewing for coaches.

The coaches get into a discussion about two potential players with similar resumes'. One is younger, more versatile and has some size, but the other compares favorably to currently successful players and projects to a better future. Hogan leads the discussion, but Loos gets the final word.

Loos always gets the final word. The guys don't watch film together; these group discussions, with each giving input from what they've gleaned. The visits and in-person viewing impressions are crucial to evaluations and what each coach brings back to the group.

9:35 a.m. – The coaches start talking game prep against Texas A&M Corpus Christi. Loos mentions it would be smart to play some zone for two-to-three minute stretches. He also mentions double-teaming Rashawn Thomas, the Islanders all-conference forward. Bowen is a strong advocate for 'choking or digging', or having the guards collapse on Thomas, to make him kick the ball out.

"I don't know how we could've played worse," Loos says of the previous match-up.

When Loos says they did a good job confusing us defensively in the first meeting Bowen, who did the scout, points out that Austin Peay was able to get into the paint but never finished in the Dec. 2 match-up.

Now it's time for breakfast. It already feels like these guys have put in a full day.

10 a.m. – Team breakfast at Shoney's. Like most college kids, the players – other than Tre' Ivory – look bummed out to be awake at this unholy hour.

There will be three meals provided today: 10 a.m. breakfast, a pregame meal at three and then pizza or chicken to go after the game. Over toast, sausage and breakfast potatoes, I ask Loos how he chose to assemble this particular staff.

"I found these guys just kind of wandering around holding 'Will coach for food' signs," he said.

The players eat and leave as fast as humanly possible – I assume to go back to sleep.

11 a.m. – Back at the office, Bowen shows me Synergy.

Synergy is amazing. Coaches are required to upload game video to the service by 10 a.m. the morning after a game, per conference instructions. From there, plays are coded (not an exact science) coaches can pull clips and organize their scouting tape, eliminating tape exchange and thus much of the time-consuming process of finding different clips for the scout film. Synergy also has advanced stat breakdowns from every team, player and game, from every conceivable scenario and spot on the floor.

I also get a crash-course in ARMS, Austin Peay's scouting board. It's easier to monitor contact a coach makes with a recruit, eliminating spreadsheets and making the coaching staff and compliance coordinator Tara Pfeifler's life significantly less hectic. Bowen shows me Austin Peay's recruiting board breakdown and the smartphone app, which you can use to contact a recruit via text or call through the app, which records it digitally within ARMS. If a coach tries to contact a recruit during a period when contact isn't allowed, the app will pop up a warning saying that making that contact is a violation.

11:45 a.m. – Impromptu meeting in Loos' office. He wants to go over the sideline plays, make sure everyone is on the same page. That breaks up quickly, and I remain with the head man.

The previous meeting with Texas A&M Corpus Christi is on the TV in Loos' office. I ask him how many times he watches each opponent, with the answer being about a half-dozen, depending on the game. That dovetails into a discussion about how much film he watches in a given week. He reaches into his briefcase and pulls out a stack of DVD's, probably eight inches thick—Austin Peay film, opponent film, recruit film. Good viewing material on long bus rides, he says.

I ask about recruiting. He says it typically takes six or seven contacts to get to know a player. It's harder these days; it used to be that the player, his parents and his high school coach were the only people really in the recruiting discussion. Now it's expanded to include AAU coaches, personal trainers and other extended family. But his extended experience offers him advantages; he's "seen a lot of these guys before, even if they had a different name", he says.

I ask how it was all different when he was the Athletics Director. He would get up early to do paperwork, and spend his mornings serving as the AD. "Once I got to the office, it seemed like the day was full of distractions," he said. But even though he shed one of his hats a couple of years ago, the early mornings remain; now, it's all basketball.

I bring up the staff again, and this time he expounds on it. Hogan is in his second season, Terrell his first and Bowen in the first season of his second tour of duty in Clarksville. Loos likes Hogan and Terrell's tech-savvy and modernity in an increasingly tech-driven world. Bowen, as a coach of Loos' generation, shares many of his same experiences and views.

Loos rises to exit, heading up to the Sports Information office to meet Brad Kirtley. He mentions that he hopes practice is better today—focus has been poor the previous two days. "Bad timing," he mentions as he exits the office.

1:30 p.m. – As the youngest coach on staff, Terrell is saddled with the office/waiting room in the men's basketball suite. I hope he's comfortable with people infringing on his area as I plop down on the couch and begin peppering him with questions.

Terrell has been working on the scout for Eastern Kentucky today; he already finished the one for Westminster, the game two days hence. Using Synergy, he pulls individual opponent scoring clips, then 50 clips of man offense, transition, zone offense, press offense and out of bounds plays, then 50 of the same on the defensive side. He watches for personnel tendencies, taking notes first on defense, then offense. Opposite Bowen, who told me he watches the game first and then pulls clips, Terrell does all his clipping before watching the game—part of the miracle of Synergy.

I ask if they corroborate with each other—if Terrell has the scout, does he ask Bowen and Hogan for input or opinions? Terrell says no, that they trust each other's opinions to know what they need to know and bring it to the team. I then ask when he started scouting Eastern Kentucky, the Jan. 3 game.

"Around Dec. 20," he said.

2 p.m. – Team video time. All those hours of pouring over film for the coaches, all that time put into the scout… here, it's condensed into about eight minutes. In the front of the locker room, head manager Hayden McClain runs the video, Bowen leads the discussion and Loos offers input where warranted. The regular starters read the scouting synopsis provided by the coaching staff on the man they'll be guarding.

Thomas' name is brought up again; Chris Horton is exhorted to match his intensity. Offensively, ball protection is paramount; with Horton playing as well as he has at any point in his career, Loos tells the team to expect Horton to be double-teamed and if so, the weakside post—usually Kenny Jones—should flash to the high post.

2:10 p.m. – Time for shootaround. The players stretch, then the first unit moves to Terrell's end of the floor, while the reserves go to the other with Hogan and Bowen. Loos observes both ends, as the players run the offense in mirror image.

2:20 p.m. – The players switch up, guards on one end, posts on the other. The bigs work on 15-18 footers, expanding their range, while the guards take some hits in the paint.

2:25 p.m. – Screens, rolls, slips and lobs as the guards and posts re-join forces. They start out with two-man drills, working up to five-on-five before moving into press offense. If this seems like it's just being glossed over, five minutes at a time on the day of a game, consider that these guys have been running these drills since August. They should have it down pretty well by now.

2:45 p.m. – Shooting contests. The hooting and hollering of some of the earlier drills have been replaced by solitude—the ball bouncing, players shuffling around the lane during the free-throw drills.

Whistle blows. Practice ends. Players to the center of the Dunn Center court, huddled up around Loos.

"Nobody better show up tonight with anything less than their best effort," he growls.

3 p.m. – Team meal at O'Charley's. Loos is on a low-carb thing, ordering a cheeseburger sans bun. The players tell trainer Joni Johnson what they want beforehand, so theirs is brought out to them upon arrival. Similar to breakfast, they're in and out quickly.

Loos will head back home for a little while after the meal to get ready. I ask him when he starts thinking of a pregame speech, and he says he begins forming thoughts a few days ahead of time, then starts to whittle it down, beginning during the meal and continuing over the next couple of hours.

3:45 p.m.—(I do boring pregame stuff while the coaching staff is off getting ready.)

5:15 p.m. – Upon his return to the Dunn Center, I visit with Hogan.

As the guy without a scout in the immediate future, he's used his day to get prepared for his upcoming trip to Huntsville. He indicates that there's one guy he's very interested in and a handful more he wants to see.

I ask what factors go into deciding what makes a player 'recruitable' for Austin Peay. Talent, Hogan says, but not in the way I think—simply put, would this guy be too good of a player to not be on the radar of high-major schools? And also, do they fit our style? The more you see players, Hogan says, the better you can get to know them.

As we talk, Hogan scribbles on a mountain of papers in manila folders.

"People would be surprised at the amount of paperwork we do," he says.

5:30 p.m. – Loos is back. I rejoin him in his office as he fires up the previous Texas A&M Corpus Christi matchup again. We watch in silence. His demeanor has changed—the game face is on.

Now's a good time to mention that this is a really awkward, disjointed way to watch a game—no sound, no breaks, just hoops. Kind of nice and refreshing, in a way, but certainly not what anybody who watches ESPN for their basketball needs would be used to. Loos pauses every so often to scribble out a note to himself. On screen, Jared Savage throws a terrible lob pass—Loos groans and shakes his head.

6 p.m. – I follow the coaching staff out to the court. Loos takes a seat, watching the Islanders go through their warmups while the rest of the staff observes and instructs the Govs.

6:20 p.m. – The coaches meet in the hall before going into the locker room for the pregame pep talk.

Bowen mentions that a win will help Austin Peay, citing Texas A&M Corpus Christi's ranking of 41 in the RPI. He makes points—be the toughest team, allow one shot, protect the ball—then turns the floor over to Loos.

Look for the press, he says. Don't be surprised if they double us in the post. We owe them one after losing in Texas and this game would give us a chance at being over .500 going into conference play.

"They're a veteran team, they've got a bunch of seniors but this is our house," he says. "They take nothing from our house."

6:30 p.m. – More warm-ups, more observing from Loos.

6:51 p.m. – Back to the hallway again as the players file into the locker room. We should make this area nicer from now on, as much time as they spend here.

Loos offers a final word ("Slip") and the players recite the Lord's Prayer.

6:57 p.m. – Back to the court, where the coaching staff's exchange pleasantries.

7:00 p.m. – The horn sounds.

7:05 p.m. – "…and the head coach, in his 26^th season, Mr. Dave Loos!" cries PA announcer Steve Williard.

"LOOOOOOOOOS!" comes the shout from the crowd.

7:06 p.m. – The ball goes up.

But things don't go as planned for the Govs. I notice the first 'Loos scowl' with 13:30 to go in the half and count three more before halftime. The guards aren't digging down fast enough and Thomas is getting too much space. Horton gets into foul trouble and Thomas can't be handled one-on-one.

However, the Governors prove to be better at free-throw shooting this time around (9-of-10 in the first half) and enter the locker room down 38-33.

At halftime, I ask McClain if he could record some of Loos' remarks for me, as I have to do some of my actual job.

"Oh, I don't go in there at halftime."

Midway through the second half, Khalil Davis comes up with the steal and takes it all the way for the dunk to get the Govs within three. Loos is animated on the sidelines. The Govs keep getting close, but they can't get the stops.

With 3:31 remaining, Thomas misses the second of two free throws but Bryce Douvier pulls down the offensive board and kicks out to Jelani Currie for a three to make it 68-62. The Govs wouldn't get within two possessions again.

Final: Texas A&M Corpus Christi 74, Austin Peay 70

8:55 p.m. – Postgame. First up, it's the rendition of the Alma Mater, then back to the locker room for a quick postgame chat.

Out to radio for his postgame interview, Loos tells Scott Chase and David Loos Jr. that the Govs didn't have energy, weren't the toughest team defensively and didn't play at their speed.

"We've gotta protect the ball," Loos says. "We can't throw lazy passes when they're getting into the lanes."

Loos fulfills his obligations with the print media and sports information, then it's back down to the office. When I break away from postgame duties, the office door is closed. It's 10 p.m. and the coaches are having their own postgame meeting, a meeting that I'm later told will last until around 11:30. And with it, my day with the Govs is complete.