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Two members of Marshall University's women's basketball coaching staff were recently tabbed among the nation's elite.
Head coach Royce Chadwick and assistant John McGraw were selected in the top 10 of the National Basketball Insider coach rankings according to the NBI Web site.
Chadwick will enter his ninth season as MU's head coach in 2009. Over the course of his quarter-century coaching career, Chadwick has accumulated more than 500 victories. He has 122 wins since he came to Marshall in 2001 and has led the Thundering Herd to six consecutive non-losing seasons.
National Women's Basketball Insider ranked Chadwick as the nation's seventh best mid-major college head coach.
"It's nice to have people saying good things about you out there in the basketball world," Chadwick said. "I think there are a ton of great coaches out there they could have chosen. It's a situation where it's nice for Marshall, as well. We're on people's minds out there in the middle of summer for women's basketball."
The list was topped by Rick Insell of Middle Tennessee State, Aaron Johnston from South Dakota State, and Jeff Mitty from TCU.
What makes Chadwick special is his attention to detail, his assistant notes.
"Coach Chadwick is one of the most fundamentally-sound developers of individual talent I've ever been around," McGraw said. "He works on the kind of things you take for granted at the Division I level. Kids can pass and kids can dribble. But when you break it down to the very subtle nuances, I think you find that kids aren't passing where they're snapping their wrists and getting their thumbs down. We break it down here so far and get to teaching of the minor fundamentals."
Chadwick has a career winning percentage of .685. He led four programs before coming to Marshall in 2001.
McGraw, who is entering his third year as an assistant coach at Marshall was picked by NBI as the nation's fourth-best collegiate assistant coach at any level.
Ahead of McGraw on the list were assistant coaches from Florida State, Baylor and Kentucky.
"I certainly think it's a tremendous honor to be ranked with college coaches who have been doing this a heck of a lot longer than me," McGraw said. "I feel very fortunate to make the list."
McGraw, who spent four years as a manager at Massachusettes under current Kentucky coach John Calipari, has been coaching basketball since 2001. He took an unusual route to the college coaching ranks, as someone who did not play college basketball and came to MU after work with AAU teams and small college coaching jobs.
"There aren't many people like me who have made it," McGraw said. "There are a lot of guys and girls who are aspiring college coaches and it's really hard to make it if you're not a former player. Though some have made it because they coach at a prestigious high school for 20 years and win 400-500 games and are considered x's and o's gurus."
Chadwick is pleased that one of his assistants is getting recognition for his work with the program.
"It's neat that people out there are recognizing what he's doing and what he can bring to the table as an assistant in a women's basketball program," Chadwick said. "There are a whole bunch of great assistants out there and we're just glad people can recognize some of the things that are going on in our program."
The program has seen a major turnaround under Chadwick. After averaging 7.5 wins in four years before his arrival, the Thundering Herd has averaged more than 15 wins per season since Chadwick came to Huntington in 2001.
Last season, the team finished 17-15 and advanced to the Conference USA Semifinals in New Orleans before Falling to Southern Mississippi.
The team hopes that its strong finish will carry over through the summer workouts and into next season.
"I think we are using it as motivation," McGraw said. "We have 11 of our 15 players back and four of five starters. Two of them (Alyssa Hammond and Chantelle Handy) will be four-year starters. Tynikki Crook will be a third-year starter coming off a third-team All-Conference (selection). Our whole front line is back and they're probably the best front line in the league."
The team has been working this summer, to improve on last season's successes.
"We have a 12-month program," Chadwick said. "It gives us an opportunity to have our players here through the summer so they can lift and do conditioning and things. They can get on the Henderson Center floor and play some pick-up basketball and work on staying in shape and becoming a better basketball player. They also get to work with our strength and conditioning people who do a great job with our girls."
The hope is that all of the work in the summer will pay dividends in the winter. With a wealth of experienced players returning, McGraw believes that a trip to the big dance is within reason.
"I hope we get over that hump and get to the conference championship and get to go to the NCAA Tournament," McGraw said. "That is, without question, every one of (the coaches') goal here. I think our players' main goal, as well, is to get to that NCAA Tournament and get a banner in this place."
Marshall's last NCAA Tournament appearance came in 1997.
Chris Dunham can be contacted at dunham13@marshall.edu.
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