USD’s new architect
A great university, a fabulous city and wonderful people who care about student athletes. As the first-year head men’s basketball coach at the University of San Diego, Bill Grier has plenty to sell to prospective recruits. But his biggest hook?
“The Gonzaga blueprint,” admitted Grier, a longtime GU assistant, who is back in town for the first time in more than three months to take part in this weekend’s Coaches vs. Cancer Golf Classic and BasketBALL Gala, hosted by Bulldogs coach Mark Few and his wife, Marcy. “Having never been a head coach before, you’re always trying to find something you can sell a kid beyond just the school, its city and its people. And, certainly, I’ve been selling the Gonzaga blueprint. It’s what I know best.”
Which isn’t surprising, considering that Grier, 43, spent 16 seasons on the Zags’ bench before landing his first head coaching gig at USD last March.
During his stay at GU, Grier played a major role in the Bulldogs’ meteoric rise to national prominence, involving himself in everything from recruiting to scouting to game-plan development. He’s not ashamed to tap into the experience he gained as a Zag in an effort to build his program at San Diego.
Grier, who hired former GU player Kyle Bankhead as one of his assistants at USD, was in attendance at Thursday night’s Toyota All-American’s Charity Classic basketball game at Gonzaga’s McCarthey Athletic Center and went into the locker room at halftime to renew acquaintances with some other former Bulldogs.
“And you know, it didn’t seem strange at all,” Grier said of his return GU’s home arena. “Getting to talk to the old Zags was awesome, but while I was sitting there watching the game I thought, ‘You know, on Jan. 19th, this isn’t going to be a whole lot of fun.’ “
That’s when Grier brings his Toreros to town and enters the McCarthey Athletic Center, for the first time, as an invader.
“I guess I’m going to get to see what the rest of the league has gone through for so many years,” Grier said. “When you sit on that home bench, here, you’re pretty confident every time you take the floor that even when things are going bad, something miraculous is going to happen. … On that other bench, though, I’ve got a feeling it’s going to be a lot different.”
Grier, who played a practice round at the Spokane Country Club on Friday in preparation for today’s Coaches vs. Cancer Golf Classic at Indian Canyon Golf Course, said he has been greeted amicably by GU boosters since returning for the first time since he and wife Nicole closed on their Spokane home in May.
“Probably because I was here for so long,” Grier said. “But, then, we haven’t come up here and played a game yet, so … I mean, heck, people seem to like me a lot down (in San Diego), too, because we haven’t played a game there, either – and lost one.”
Grier admits he has run into several severe challenges, not the least of which was finding affordable housing, since replacing Brad Holland as the Toreros’ head coach.
With USD having to share the local sports spotlight with San Diego’s pro franchises, San Diego State and the University of California San Diego, Grier is learning what it’s like to not be the only show in town.
“That’s maybe the biggest difference down there,” he said of the fierce competition for fans and their entertainment dollars. “You have two (NCAA) Division I programs, plus a very good Division II school, all in such close proximity to each other. And certainly, San Diego State is a much bigger school and has a much bigger alumni population there in the city than USD does.
“Here, you have a community that really supports this (Gonzaga) program and loves the Zags, and rightfully so. But down there, that’s a major challenge – trying to create an environment where we can build a loyal following that will support us on a regular basis.”
Grier, for the most part, likes the team he inherited from Holland, but admits the coaching transition was not seamless.
“For the most part they did,” he said, when asked if his USD players bought into the Gonzaga blueprint he was selling. “But I think any time there’s a change like that, there are going to be people who aren’t going to necessarily agree with it.
“And, certainly, there were some people who were very big Coach Holland fans, and rightfully so. He did a great job there and he’s a terrific person. So, it’s just a matter of those people giving me a chance.”
If they do, Grier hopes the Toreros can challenge for an upper-division finish in the West Coast Conference race this winter, admitting it will be nearly impossible to overtake his old school. Although he remains a bit apprehensive about the next time he will returns to Spokane, he seems to be making the most of this stopover.
“This will always be a special place for me, no matter where I’m at or what I’m doing,” he said. “These (coaches) here are my closest friends. Mark was the best man at my wedding, Leon (Rice) and I go way back, Tommy (Lloyd) and I are still very close and Ray (Giacoletti) is the godfather of my daughter.
“We’re all still very close. It’s just weird that now, at least twice a year, we’re going to be playing against each other.”
It will probably seem weird to Few, as well, but GU’s eighth-year head coach, doesn’t expect his relationship with Grier to change all that much.
“At least I hope it doesn’t,” he said. “Sure, we probably can’t talk about the same thing we used to talk about – whether it’s recruiting, or whatever. But he and Nicole and Giselle are always going to be part of the family here.
“We won’t ever let basketball get in the way of that.”