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Full Article
Joe' Knows the Big Man's Game
by Jim Harris
As UALR's assistant basketball coach, Joe Kleine concentrates on bigs during individual work.
Joe Kleine says he understood when he joined UALR's basketball staff during the offseason that this season was a key one for Trojans head coach Steve Shields. The promise of two straight winning seasons when Shields took over for Porter Moser had evaporated with back-to-back losing records. Everyone, including Kleine, knew the Trojans needed to win in 2007-08.
He says he didn't feel like he was jumping into an immediate pressure cooker of a situation. "No, not from my standpoint," Kleine said. "I've kind of been in it my whole life, where there's always pressure, you always want to win. It doesn't do any good to worry about it or be concerned about it. It is what it is. You really have to focus on getting the most out of what you've got, learning from your mistakes in the past, evaluating things and just moving forward."
(Video: Click here to watch Kleine talk about coaching.)
Shields made other changes with his staff, including promoting Wes Flanigan to assistant head coach and recruiting coordinator. Leading up to the Dec. 18 game at home with Pepperdine, UALR was off to an 8-1 start, its best record out of the gate in more than a decade.
Kleine, a 6-foot-11 center from Slater, Mo., transferred to Arkansas in 1981 after one season under Digger Phelps at Notre Dame. He helped lead Eddie Sutton's Hogs to the Sweet Sixteen in 1983, into the top 10 in 1984 and to a win over Iowa and narrow loss to eventual Final Four team St. John's in 1985, dominating the Southwest Conference his senior year.
His professional career including lengthy stays in Phoenix and Boston and a one-year stopover in Chicago in 1998 that culminated in an NBA Championship.
When his career wrapped up in 2000, the coaching bug was always there, Kleine said, and so were opportunities that he eventually passed up.
"I could have stayed in the NBA but I was kind of leery of that at the time," Kleine said. "You're moving all the time if you're a coach or assistant coach. You're going to be fired."
Playing for a different team the last few years of his career and into his 30s, stability for his family and himself seemed a better choice.
"I wanted to coach, but it wasn't the right situation."
http://www.arkansasbusiness.com/sports_ ... 922&spID=5
]Five Minutes With Joe Kleine
by Jim Harris
Where's your NBA championship ring?
"I don't wear it. I love having it, I love showing it to kids. I like to look at it every now and then, but it's a little bit gaudy. It's a little bit too much for me. I appreciate having it."
Compare working with pro players to working with college players.
"It's different in college. They're not 'polished,' is the word. They need a lot of development. There are different stages. Some kids pick it up quick, some don't. You just have to continue to work and be patient, whereas in the NBA when you get there you've got some pretty good skill. Even the role players have a tremendous amount of skill so you can show them some things but maybe teaching is not as prevalent. You don't have to start from scratch teaching. There is usually a pretty good base there."
How's your first year in the college recruiting game?
"It's difficult. You're a salesman, you're trying to sell your product to kids and your product is basketball. You've got to get out there, beat the pavement, call people. It gets hard. Sometimes they don't want to buy what you're selling."
What was your best time in the NBA?
"I enjoyed my years with Boston. We had some really good teams but could never stay healthy. It was toward the end of Bird, McHale and Parrish years. We'd be rolling along and one of those guys would get hurt and it would really hurt our chances. My years with Phoenix we went to the second round of the playoffs and lost both times to Houston the two years they won the title. Those were good times.
"It was fun in Chicago, but I was in and gone so quick. I got there in September and the season was over in June. There were great guys and stuff, but they were very established and playing time was hard to get. It was good. Don't get me wrong."
Why get into coaching now, at 45?
"I don't know. I knew I wanted to coach. I needed to see if I could do it, see if I was any good at it. Any assistant coach who is coaching aspires to be a head coach. I don't care what anyone says, I think all assistant coaches aspire to be head coaches. I'd be lying if I didn't think about it. Don't know if that's my plan, I don't know if I have a plan. I wanted to see if I could do it and I'm very grateful for this opportunity."
