30 DAYS TO A CHAMPIONSHIP: AN INTRODUCTION INTO THE BEGINNING OF A JOURNEY

AUGUST 12, 2011

I have known Jim Boone since the 8th grade.  We were junior high school teammates playing under Allen Osborne.  At that very young age he had a tremendous impact on both of us that has extended into all the programs we have touched.  We both knew very early on that we wanted to be coaches.  It was Jim who convinced me to take a leap of faith and join him on the staff at West Virginia State College for my first college job.  Soon thereafter, Jim left for a rebuilding stint at Baptist College (now known as Charleston Southern) and though we never worked together again, we have maintained our friendship and helped each other throughout our coaching careers.

I mentioned earlier that Jim left to help “rebuild” Baptist College — rebuilding would become what Jim was best known for on the collegiate level.  It started with his first collegiate experience at West Virginia State and will continue at he new stop,  West Virginia Wesleyan.  In between, Jim has rebuilt four other programs.

Before heading to Tusculum, Jim was part of improving basketball programs at West Virginia State College, Baptist College, California (PA), Robert Morris, and Eastern Michigan.

West Virginia State: rebuilding process was capped off with an NAIA National Runner-Up and two players being drafted in the NBA.

Baptist College: rebuilding process was capped off with school’s first ever Big-South title two years removed from a 9-18 record.

California (PA): The year before Jim’s arrival, Cal posted a 7-19 mark only to become a Division II powerhouse that would win 4 conference championships, make 6 NCAA tournament trips, and move on to the Final Four twice.

Robert Morris: Prior to Jim taking the job, RMC had won nine games total over the previous two years. Jim proceeded to take RMC to 2nd place in the NEC.

Eastern Michigan: In what is perennially one of the nation’s worst jobs, Coach Boone averaged 14 wins a season over 3 years following a 3-25 record.

Tusculum College: Jim transformed TC into a perennial power in the SAC; leading the Pioneers to their first at-large berth to the NCAA’s, first ever 20 win season, most wins in SAC play over nearly a four year period, and their first ever national ranking.

The chart below shows the dramatic improvement that Jim has directed at each of his coaching stops.

One of the things we do when we get together is to talk basketball. Certainly we discuss offense, defense and transition. We speak of recruiting and motivation. But we also speak of intangibles and of methods of teaching. One of the things that Jim has developed over the years is an understanding of how to take a situation and improve on it. Many years ago when I asked him what was key he explained a philosophy he called “30 Days to a Championship.” He spoke of how important that first month on campus was in laying the foundation for the future of your program.

Certainly the first 30 days would not guarantee a championship in that first year but he believed, and his success proves it, that a great start begins moving the program forward at a more rapid rate. The key is just not to say the first 30 days are important but to have a game plan and attack the first 30 days with a sense of urgency.

When Jim took the job at West Virginia Wesleyan last week, the first thing I thought of was another opportunity for him to prove his time tested theories of the “30 Days to a Championship.” Then I thought it would make an excellent blogging opportunity to share some concepts of his that could help other coaches in similar situations.

Both Jim and I came from a long line of coaches we “share”, including Coach Osborne and Don Meyer who has also been a mentor to us both. Jim didn’t hesitate, and in fact couldn’t wait to get the blogging started.

So here’s the deal! Jim reports to West Virginia Wesleyan on Monday, August 15 where he will begin putting together his new program. Of course he has already begun from his home in Tusculum and we will discuss that later as well. But for 30 days — August 15 through September 15, he blog through Hoop Thoughts as to the process he will used to develop the Bobcats.

We will try to have two blogs a day. The first one with a brief outline of what Jim has planned for the day and one later that will discuss how the day went. Jim will also be twittering during the time. For those that are one twitter, you can follow him at:

www.twitter.com/Coach_Jim_Boone

He will use the hashtag #30DC to let you know the tweet is directly about something he is doing in regard to building his program. For those not on twitter, you need not fear. How will have a blog post with some of his key tweets of the day.

This is really a unique opportunity to see all the things that a coach does from day one of beginning a program. A special thanks to Jim for agreeing to it!

We hope you enjoy!!!