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StumbleuponMiami basketball Q&A with Charlie Coles
Family, friends, fans inspired Coles' return this season
Saturday, October 18, 2008
OXFORD — Sports reporter Pete Conrad pulled Miami University men's basketball coach Charlie Coles aside for a question-and-answer session minutes before the start of the team's first official practice Friday night, Oct. 17, at Millett Hall.
It was a difficult offseason for Coles, who is beginning his 13th year as the RedHawks' head coach. He missed the end to the 2007-08 season with several health problems — heart, ulcer, gall bladder — which forced him into multiple hospital stays, and has spent the last six months trying to regain his health.
Q As you start another season of Miami basketball, how is your health?
A I feel real good.
Q When did you feel you reached the point where you could be a head coach again in every way?
A It took awhile. Wow. It took until maybe the third week in July. I was bluffing up until then. Now you see me, now you don't. I started to feel a whole lot better as time went by.
Q Was there a point when you seriously doubted you would get to this point?
A That would have to be March 1 until maybe June 15. I didn't know. I knew what I wanted to do, but my body, it wasn't telling me not to coach. I was just in a lot of pain, you know, with all the things I had to go through. I needed a lot of pep talks from a lot of people who came through and gave me those pep talks.
Q Who were the people who gave you those pep talks?
A My wife, who has been through much more than I have health-wise. My daughter, my son, guys that I grew up with. All across the board. Believe it or not, Mid-American Conference fans e-mailed me, encouraging me. That's the beauty, I think, of people. They usually unite for one cause even if they have been your opponent in the past, and so I appreciate all that.
Q Do you feel you're ready for the start of the season, when the team will be playing away from home for about the first month, with some long road trips? Will your body be able to stand that?
A Oh yeah. I've got a saying I always tell people. I got it from a guy when I was growing up, and it goes like this: You see me and a bear fighting, help the bear, don't help me. In fact, pour honey on me. I'm ready. I'm ready to go! You know, tough schedule, whatever, I'm ready to go.
Q How do you see this team being different, if at all, from last year's team?
A Well, we don't have Tim Pollitz. You know, Tim Pollitz to me was a Devin Davis, he was a (Wally) Szczerbiak, he was a (Damon) Frierson. He was a guy that we depended on for three whole years. We loved him and we loved him back. We loved him by running a lot of plays for him, and he loved us back by being successful on those plays. I mean, I imagine he touched the ball 70 percent of the time from his sophomore year on. He would be the scorer, or he would get the assist. We milked that. We'd run every play possible for him. So this year, the post is going to be a little bit more open now. So I suppose we'll drive the ball a lot more, we'll try to get (senior forward Michael) Bramos more jump shots on the end of a fast break.
Q How do you feel about the start of the preseason finally arriving?
A I'm very excited. This is Christmas. I'm very prayerful, though. I'm not taking anything for granted. I'm praying to the dear Lord that this season does go well, and I'm just asking that if he can give me the health, then that's all I need.
