Holding Court: New Men’s Basketball Coach Chris Mack Talks About His Winning Ways

Featured on this episode:
Chris Mack, one of just 19 coaches in college basketball history to lead their team to a No. 1 ranking within the first two years at their school, has agreed to a five-year contract as the new men's basketball head coach at the College of Charleston entering the 2024-25 season.

Mack, whose teams have participated in the NCAA Tournament in nine of his 12 seasons as a head coach, returns to coaching collegiate basketball after a two-year hiatus. His 259 victories were the 12th most amassed by a coach in their first 11 seasons. The Cincinnati native becomes the 8th head coach in the program's Division I history. Mack and his wife, Christi, have three children: Lainee, Hailee and Brayden.

Coaching Career
2024               Head Coach, College of Charleston
2018-22          Head Coach, University of Louisville
2009-18         Head Coach, Xavier University
2004-09        Assistant Coach, Xavier University
2001-04         Assistant Coach, Wake Forest University
1999-2001     Assistant Coach, Xavier University

If you liked this episode, you might enjoy an earlier episode with former head basketball coach Pat Kelsey.

Resources from this episode:

• CofC Basketball
• Coach Mack's press conference

Transcript

[00:00:00] On this episode of Speaking of College of Charleston, guest host Danny Johnson, CFC alum and NCAA men's basketball color analyst talks to the college's new head basketball coach, Chris Mack. [00:00:20] We hear about Coach Max's successful career, his return to coaching after a two year hiatus, and what it takes to build a winning team.

[00:00:30] Coach talks a little bit about growing up, playing basketball, and what he still loves about the game. We also hear about his family, and what he does when he's not on the [00:00:40] court. This is Danny Johnson. I'm hosting this episode of speaking of at the College of Charleston. I'm here with coach Chris Mack. I'm really excited as a former player alum.

[00:00:54] Uh, got my master's here. So I'm all the way ingrained in the school. That's right. That's right. So I love it. [00:01:00] And just have an opportunity to get to speak to you today. Uh, excited about it. Um, Coach Mack, you're returning to coaching college basketball after a two year hiatus. Uh, how does that feel like coming off a break like that, getting right back into the business?

[00:01:15] That feels great. You know, I'm obviously really excited. Um, it's a [00:01:20] tremendous opportunity, a historic program. And I think anytime that you've been involved in anything, you know, for as long as I have, and then, and then, You're without it for a couple of years. Like it gives you a different type of perspective, gives you a different type of hunger.

[00:01:35] Um, I think a lot of my colleagues, and I know we'll talk about this in a little bit, Danny, you know, I think. [00:01:40] You know, they, they can sort of get, uh, as time goes on just to, um, just a little bit bitter about the whole NIL and portal and the fact that I was able to be removed for a couple of years, um, uh, was a really good thing for me.

[00:01:54] So no one getting back into it, um, sort of what I, what to expect. Uh, it's been a great thing. [00:02:00] Yeah, that's awesome. You know, as a player, I had to. I couldn't get back into it. So, you know, you have that little period, like you said, of reflection. So I completely understand that, how that would be. It's a great segue.

[00:02:10] Speaking of NIL, you know, it's affected a lot of things, you know, I, I know right now it's sort of new. It's not gonna look like what it's gonna be in the end, right? [00:02:20] So we're all figuring that out. How are you gonna maintain that synergy between, you know, NIL administration, the players and all that? How do you keep that all together?

[00:02:30] Well, I, I think you gotta stand for something. You know, I think it's probably very difficult, in my opinion, to be a fan in college athletics. [00:02:40] You know, teams are changing identities and changing personnel so rapidly. I mean, you go from having a certain team one year and then the next you replace them with nine or 10 new players and you know, that's not like at one program that's having trouble.

[00:02:53] That's, that's happening all over the country. And so, um, you know, I think that as a coach, if you [00:03:00] stand for something, I think it's going to take a while for your fan base maybe, uh, than it used to take a while to sort of get to know the players. But I think the identity has to sort of remain the same from year to year.

[00:03:12] So the fans know what to expect and whether it's a senior in that uniform that's been at the College of Charleston for [00:03:20] four years or whether it's a grad transfer who's been there for a couple months, uh, they've got to be able to, to play the way that you want them to play. And, you know, for us, we want, we want a team that Charleston can be proud of.

[00:03:32] Yeah, sort of going off script here as a, as a next player, this hits me, how, what are you going to do to keep that sense of community? I [00:03:40] know that establishing culture is so big in the basketball world. It is. And I, and I think that, you know, summer is different than when you played, you know, summer now is, you know, hopefully you have your roster finalized by the time the beginning of June hits, which we did, you know, we filled, um, nine scholarships in about three and a half weeks.

[00:03:59] Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. [00:04:00] Which is crazy, but we're not, we're not, uh, unusual in that regard, but, you know, starting June 1st, when these guys come in, uh, for summer school, uh, it's not, Hey, let's get some shots and play open gym. Like we used to do as players. Uh, you are installing your system. And you [00:04:20] know, obviously you would really like to have seven, eight, nine returners, no matter how many returners we had in year one, they're going to be new to your system as well.

[00:04:29] So we really use that time to, you know, learn how we want to play on both ends of the floor. You got a long way to go. Um, you know, you can't necessarily manufacture [00:04:40] chemistry, but you can be very specific. You, you can. Try to point to things and do things that will bring your team together. Uh, so, so we've done a lot of things that might not be your typical practice.

[00:04:54] Uh, you know, we've gone paintballing, which at times can be some superficial type things. Uh, [00:05:00] and then we've had really deep talks with our players opening up about who they are as people in front of their peers. Um, and so it's, um, It's a huge thing that I think doesn't really get talked about from a fan's perspective or, but how can you bring a group of people together this quickly to be successful?

[00:05:19] They [00:05:20] got to know one another. They got to trust one another. And I just, unfortunately it takes a little bit of time, but I think it also, you have to be intentional about it. Yeah, because of that, has that changed the way you've recruited? Does you looking for a certain type of player because of this change, as opposed to how you did it before this new change with NIL?

[00:05:38] I don't know if we're necessarily [00:05:40] looking for a certain, um, you know, type of player in terms of like the change. Um, you know, I think that you have to be realistic in the sense that, you know, years ago when, when we continue to have success at Xavier, a lot of that success was built on watching freshmen contribute.

[00:05:57] become a heavier contributor as a [00:06:00] sophomore and then become pillars and leaders of your team as juniors and seniors. And I think that, um, while that isn't necessarily going to be a dinosaur with every program, it's going to be really, really hard to maintain it that way. And so I think you're foolish to say, Hey, we're, we're going to build this from the ground up and bring [00:06:20] a four and five, you know, player freshman class in and watch them grow.

[00:06:24] Um, there, there's too many. kids that aren't patient enough, families aren't patient enough to sort of watch that development happen. So, you know, for us, Danny, we want to put a team on the floor that can compete to win. In general, you're not going to do that [00:06:40] with freshmen. So it's going to be a mixture. We have two freshmen on our team this year, uh, and we've got a plethora of upperclassmen.

[00:06:46] And those are guys, those are going to be the guys, uh, that are the backbone of our team. During a press conference in April, you said you came to the college because it was the right quote. right fit. Can you talk [00:07:00] about making that decision and why CFC is that right fit for you? Yeah, I mean, I think there are several reasons.

[00:07:07] Number one, Matt Roberts, right? You know, I had two experiences as a head coach. You know, they were vastly different. You know, I was at Xavier with two athletic directors during my time. I was at, um, University of Louisville [00:07:20] with, uh, two and a half athletic directors during my time. And so, um, I think it starts and ends, uh, with Matt.

[00:07:28] You know, I felt like from the very first phone call, um, you know, he told me it was a targeted search and made me feel wanted, you know, he, um, got rave reviews from Pat [00:07:40] Kelsey, you know, everything that Matt stood for, um, he felt he stood for behind closed doors. There was an alignment there and I felt really comfortable with Matt from the beginning.

[00:07:49] Uh, I think the second thing is, you know, I want to go to a program that, that cares about basketball, a community that cares about basketball. Um, Xavier was that way. [00:08:00] Louisville was that way. Um, Xavier didn't have football. You know, Charleston doesn't as well. So, uh, not that we don't care about the other sports, um, but we're a high profile sport.

[00:08:13] Uh, we have a tradition here of winning, you know, coach Cress and what he did, the trajectory of the program, [00:08:20] uh, to me, that's why it was the right fit. You know, no one wants to take over a program that was three and 27, you know, has issues. And then I think the final piece was, you know, the culture that was left here, maybe not a lot of players.

[00:08:36] But the guys that were left, that includes our student [00:08:40] managers, that includes our administration that helps us run the program. They know what it's like and they've done it firsthand at a high level. And so, um, we may do it differently than the previous staff. Uh, but. We're doing it with championship expectations, and I knew [00:09:00] that was in place.

[00:09:00] And so I think when you combine that, Matt, the winning tradition, the trajectory of the program and the culture in place, that's why it was a fit. Yeah, I know you and coach Kelsey have a personal relationship and it's almost like a flip flop, right? You know, you were Louisville, had a lot of success there.

[00:09:16] He's there now and you kind of backfill behind him. Was that a [00:09:20] big part of it to that help with you coming as well? Just having that familiarity with him. I think the familiarity of, you know, obviously I followed Charleston, you know, from afar just because Pat was on my staff and I've known him since, uh, since he was in grade school, really, right?

[00:09:35] Yeah. But you know, I think beyond that, that was something that [00:09:40] maybe helped, but wasn't necessarily like the determining factor. Mm-Hmm. . Um, I just had to look at each and every opportunity for what it was. And again, I go back to those things that we just talked about before that really cemented my decision to, you know, to come to Charleston.

[00:09:55] The press conference you said your coaching and recruiting philosophy focuses on three indicators of a [00:10:00] good player, which are the following. Uh, how coachable are you in tough moments? Hungry to learn. and self improvement. Can you can you touch on those a little bit? Yeah, let me backtrack a little bit.

[00:10:12] You know, our philosophy is, is we want to be great at what at the simple, you know, be great at the simple. [00:10:20] You know, I think the best companies in the world, the best leaders in the world, um, you know, They know why they're really good, right? So for us, um, you know, we try to be through, we try to be as good as we can in three areas.

[00:10:33] And one of those areas is development. Uh, and I think when you talk about player development, it's not just on the [00:10:40] floor, right? I want our players to leave here, um, if they never touch a basketball again, that they're equipped to, to transition into the real world. as an adult. And so we push a lot of responsibility and accountability on our guys, not just on the court, but off the court.

[00:10:58] You know, I don't want everybody doing, [00:11:00] um, you know, I don't want our academic advisor listing every assignment and what they need to do. I want our players to understand you're in class. get the itinerary, figure out what you're supposed to do and deliver on that, just like any other student. And so the development piece is something that I think is, is really important to us.

[00:11:18] We want to be as good as we [00:11:20] can, uh, in that area, you know, and I've tried to surround myself with a coaching staff that, that understands that and tries to execute it. When you talk about on the court development, you know, I just have personally found that guys. Everybody can be coached when things are going well, right?

[00:11:35] Right. You know, everybody wants a pat on the back, right? Um, when [00:11:40] you can't figure out, um, defensively on the floor where you're supposed to be during a certain possession or certain action, um, and you're frustrated and you're getting replaced by a sub, you gotta be coachable in that moment. And I think that the best players open themselves to [00:12:00] growth.

[00:12:00] Right. So, um, being coachable is certainly one, uh, players that, and it all sort of It all sort of, um, goes in the same bucket, if you will, man, they're hungry to learn, you know, they don't have all the answers, they don't have palms up on everything that you, you know, tell them or [00:12:20] ask them to do in practice.

[00:12:21] And I think in order for that to happen, Dan, you have to have good relationships with your players and you have to be direct and honest, even if they don't like to hear it at the time. And so I think, you know, those players that accept that. They can accept coaching and coaching in tough moments that are hungry to learn.

[00:12:37] I think those are the guys that generally improve. [00:12:40] And again, we want our players to improve. Otherwise we're in trouble. Yeah. I'm so glad you brought that up. I remember going through that as a young man, you have to be willing to accept criticism. Right. To get better. And, uh, the great coaches all have that.

[00:12:52] They have that ability to touch a kid, even though, you know, 18, 19, you talk about some immature kids at this time, [00:13:00] helping them grow to be men. So I'm, I'm happy you touched on that. And I think just, just to further. You know, expand the point. I think a lot of times young players, especially they take coaching as criticism of their play or their ability level.

[00:13:15] And it's, you know, when you get more mature and you're able to say [00:13:20] like, you know, Coach isn't saying I can't do it. You know, he's saying, I'm not doing it right now. And how can we get him to that point? But, uh, again, that's, that's why, you know, for us, I think veterans, older players that have had college experiences that have been coached.

[00:13:37] I think those are the ones that are going to be the backbone of your [00:13:40] team and lead you to championships. Well, this next question is obviously very personal for me. You touched on it a little bit, but you're taking over the fifth most winning program in Division I basketball history, right? Three time CAA champs, NAIA national championships under John Kress, etc.

[00:13:56] Uh, could you talk about the program as a whole? You've talked about watching it from [00:14:00] afar. Mm hmm. And what have you seen as a whole about what the college is as far as the basketball goes? Just a lot of pride. You know, pride from ex players like yourself, um, you know, that, that care so much about the program, that talk about their experiences, whether it's getting yelled at by Coach Kress, um, you know, just Brooklyn, [00:14:20] Brooklyn, just, just, um, how much pride, not only from the players and former players perspective, but the community as a whole.

[00:14:28] You know, to be out on on Calhoun or King Street and, you know, getting some coffee in the morning and somebody stopped you and say, you know, coach, I can't wait for the season. I've been a season ticket holder since 19, [00:14:40] you name it. And, um, that hasn't happened just once. And that's happened over and over and over.

[00:14:47] And so the pride in this program is palpable. You know, when I had my press conference, you know, 400, 500 people, um, in the cistern yard, you know, to come here, the next coach who they didn't know from a bucket of paint. [00:15:00] So for me, I mean, that's, um, that's exciting. You know, I, I've been at two programs now that have had heavy, heavy expectations, but I don't think whether it's Xavier Louisville or Charleston, those expectations are ever more than I expect for myself, our staff and our program.

[00:15:19] Um, [00:15:20] and that's just a by product of it. You grew up in Ohio and graduated in 1992 from Xavier University with a degree in Communication Arts. You were a two time captain at Xavier and won an MCC regular season championship at 12 2 and reached the second round of the 1993 NCAA tournament. [00:15:40] Tell us a little bit about growing up in Ohio when you discovered basketball.

[00:15:44] Yeah, I mean, I think like a lot of kids, you know, I was introduced to basketball by my dad, you know, by my parents. And so I think I played in a rec league when I was in the third grade, had no idea what I was doing. I was one of the taller kids, um, every year. And like most kids, at least [00:16:00] growing up in my day and age.

[00:16:02] We played all the different sports, right? You know, my favorite sport was dependent on, you know, when the season was, what season we were in, right? You know, if it was summer, I love baseball. You know, if it was the fall, I love soccer. If it was winter, I love basketball. Uh, and I think that helped me, you know, I feel bad for kids nowadays that have to be pigeonholed [00:16:20] into their sport when they're in the fourth grade, you know, and, and I think there's, um, so many different lessons you can learn, but also different skills and different footwork and coordination that you can learn in different sports.

[00:16:32] But by the time I really got like, Hey, basketball is my love. I would say I was probably in eighth grade, ninth grade. I just [00:16:40] noticed my, myself spending way more time than my friends, you know, when we were done playing and at the park, I would be shooting at home, you know, where I don't, I don't think other kids were.

[00:16:49] And I remember in ninth grade, you know, one of the religion teachers that we had, um, You know, my, my buddy was bragging that, that I could dunk a [00:17:00] basketball in ninth grade and he didn't believe me. So our class was right before lunch, you know, this was a priest. He goes, he cannot dunk a ball in ninth grade.

[00:17:08] You know, obviously it happens all the time now, but in the eighties, it didn't. No, I remember the time and, um, You know, so we walked down the cafeteria, the whole religion class, like 30 of us. And I went up there and had my corduroys on and [00:17:20] dunked the ball. And, um, I just knew that I was just a little different in terms of, you know, uh, my ability level, my athleticism, you know, how much time I put in.

[00:17:29] And so that's, you know, Really all I thought about, you know, from the time I was in eighth, ninth grade on. And, um, you know, I just was lucky enough to have it, uh, [00:17:40] perpetuate itself into a, into a coaching career. You know, I found myself being a high school girls coach. Um, it was taking my girls team down to Xavier's Practices, my alma mater.

[00:17:50] And next thing you know, I'm hired by Skip Prosser as a director of ops. You know, sort of the rest took a life of its own. I'm forever grateful. [00:18:00] You know, I think a lot of basketball players had a great career and then they go into sort of a different, you know, type of career, whether it's business or teaching, you know, I got to stick around the sport I love.

[00:18:12] Yeah, it's difficult. I can speak for myself. It took a couple years to reinvent myself a little bit, right? And it's something everybody [00:18:20] goes through. You like you said, you happen to just keep walking that walking that line and keep going down that path. Um, you touched on something I like to get into the social education that comes from sports.

[00:18:30] Like learning how to deal with different types of people, different things, talking about different sports. Do you bring that with you even now as a college coach, the social education that your kids are getting? [00:18:40] I think so. I think that like, um, You know, because I've, besides maybe the last two years, I've always been around a team.

[00:18:48] You know, whether I was the official leader as the coach, whether I was a teammate, whether I was an assistant coach, there's just a camaraderie, um, that at least for me, I [00:19:00] never felt in the business world, you know, because there was a time where I was a high school coach. But that wasn't paying the small bills that I had, the rent and some other things.

[00:19:09] And so, you know, I was actually, you know, in sales for about four or five years and like, I always heard, you know, like, Oh, you can equate it to, to, you know, your [00:19:20] sport and basketball. And I never felt like the sales team and my manager, I could never make that correlation. I think there's other people that can, but I was like, maybe this is no, it doesn't exist.

[00:19:31] It's only one place to get that feeling, you know? So I think that like, You know, look at our team and we have seven [00:19:40] international players, you know, and, uh, I don't know if you could get a more diverse, eclectic group of guys that are competing for a common goal in any other industry, um, in the world, you know, other than, than athletics.

[00:19:53] And so, um, It's more, it's more natural to me because I've, I've been in those [00:20:00] situations and been in locker rooms, you know, uh, from the time I was in third grade playing different sports. Um, and it's always neat to see a group come together and, and really believe in one another. And years later, be able to look back and say, man, that was, That group was so much, you know, fun to be around [00:20:20] and the personalities and you know this Danny from your former teammates It's like you can see a guy ten years later and you're instantly back in the locker room when you talk Exactly, you know, even if you even if you don't even know what he's doing at the time, right, you know You can always point back to like that tough practice or that funny moment in the cafeteria or when he fell off the team [00:20:40] bus just whatever it is and That's what's special about you know athletics in my opinion Coach, you and your wife, Christy, have three children, Laney, Haley, and Braden.

[00:20:52] You moved here from Florida just a few months ago. Have you had a chance to explore the Holy City, and does it feel like home yet? It certainly feels [00:21:00] like home. Um, it, it, it, It was very transitional in the first two, three months, you know, my wife stayed back in Florida cause my son, you know, had to finish third grade, you know, so I get the job.

[00:21:14] I'm here, April 1st, she comes in the press conference to the press conference with me. She flies back the [00:21:20] next day and he's got school all the way through the end of May back in Florida. So, you know, during that time, our staff was housed temporarily at all different places, man. I've been at the Isle of Palms, West Ashley, you know, I've been in Mount Pleasant, you know, all in temporary spots.

[00:21:37] And a lot of times our staff was all together, which was [00:21:40] honestly great. It was great to get to know those guys and work side by side in a 24 hour capacity. Uh, but you know, when Christy finally moved here with Braden, it felt a lot more like home. I can't say that I've explored everywhere. I've certainly tried some restaurants out.

[00:21:56] They're great. They're great. It's amazing when you meet someone and you [00:22:00] ask them their favorite restaurant, they can be somebody that's been here for 30 years. You'll get a different answer from each person you talk to. Um, and so, uh, the hard part is, you know, my girls are out of the house now that they're off to college.

[00:22:12] So it doesn't quite feel like maybe home was five years ago, but that would be the case wherever I'd be sitting. So, uh, I miss him [00:22:20] to death and, uh, they're both playing college volleyball. And so maybe I can steal a weekend here or there before we really get going to have the opportunity to see them. And, um, but yeah, it's, uh, it definitely feels like home.

[00:22:33] Yeah, it's a lot to do here. So it's gonna take some time to get to get all those things, which is a great city to be in. Um, [00:22:40] I know you mentioned didn't have a whole lot on at the end of this thing, but is there anything you'd like to put out there to the student body or anything about, you know, just.

[00:22:49] Coming out and seeing the games, you know, just, just coming together as one to make this season, you know, absolutely. I mean, you know, we, we need, we need the support that Charleston has always [00:23:00] had, you know, we need to see the, uh, every arena that I've ever been in that I felt like was a difficult place to play.

[00:23:07] It always started with the students, you know, and that's no disrespect to all the long time season ticket holders, right? Um, but the vibe and the energy and usually the fan base, and I know it does [00:23:20] here, sits right next to the visitors. You remember those games on the road where you're like, man, I hate playing here because of such and such.

[00:23:27] Well, we want to be that team. You know, we want to be that arena. You know, we want TD Arena to feel like not only is it a challenge to play our team, but just this environment is terrible. And I mean that in a visiting type way. [00:23:40] Like, it's just terrible to come in here. We have no chance to win. And so, um, yeah, we need every, every student that we can get in TD Arena, um, and to keep it raucous like it's been.

[00:23:52] All right, coach. For any, you know, students, fans, administration, anybody wants to know more about your program. Where can they go to [00:24:00] define that information? Well, I think it's 2024. You know, first place you can go with social media. You know, our social media team, Danny does an amazing job, you know, of highlighting our players where they're from their personalities.

[00:24:11] But I also think that we're gonna be holding a couple really cool events. One of them is gonna be a pep rally in early November. So just stay tuned, you know, social media will tell you when, [00:24:20] where, um, and how you can get there. And we really appreciate, you know, see everybody there and supporting us. Well, I want to thank you on behalf of myself, the marketing, uh, whatever departments they all called all the names, media relations, whatever they called, uh, to take the time to come and sit down with us today.

[00:24:38] We really wanted to get to know you and, uh, [00:24:40] we appreciate it. Well, I appreciate it too. Glad to do it. Thank you for listening to this episode of Speaking of College of Charleston with today's guest, Coach Chris Mack. If you liked the episode, please help us reach more listeners by sharing it with a friend or leaving a review.

[00:24:58] For show notes and more [00:25:00] episodes, visit the College of Charleston's official news site, The College Today at today. charleston. edu. You can find episodes on all major podcast platforms. This episode was produced by Amy Stockwell with recording and sound engineering by Jesse Kunz from the Division of [00:25:20] Information Technology.