At just 29 years old, Brian Oilar will be the youngest head coach in the Ohio Athletic Conference this basketball season. He takes over a program that won just 15 games during the past three seasons under former head coach Todd Adrian. His first season officially opens this Saturday with a home game against Ohio Wesleyan in the OAC/NCAC Tournament at the Rike Center. We had a chance to talk with the youngest head coach on campus about the opportunity to try to resurrect the men’s basketball program.
Q: You had been an assistant at your alma mater of DePauw University since 2009. How has the change from assistant to head coach been?
A: It’s been really good. I think that’s a credit to our players. They’ve been really coachable, and they come to work everyday. I’ve been really impressed with their willingness to learn and embrace the change that’s gone on offensively and defensively and culture-wise. They’ve made it really smooth so far, and I’ve appreciated that.
Q: There seems to be a lot of anticipation this year for basketball season to start among students. Do you get that feeling too?
A: Yeah, I feel like student and fans understand this is the start of a new era. I hope that they are patient with the process, yet still excited for the potential outcome. And of course I hope they are will to come and pack the Rike (Center) every game.
Q: How are you feeling about going into the game with Ohio Wesleyan, who was a nationally ranked team last year?
A: I’m feeling good. I think we had a good showing in our scrimmage against Oberlin, and I hope that our guys are excited about playing on Saturday. Anytime you’re going up against an opponent like that you’ve got to defend and rebound, and if you do those two things you’re going to give yourself a chance. It’s just another opportunity for us to get better. That’s how we’ve approached everyday, and that’s how we’re going to approach Saturday as well.
Q: Only one senior on this year’s team (Forward Marc McCuen). How have you relied on him for a leadership role?
A: I’ve been really impressed with how Marc’s embraced our younger guys. I saw him in here (the Rike Center) yesterday working out one of our freshman post players, showing him some moves, and that’s what you love to see as a coach. Guys who are invested in the future of the program. We have a great junior class too, and we rely on those guys for leadership and to set the tone for our program.
Q: You mentioned the younger guys. Who are some of the younger guys you expect to see play a lot this year?
A: (Freshman) Connor Clark has been pretty good. He’s a 6-foot-6-inch forward who has shown some signs. I think (freshman guard) Nick Overly and (freshman guard) Andre Bradley have really been practicing really well, especially the last week and a half. We’re an experienced group. We’ve got a lot of guy that have played a lot of college minutes, but as the season goes on there might be a freshman or two that can work their way into the rotation.
Q: How has the chemistry been on this year’s team?
A: It’s been fantastic. They’ve really come together. I think they’ve really embraced the fresh change and the fresh start. Everyone has been on the same page with that and that’s made my job easy as a coach. I haven’t had to coach chemistry or coach effort; I’ve just had to coach basketball, and that’s what you want to do.
Q: There have been single-digit win totals for Otterbein men’s basketball each of the past three seasons. Have you set a win total goal for this year’s team, or do you not talk about things like that?
A: I have not. I’m a very process-oriented coach. We don’t talk at all about outcomes we just talk about the process. In other words how we are going to approach each day. How can we get better today? And I think if you approach each day the right way, you play the game the right way, you’re coachable, you’ve got effort, you got energy, you’ve all those things that I think this team has, you can do that each day. The results are going to take care of themselves. So no, we don’t talk about win totals.
