Eric Musselman has to be the hardest working coach without a team. So who better to break down the game than a guy who has coached in the minors and the NBA, conducts countless clinics, covers college basketball for Comcast SportsNet and writes a blog dedicated to "commentary on basketball and coaching".  

Did I mention you can follow him on Twitter? 

In this first of a two-part interview, Musselman discusses his recent trip to China as part of adidas' grassroots basketball program - adidas Nation, his appreciation for George Karl and Phil Jackson and what Musselman calls his "greatest basketball experience".

Tell me about your recent trip to Beijing as part of adidas Nation. How did you get involved and what was that experience like for you as a coach.

It was absolutely unbelievable, an incredible experience. They took the top 50 players from Asia Pacific and myself, Paul Silas, Mark Iavaroni, Eddie Johnson were coaches, then Devin Harris and Brook Lopez from New Jersey went as the two NBA players. I think this is the second year of this magnitude. Last year Terry Stotts took part in it, Dwane Casey and Lionel Hollins took part. They called me the year before and I just wasn’t ready to do it. Then I emailed Lionel Hollins and talked with (Terry) Stotts and they all loved their experience, so I just decided to do it.

They do a good job. They go out and get three former NBA head coaches. They’ll have a team from Africa, South America and American team and then we'll go to Dallas in the first week in August and play. I’ll coach the Asia Pacific team. We’ll have 15 players – like an All-Star team from the 50 we coached. We went three hours in the morning, three hours in the evening and the trip went from Sunday to Sunday. Each coach coached a team and broke up into stations, the four groups got turns at each offensive and defensive station and we did practice and scrimmaged as well. They were high school age, from 14 years of age to 19 and the games got pretty competitive. I look forward to going to Dallas. I loved my team (photo above).

You’ve coached all over the states Eric – in the minors and pros. Was it different this time to coach a bunch of teenagers at an overseas camp or is basketball simply a universal language?

It’s amazing what the players were able to pick up. Most of these kids didn’t speak hardly any English. We did a clinic with the Chinese Basketball Association – their pro teams - and we each had one of their coaches as an assistant in practice sessions and in games.  Then the NBA coaches became the assistants and also we all had interpreters assigned to us. They were with us the entire week.  

It was really a life time experience. It’s like I told my two sons (Michael, 13 and Matthew, 8 and his fiancé, Danyelle also accompanied Musselman on the trip). Basketball has provided our family with so much. Just in the last year, I’ve been to Athens and Brazil for clinics, and it’s just amazing to think about this sport that is so fun. So not only does it provide a livelihood but also a chance for (the boys) to experience what we did. It takes you a step back. When there is no media involved and you are working at just getting better, coaching really is a great thing.

Were you able to build some relationships with Coach Silas, Coach Iavaroni and Eddie Johnson?

It was like a coaching think-tank. Every day on the ride to the gym – it’s a half hour drive from the hotel to the gym, a half hour back for lunch, the back again. We got about two hours a day with just those coaches in a bus.

I did not know any of the three and came away learning a lot. I’ve emailed all three and exchanged emails since then. I kind of think it was a way to make three lifetime friends through a one week experience. He (Paul Silas) was the elder statesman and so knowledgeable. When he spoke there was an automatic respect factor. I feel fortunate and learned so much from him. He had a lot of energy. He was out on that floor and we were out there for a long time.  And even Mark (Iavaroni) was just funny and a real good guy. That’s the thing when you get away from the pressures and let your guard down and really get to know people as people and just not basketball coaches.

Speaking of coaches, it must have been inspiring to see George Karl and Phil Jackson – two coaches that through the CBA like you did – go at it in the Western Conference Finals.

I root for those guys – and even Flip Saunders – anytime their teams play because of their background. When people pay their dues you have great respect for them. I know what those guys have gone through to get where they are. There aren’t a lot of people – unless you are a basketball purist – who understands what Coach Jackson went through to get to where he is.

It was really neat when I was looking to go to training camps at the beginning of the year - how he let me in and how great he was when I came to camp, he’d come over after practice and ask how I was doing. It’s kind of a professional courtesy to let people into training camp. But I think the guys that have been through the CBA, there is a little bit extra special bond. I kind of chuckle when I saw those two (Karl and Jackson) bantering back and forth with the media because I know deep down they have great admiration for one another has been through. The reason they are great coaches is that they have been through it.

Their coaching demeanors are more similar than some might think – at least while on the sidelines. Phil sits on his padded chair and rarely rises to his feet. George will lean on that scorers’ table the entire game. Both are stoic in that way.

I think a lot of that comes with confidence and patients. When you are a younger coach – I think even when George Karl was with the Golden State Warriors – you see a different approach to in-game coaching than you see today.

The flow of the game….I know sitting next to Coach (Chuck) Daly was such a great learning experience because there wasn’t panic in the first three-and-a-half quarters. Because he understood there is going to be runs in the game. Your team can’t see you flinch and both George and Phil do a great a job of weathering the storms, not only during the course of the season but also through the course of the game. The only way to do that is if you have great inner confidence and have been through it. That comes with experience and age.

You brought up Coach Daly, and I know you were an assistant in Orlando during his time with the Magic. How did he impact you as a coach and a person?

Twelve months with Coach Daly was the greatest basketball experience I’ve ever had. It was his last year of coaching and I thought he showed more time – or at least had as much concern - coaching the coaching the staff as his team. He was coaching his staff to become head coaches. I know he put in a lot energy and effort into me getting my first coaching job with Golden State. For that I will be forever grateful. He was so excited when I did get the job. He was a mentor and taught me so much about the game but as the years went by he became a second father figure for me since my dad (Bill Musselman) had passed away. Coach Daly was a guy that you could talk about personal issues with, basketball and if he felt you were loyal and with him, he would do anything for you.

Thanks to Coach Musselman for his time and efforts....and for not screening calls or ignoring emails. Part 2 of the Eric Musselman interview will be featured Wednesday.

pic via: eric musselman

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