Plenty of Opinions

One-On-One With Dan Muller – Part Two

(St. Louis, MO) – Dan Muller has plenty of experience and plenty of opinions about what is important in college basketball. Muller has never had a losing season while winning one conference championship during his previous six seasons as Illinois State’s head coach.

His teams have upset ‘power six’ teams and played in the title game of Arch Madness. Former ISU players and assistant coaches are finding success in the basketball world. Like many college coaches, Muller sees his job in a multifaceted way.

He is paid to win games, graduate players and run a clean program, but Muller sees it as so much more. Several of his former players are continuing their basketball careers at the professional level and his assistant coaches are constantly moving up the coaching ladder. Former assistants Dana Ford (Missouri State) and Penny Collins (Tennessee State) are head coaches and several of his former aids are making waves in the power six world.

Other Roles

There are myriads of other ways a coach impacts his players and the local community. Sometimes a head coach plays the role of disciplinarian, surrogate father, counselor or police officer.

Muller has played them all.

Those roles are viewed in a public way, but the player/coach dynamic is rarely understood by the general public. Today’s player’s needs are often misunderstood. A coach plays a pivotal role in the development of the young person and not just that young person’s basketball skills.

Muller has, at times been accused of being too soft on players that have had ‘off the court’ issues. I asked the former Missouri Valley Conference ‘Player of the Year‘ about his philosophy on dealing with discipline issues. While adjusting a player’s game time can be useful, Muller prefers to use that tactic as a last resort.

He believes most coaches are looking to help their players become better people.

 

 

During our last ‘Dropping Dimes‘ segment I suggested there is too much emphasis on success in the NCAA Tournament. Muller has plenty of opinions on that subject.

 

 

The Redbirds dropped their MVC opener on a half-court shot by Valparaiso’s Marcus Golder. They host Evansville on Saturday. While the Birds were dropping that heart-breaker, the Aces were winning their opener in a dramatic double overtime thriller against Drake.

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