Ryan Pedon – Get What You Earn

One-on-One with Illinois State Coach

(St. Louis, MO) – Ryan Pedon is used to dancing during March. The new Illinois State coach has helped college basketball teams reach the last seven NCAA Tournaments and wants to build similar success at Illinois State.

While spending two decades as an assistant coach, Pedon has declined other head coaching opportunities, but jumped at the chance to coach in Normal, Illinois. Pedon’s previous coaching experience includes stops at Ohio State, Butler and Illinois.

The 43-year-old coaching veteran says Illinois State was the right place and this is the right time. He feels that he is personally ready for the challenge, and he says Illinois State ‘checks all the boxes’ on his wish list.

 

Get What You Earn – Experience

During his more than two-decade coaching career he has worked at ‘power six’ schools and smaller institutions. His recent run of regular season success and postseason experience will serve him well in Normal. There is a credibility that comes along with Big Ten experience and the big name players he has recruited and coached.

Pedon is quick to heap praise on the coaches for whom he has worked. He has a special relationship with Ohio State head coach Chris Holtmann. Holtmann hired Pedon at Butler and then included his trusted assistant on his Buckeye coaching staff.

Their relationship is very strong. Leaving his mentor was the biggest deterrent to taking the Illinois State coaching job. Pedon says one ‘Holtmann-ism’ he carries with him and may repeat daily to his players is, ‘you get what you earn’. The first-year coach wants his players and coaches to resist entitlement and understand that hard work brings great results.

 

Get What You Earn – Building a Roster & Staff

While we were recording this interview, Redbird SID Bill Salyer was releasing the news of the hiring of Pedon’s second staff member. Following Walter Offutt to the staff is Andrew Dakich. A former player and grad assistant at Ohio State, Dakich is the son of former Indiana coach and current ESPN announcer Dan Dakich.

Pedon says Offutt and Dakich embody the ‘get what you earn’ philosophy and he has great respect and trust in their integrity and coaching abilities. While he doesn’t expect the younger Dakich to start a national podcast, he admits Andrew has his father’s ‘gift of gab’.

Building a roster and developing his ‘values based’ program is crucial to future success. Pedon admits the current ‘portal pandemic’ creates different obstacles to roster building and but also adds certain advantages.

Noting that ‘player movement’ is here to stay, he is optimistic about building a successful Redbird roster. Pedon says people should recognize there are high character players that stay put and high character players that transfer.

A blended and balanced roster is what Pedon hopes to build. He wants a mixture of incoming freshmen and veteran players. While the current Redbird players are still considering their individual situations, portal players are being evaluated and recruited.

 

Importance of Family

After watching his and Murray State’s Steve Prohm’s introductory press conferences, I was struck by how both of them were emotional about the role their families play and the cost their families pay being on the coaching career journey.

Wife Stephanie and son Maddox along with a large family contingent were at that press conference. Pedon says his wife has been his rock and he endeavors to be the best father and husband possible.

 

Redbird fans will be interested to know that Pedon and former coach Dan Muller have had numerous conversations. The two speak highly of one another. In our recent interview with Muller, he voiced similar sentiments. Pedon says Muller has been a help to him and they’ve had several phone conversations.

Our entire interview where we talk about the ‘Bear Award’, his son’s name and the possibility of E.J. Liddell playing at Illinois State can be seen on YouTube and heard at Valley Hoops Insider Podcasts. We talk about his basketball philosophy and what excites him about Illinois State.

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