Editor’s note: In the past few weeks, five men’s Division I head basketball coaches have been hired at Front Range schools. For the second in a series of Q&As with the new coaches, The Denver Post sat down with Wyoming’s Heath Schroyer.
Denver Post: What’s the biggest adjustment getting your program set up?
Heath Schroyer: Any time you take over a program, you want to develop a certain culture for the program. The first week, first month, first year. That’s no different here.
DP: What is the biggest challenge facing Wyoming?
HS: Maybe for us the biggest thing I’m trying to do is develop a culture of winning both off the floor and on the floor. Getting guys on the same page. We have a few pieces here to build around. We want to add a few pieces to that puzzle.
DP: How would you describe your bench style? Are you going to be jumping up and down and red in the face (like predecessor Steve McClain)?
HS: I’m very passionate. I love the game. I love to compete. I want our team to play with confidence to be prepared. The best thing I can do for this team is try to give them confidence and try to prepare them.
DP: Who are your mentors?
HS: I’m blessed to be around a lot of great coaches. Morgan Wooten from DeMatha High School (the legend who coached him) is a big influence on my life, both on the floor and off the floor. The other has to be (former BYU and current Fresno State coach) Steve Cleveland.
I built two programs with him. The same blueprint he used at BYU I took to Portland State. We used it again at Fresno, and that’s what we’re going to do here. Both of those men I learned a lot from because they are great human beings and great people. They know how to treat people. They have their priorities in order.
DP: What style of play do you want?
HS: We definitely want to get up and down the floor but we want to run with a purpose. We also want to defend. First and foremost if you want to win a championship at this level, you have to defend. Any national champion, any league champion, is at the top two or three in their league in defensive categories. That’s where we want to hang our hat within this program. We definitely want to get up and down the floor. We want to be able to penetrate, we want to be able to move, we want to be able to cut. We’re going to install a motion offense and we’re going to guard you. That’s been the blueprint I’ve used everywhere else, and that’s what we’re going to do here.
DP: In your prior Wyoming stop during the last MWC championship, you emphasized the defensive end. Will there will be some carryover?
HS: I don’t think you can win a championship at this level without guarding people. When I was here in 2002, I think we led the conference in field-goal percentage defense and rebounding. That had a lot to do with us being able to win a championship. That’s the same philosophy I want to bring here.
DP: Pending the hire at Air Force, you are the only one of four new coaches in the MWC with prior ties to the school. Does it make it easier for you?
HS: Absolutely. It makes the transition a lot smoother. There’s a lot of work to be done here. I love this place. I think Wyoming is special. The people are just phenomenal and the fans are second to none. The values that this state and community represent are the same values I want to build this program around.
DP: You just saw what the Arena Auditorium looks like filled to capacity during the Women’s NIT and you were there the most recent time it happened with the men in 2002. Is it reasonable to expect those kinds of crowds to come back for the men?
HS: We have to do our part. We have to put a product on the floor the state can get behind and support and connect with. I think we will do that. The fans in Wyoming are some of the best in the West. That’s why I wanted to come back here. What the women have done and how the state came out to support them shows if you do it the right way and do the right things, this state will come out and support you. I’m looking forward to that.
DP: What do you miss the most from Fresno?
HS: The biggest thing I miss is my family.
DP: On your staff, Fred Langley has ties to the Denver area and holdover Shaun Vandiver is well known here. Is this a statement that you want to make some recruiting noise in Colorado?
HS: If you look back at the most successful teams in the history of Wyoming (Jim Brandenburg’s run in the 1980s), they’ve been able to go into Colorado and get really good players. There’s no question. We have to take care of our backyard. First and foremost I want to recruit the best young people who fit our needs in the Front Range. That’s why I put this staff together. The people on the Front Range understand how special basketball is on the Front Range.
Heath Schroyer
Age: 35 (March 15, 1972)
Hometown: Walkersville, Md.
College: Armstrong Atlantic State (Savannah, Ga.) captain of NCAA Division II Sweet 16 team as a senior
Prior experience
* 1996-97 Assistant Fresno City Coll.
* 1997-01 Assistant BYU
* 2001-02 Assistant Wyoming
* 2002-05 Head coach Portland State
* 2005-07 Assoc. coach Fresno State
Notable: Schroyer was the second-youngest head coach (30) when he went to Portland State, winning five, 11 and 19 games for one of the biggest turnarounds in the nation. He left because of his dedication to Steve Cleveland, hired to clean up the Fresno State program. The Bulldogs reached the NIT this season.
Family: Wife, Karen; son, Hayden.
Natalie Meisler can be reached at 303-954-1295 or nmeisler@denverpost.com.
