In many respects, UD mens basketball assistant coach Josh Postorino has come full circle. Recruited out of high school by current Head Coach Oliver Purnell, it was Purnell’s first recruiting commitment after taking over the Flyer program and with that he landed what many recruiting gurus described as an extremely gritty and coachable player. After his playing days were over, Postorino quickly assumed a spot on Purnell’s staff as since earned his way to up assistant coach. Even though he’s not much older than the player’s he’s coaching — some of them former teammates in fact — he has his hands full in everything from cutting tape to writing letters to recruits to instructing on the floor. It’s been a long ride in a short amount of time, and a few bumps along the road forced a couple twists and turns, but Coach Postorino has overcome more than the average bear and has his sights set on one day landing his own D-I head coaching job.

UDP: What made you decide to return to the University and become part of the basketball staff?

JP: This is a special place. I love this area and Coach Purnell. I came here to play basketball for him and I want to be a Division I basketball coach. To be able to play and coach under him and Coach Smith and Coach Jirsa is a great experience.

UDP: It has been over a year now that you have been back, what has been your biggest surprise?

JP: I don’t know if there have been any real surprises. I knew a lot of what coaching was just by being a player. Once you get on the coaching staff, you put in a lot of hours, especially in the position that I had last year. There is a lot of time put into editing and studying tape. This staff puts in a lot of hours from recruiting to actual coaching. It just never stops. I love the fact that we get to meet a lot of people and get to talk Dayton basketball with them.

UDP: Describe your duties during your first year back when you were Coordinator of Basketball Operations.

JP: I did all of the planning for any of our trips including transportation and hotels. Where I really put in a lot of time was the editing of tapes. We would get scout tapes for everyone that we played. With the system that we have, you can break down tape any way you want. Each coach would tell me what they wanted broken down: offense, defense, or player personnel. It takes a lot of time, but it is great experience. I also would spend time on underclass recruiting and just making sure that practices went smoothly from an operational standpoint.

UDP: What is the biggest difference now that you are an Assistant Coach?

JP: The biggest difference is that I am actually on the floor coaching. I handle most of the individual instruction periods with the players under the guidance of Ron Jirsa. I cannot go on the road recruiting. That can only be done by three coaches (Purnell, Jirsa and Smith). That is one of the big differences between the first and second assistants and the third assistant. I am an on-campus coach. I spend a lot of time working with the perimeter players. I am also involved in coaches meetings involving planning and strategy. It’s just a step up, part of the normal progression. As the Coordinator you are not allowed to be on the floor or actual coaching of the players during practice or games.

UDP: What unique qualities do you bring to the staff?

JP: I think that I bring enthusiasm to the staff from a motivational standpoint. I’ve played the game for a number of years and I bring that knowledge with me. It’s not to the level of the other coaches, but at my age I’m not too far away from where the players are. As a result, I can relate to the players really well. I still remember what it was like living on campus, eating campus food and the other things that occur on campus. I think that they can come to me with things and feel that I understand them. I’ve been part of the program for seven years now and I feel I understand just what Coach Purnell wants to get done.

UDP: In 100 words or less, describe your typical day once the season starts.

JP: Let me describe to you what it is like if it is my scout game. About a week before the game you start studying film. You break down film for hours and hours and hours. You strategize just how you will play this team. What do they like to do? In the mornings you have practice meetings to cover what it is that we want to accomplish during practice later that day. In the afternoon we will meet with our support staff, Todd Forcier (Strength and Conditioning Coach) and Christine Kerrigan (Academic Coordinator). I will make telephone calls to high school coaches. I’ll utilize the Internet for the recruiting sites that exist. We start practice at about three and afterward we sit down and watch the practice tape. We usually leave the Arena about 8:00 or 8:30.

UDP: How does that kind of schedule affect your social life?

JP: I’ll tell you one thing, you don’t have a lot of time for it during the season. You just have to make that sacrifice. We’ll have a little time after a game, but you get so focused during the season that your real goal is to get better every single day. Obviously people do it. As a younger coach it can be difficult to juggle, but we do get out sometimes and get a way from it for a few hours.

UDP: What is your role in the recruiting process?

JP: Since I can’t go on the road I stay on campus and coordinate things there. I talk to high school coaches, I write high school coaches and I also write to high school players. We work on getting players to games. I concentrate on younger players so Coach Jirsa and Coach Smith can concentrate on the juniors and seniors. Our situation right now really gives us an advantage for next year. You can start recruiting kids younger and younger. They become a recruitable athlete when they enter the eighth grade. You have to know about players in middle school now.

UDP: How much time do you spend reading the NCAA guideline on recruiting?

JP: You have to be certified. We take a recruiting test every year. You have to pass the test to actually be able to recruit. There are things that come up every week. Things as small as the size or color of the paper that you send to recruits. You have to be aware of it because it is your livelihood. You have to abide by their rules or you will not be around too long.

UDP: What are your long range goals in coaching? What is your timetable?

JP: You can’t go too quick, you have to learn the ropes. I’m learning from two head coaches right now. Oliver Purnell has been successful everywhere he has been. Ron Jirsa is an excellent coach and he will be a head coach again. You learn a lot from these guys. You cannot really name an age; it’s just an opportunity that comes up. You never know what can happen.

UDP: You had a scare with your health a few years ago. Did you ever fear for your life?

JP: I never felt like I was going to die or that my life was in danger doing the normal things, including playing basketball. The surgery process was scary, because if the doctor makes a mistake, you never know what you might lose. It never crossed my mind that something could happen normally. It was a quality of life decision. I didn’t want to live like that, having those dizzy episodes. They would blur my vision and coming down the court I just couldn’t see well enough to be able to make decisions. Now I play basketball, do a lot of running and lifting and I am perfectly healthy. I feel like it helped me get into coaching. I’m not sure that I would have had the opportunity that I got here.

UDP: It had to be difficult for you to quit.

JP: It was very difficult. I’ve been playing since I was 6 years old. It has been my life. I can relate to these guys like Michael Jordan wanting to come back. It was hard to accept, because I felt perfectly healthy just walking around. When you can’t explain why something like this is happening, it is a very difficult thing to accept.

UDP: When all of this happened, Coach Purnell hopped on a plane to come down to see you. How did that affect you?

JP: I’ll tell you, it meant a lot. I’m sitting here today, because that is the kind of person that he is. That is the kind of person that he wants every one of our players to be. It was hard because I was home and my teammates were playing games. You have battled all of the time and you have to sit and watch. I knew after listening to the South Florida game on the South Florida radio station that I would be back. I said to myself that I wasn’t going to accept this.

UDP: Have you had to change your lifestyle other than give up playing?

JP: Not really. I don’t play as much as I used to, but I still get to play quite a lot. I ran a half marathon about a month ago. I’ve been very healthy. They really don’t have guidelines as to what you can do and can’t do. They said I would know when I went too far. The cyst itself should not come back.

UDP: It seems you have a tendency to eat at Penn Station quite often. What is your favorite?

JP: I like the Chicken Teriyaki. I have to stay with the chicken and stay away from the fries. You know the place that I really like is Chipoltle. I am more of a chicken taco and burrito guy. That is how I handle my 15-minute lunch breaks during the day.