Brian Gregory has never lacked for confidence. Pressed by his brothers at an early age to be better in sports, he responded. He was never afraid to accept a challenge from his older brothers. In fact, he relished the thought of seeing just how good he was. There was never any question that he gave it his all when it came to an athletic event. But that was not the case in the things not quite so important.

School was something that came fairly easy to Gregory. Too easy, in fact, to work up a sweat. He was the classic “B” student that if he had worked a little harder, probably would have been an “A” student. The thing that he didn’t realize, when he selected the Naval Academy as the place that he would continue his basketball education, was that he was going to change in more ways than one.

“I was not a great high school student because I just didn’t study hard enough. I did well in high school, but I didn’t know how to study. I did enough to do all right. The year at the Academy was the best thing that ever happened to me as a player, as a person, and as a student. I learned that if I was going to do some important things with my life, I was going to have to set myself apart both in basketball and in the classroom. Time management was extremely important. Because of all of that, I was able to do much better academically at Oakland than I ever thought possible.”

He changed. He learned. He grew. Some freshmen in college fall by the wayside, as the competition is too difficult. Some forget why they went to college in the first place and just live for the night life. Others use that first year as a building block for the future. Gregory chose the latter.

“My decision to attend the Academy was a basketball decision first. I really liked the coaching staff and got along well with the players during my visit. The prestige of going to the Academy and receiving the Congressional nomination was too much to pass up. I was willing to give the full 10-year commitment, but I really changed during my year there. I realized what it was that I wanted to do with my life. It revolved around what I was learning that the Academy, the leading of men, but I wanted to do it in an area that I had a huge passion and that was coaching.”

Knowing that pursuing a career in coaching would be next to impossible if he stayed at the Naval Academy, a change needed to take place. However, his transfer possibilities were limited because he was restricted to the Academy and would have to make the decision of which school to transfer to without ever stepping foot on campus. The assistant coach at the Academy that recruited Gregory was a friend of Greg Kampe, the head coach at Oakland University, and recommended Brian. Jerry Gregory made the visit for Brian, liked what he saw and the transfer was made.

After sitting out a year due to his transfer, Gregory made a lot of larger colleges wonder why they didn’t take a closer look at him when they had a chance. During his three years at Oakland, Gregory went where no one else has ventured. He finished sixteenth in scoring, tenth in free throws attempted and seventh in free throws made, yet his ability to distribute the ball is what set him apart. He holds the record for most assists in a game (25), most assists in a season (374) and most assists in a career (905). Much like his father, the Oakland Hall of Famer knew how to get the most out of his teammates.

When he graduated, he received an NCAA Post Graduate Scholarship, but decided that coaching was going to be his bread and butter.

“I knew I wasn’t good enough as a player to continue to do so long term. I had some opportunities to play overseas after graduation, but I felt it was time to move on. During my senior year in college, I decided that I would try to get on as a graduate assistant after graduation. I sent out hundreds of letters. Nothing materialized until the middle of the summer at Michigan State. I didn’t know anybody there. A friend helped me get an interview with Jud Heathcote and I got the job. It was a lucky break.”

It might have been a lucky break, but it was one that Heathcote and Michigan State wouldn’t regret. Gregory spent the next six seasons at MSU before moving to Toledo when fellow assistant Stan Joplin was named head coach.

The following season, he moved to Northwestern to work with Kevin O’Neill.

“One of my most memorable years was my second year at Northwestern with Coach O’Neill. We started three freshmen and made it to the NIT. Everybody bought into the system despite the fact that it was a difficult system for young kids to understand. We had a good recruiting year and things were really looking up. We worked so many hours it was unbelievable.”

After two years at Northwestern, Gregory returned to MSU and stayed there for four more years under Tom Izzo.

“We won the National Championship my first year at Michigan State. That was quite a ride because there were so many obstacles with the injury to Mateen Cleaves and the pressure to get back to the Final Four after being there the previous year. There wasn’t a person on that team that cared about the credit. It was incredible to watch.”

During these travels, Gregory had the opportunity to learn from three of the best in Heathcote, O’Neill and Izzo. This added to some very successful coaches that he played under in college, Greg Kampe and Paul Evans, “I’ve had some great coaches along the way. Greg Kampe, my coach at Oakland was a huge influence in my life because we spent so much time together. Paul Evans had a big influence on me at the Academy.”

Every coach can make a difference in the lives of both his players and his assistants and it isn’t always just X’s and O’s. Sometimes it’s not even what you say. Often your actions speak louder than your words.

“The biggest thing that I took from Tom Izzo, as a head coach, was his ability to create a championship atmosphere, not only the 20 plus players and staff, but also the peripheral people from custodial on up to the Athletic Director. It was an environment that caused people to take ownership in the program. Whatever job they did, no matter how big or how small, they did it to the best of their ability because they believed that it mattered. The guy that cleaned the back hallway felt that what he did helped in every win. They felt they had a role in the success of that program. That is hard to do in an age when selfishness is more prevalent than selflessness.”

Being taught by the best doesn’t always translate into success. However, in Brian Gregory’s case, that is not likely true. Due to the fact that he was the number one assistant on Izzo’s staff, his name became the popular flavor of the month when a new job came open. But, he wasn’t going to just jump at any job. In the same sense that Gregory is special in his work ethic, that job needed to be special, too.

It was not long after the conclusion of the 2002-2003 season that one of those special jobs came open. In a mid-sized town in the Midwest, a successful coach decided to leave a proud program and an Athletic Director with an eye for talent came calling.