Louisville Basketball: Chris Mack introduces new staff, previews 2018-19

Coaching 

Dino Gaudio is a name that many Louisville and college basketball fans have come to know due to his time as the Head Coach at Wake Forest, where he lead his team to the NCAA tournament several times, and coached several big time players. Fans are more likely to have gotten familiar with Guadio during his time as an analyst for ESPN, where he worked as a color analyst and did some in-studio work as well for several years.

However, many were not familiar (including me) with Chris Mack’s two other assistant coaching hires Luke Murray, and Mike Pegues. Most everyone had heard of Luke Murray, due to his relation to famous actor Bill Murray, but I can almost guarantee no one could provide details on his coaching abilities.

Chris Mack went into detail about the roles that all three coaches would play with their new team, as well as their relationships with each other.

On Luke Murray:

"“He’s extremely detailed, extremely hard working, very organized… He had terrific relationships with the players at Xavier. ” “He’s going to work primarily with our wings.” “I’ve quickly noticed he’s beginning to build those relationships here with our guys.”"

On Mike Pegues:

"“He was schooled in fundamentals. He then went to Delaware and was their all-time leading scorer in school history. He has a gift for teaching the game of basketball, especially to post-players.” “He’s going to be a godsend for guys like Malik Williams and Steven Enoch, all of our bigger guys, even if they aren’t back-to-the-basket players.”"

On Dino Gaudio:

"“If you can have a former head coach in this league (ACC) on your staff, the knowledge that he has, the systems of play, the style of play is immense. “He’s a teacher of the game. He’ll do a tremendous job with our team on the defensive side of things.” “Everybody would tell me not to hire Dino … They don’t know what I know. He can coach the game of basketball… And I know what I’m gaining on the basketball side of it.” “Sometimes guys who have been at it 30 years are kind of winding down… I’m having to calm Dino down from the recruiting calls and things. He’s raring to go.”"

On working relationship with staff :

"“Most important decision that you can make as a head coach is deciding on a coaching staff and support staff. We’re bout 80% of the way through. We’re really excited about the group of guys that are going to help us re-brand.” “I don’t have to coach the coaches. I don’t have to teach them drills. They don’t have to worry about what’s important to Coach Mack.” “When you know those guys as well as I do, it makes it much easier in terms of the transition.” “All three of them will have a hand in everything. I don’t believe in having an assistant coach who is just a recruiter, or just scouts teams. They are all assistant coaches in waiting, it just depends on how long they want to wait.”"

Every bit of this is great news. It seems like Louisville fans have gotten way too familiar with assistant coaches over the last several years for all the wrong reasons.

Head Coach Chris Mack laid out his plans for the coaching staff, his love for working with them, and exactly what fans and players can expect from their guys.

Each coach has experience in doing something different. With Murray you’re getting a go-getter on the recruiting trail, and a guy who has a strong track record for developing wing talent. Xavier has had guys like Trevon Bluiett, JP Macura, who have come in as 2-3 star recruits, and have gone on to have extremely successful careers due to the tutelage of Luke Murray.

With Coach Mike Pegues, you get a guy who knows the game of basketball inside and out. After being one of the most successful basketball players to come out of Maryland, he went on to have a great career at Delaware, which ended with him being their all-time leading scorer. Since being at Xavier Coach Pegues has played a huge role in developing talent like Jalen Reynolds, Matt Stainbrook, James Farr, Sean O’Mara and a handful of other notable names.

The track record speaks for itself with Coach Dino Gaudio. He was a former ACC Head Coach, who comes in already knowing the league and some of the coaches extremely well. He was a great recruiter during his time at Wake Forest, landing players like Jeff Teague, Al-Farouq Aminu, and James Johnson, and even coached his team to a #1 overall ranking. While he is the oldest of the staff (61), he has years of experience and a working relationship with Coach Mack.