Becker lives his coaching dream with Irish
By TIM CASEY
Sports Writer
Ryan Becker stood on the Joyce Center court, talking with some coaches and players during water break at a recent practice. The women's basketball team had just finished another set of drills on a chilly afternoon in mid-February and needed a rest. Becker, a sophomore and unpaid student assistant, moved toward head coach Muffet McGraw to ask her a question. Then, out of the corner of his eye, Becker noticed a familiar face.
"I said to coach McGraw, That's Digger Phelps!" Becker said excitedly. "And she looks at me and nonchalantly says, Yeah. It was unbelievable."
Walking out through the tunnel was Phelps, former Irish men's basketball coach, local resident and current ABC/ESPN college basketball analyst. Phelps headed out to McGraw, an old friend, and chatted for a few minutes. In the midst of their conversation, McGraw had a question for Phelps regarding a certain defense. She needed someone to act as an offensive player on an imaginary opposing team.
Enter Becker.
"We went over a 2-1-2 zone and I was in the corner with the ball," Becker recalled. "Coach McGraw was asking [Phelps], If this guy slides up, what happens to him? It was unbelievable. There was me alongside Coach Phelps and Coach McGraw. Right afterwards, I ran right over to him and told him what I was doing."
What Becker is doing has never been done here at Notre Dame. He's assisting with the women's basketball team, the No. 5 team in the nation. His duties include everything from gathering film to finding male undergrads to scrimmage against the women to preparing fliers to lure recruits. He attends all practices, sits on the bench for all home games. He's living a dream.
And enjoying every minute of it.
"It's been a fun ride," Becker said.
From super fan to coach
The journey from fan to coach began a year ago during winter break. After his first semester at Notre Dame, Becker headed back to Philadelphia, his hometown. His sister, Caitlin, was serving as an undergraduate assistant at her school, Villa Joseph Marie, an all-girls Catholic high school in Holland, Pa. After picking her up from practice for a few days, Becker called Villa coach John McOwen, asking if he could help with the team. McOwen agreed.
"I had no problem with it," McOwen said. "We like to get new people to help out."
Becker was no stranger to the Villa program. As a senior in high school, he would go with some friends to watch Caitlin play. A part of the cheering section, Becker made himself known to McOwen.
"They [Becker and friends] would sit on this stage area behind the basket," McOwen recalled. "They started holding signs up, like `Hey coach, how about running this play?' Because I would acknowledge their signs, they would become more and more brave. When the games would be over, they would come over and shoot around for a while. They were good kids."
But now, instead of good-natured heckling from behind the basket, Becker had to be a motivator and teacher. He had coached before, in recreation leagues, but this was different. For the next three weeks, six days a week, Becker assisted with the JV and varsity programs. He adjusted quickly, working tirelessly with the team, giving them tips and impressing McOwen.
"I think as a coach you can look at people and tell if they've got it in them to be a coach," McOwen said. "There's something about coaching that really gets in your blood if you like it. And he has it. He's got a good personality, he's a worker and he's smart."
The highlight of his tenure occurred the Thursday he returned to Notre Dame. About 10 minutes prior to the game, McOwen approached his JV coach. They decided that Ryan, along with the two undergraduate assistants, his sister Caitlin and her friend Julie Micklos would handle the coaching duties for the game. The present coaches sat in the stands while the future took over. For a few hours, at least.
"I had asked him about coaching in a game sometime," Becker said. "Then three minutes before that game, he comes up to me and tells me I'm in charge."
It didn't take long for Becker to become accustomed to roaming the sidelines.
"After a month of that [coaching at Villa]," Becker said, "I knew I wanted to try it."
McOwen and Becker had an idea. The Villa coach, who also serves as athletic director and coach for soccer and lacrosse met with his assistant. He suggested Becker write a letter to McGraw, a Philadelphia native, to see if she had a spot open on her coaching bench.
A few days after arriving at Notre Dame for the second semester, Becker wrote that letter, asking McGraw what she believed was the best way to break into the coaching profession.
Three days after sending the letter, McGraw responded, asking Becker to stop by the office. They met the following day, a meeting that Becker will never forget.
"She said the best way to learn how to coach is to do it and by watching others," Becker said. "Then she asked if I wanted to work with them. I was totally floored and shocked."
Watching the great ones
Basketball has always played a major part in Becker's life. He started playing the game around age 6 with aspirations of being a star player. But fate took over early in his high school career. After playing for the freshmen team, Becker was forced to quit. Diagnosed with arthritis at age 3, the pain in his knees shortened his career.
"I never really let that [arthritis] stop me from playing," said Becker, who played golf, tennis and baseball in high school. "But my doctors were against it."
He still plays for the Zahm team and competes in pickup games. And he'll have a team at Bookstore Basketball squad.
But Becker doesn't need to be on the court to enjoy basketball.
The oldest of four children, he remembers going to downtown Philadelphia to watch college games with his father, cousin and two uncles. On Saturday or Sunday afternoons, they would watch the Big Five doubleheaders at the Palestra. And then every year, Becker, his cousin and uncle would go the Atlantic 10 tournament.
That's when he first caught a glimpse of one of his coaching idols, Temple's John Chaney, famous for the loosened neckties and bulging eyes that make him look like he sparred 10 rounds with Mike Tyson.
"We always stayed to see the Temple game because I loved John Chaney," Becker recalled. "I remember after one of the games, we were in a reception afterwards for the corporate sponsors. I'm standing there eating a sandwich and Bill Cosby is on my right. I bumped into him, then two minutes later in walks John Chaney. I talked to him for a couple minutes. It's me, John Chaney and Bill Cosby talking. At the time I was 12 or 13 years old. It was amazing.
"Growing up in Philadelphia, you've got to love Temple basketball," Becker added. "Chaney's just so fiery, he really cares about basketball. I've met him a couple times at different basketball tournaments and he's such a great guy; he'll sit there and talk to you and he's so animated. Looking down in the future, if I could ever have my own team, I want to have that great relationship with the players and get the fans so excited."
There are other coaches that have caught Becker's eye. Irish men's coach Matt Doherty, Duke head coach Mike Krzyzewski and Oklahoma head coach Kelvin Sampson come to his mind.
Especially Sampson.
Becker read an article last year about Sampson's undergraduate years at Michigan State. Every day, Sampson would go into the Spartan basketball office to talk to coach Jud Heathcoate, asking if he could help out with the team. Heathcoate said he didn't need any assistance. Sampson continued to pester the coach, continued to stop by the office. Then one day, the dedication paid off. Heathcoate finally obliged, giving Sampson an opportunity of a lifetime, as an undergraduate assistant.
Sound familiar?
"I brought the article into Coach McGraw and said, Look he did the same thing as I did," Becker said. "So I wrote him a letter at the end of last year. He wrote a note back saying that a lot of it [getting into coaching] is being in the right place at the right time. He said to keep being dedicated, that it may seem difficult now but eventually you'll get a break. That was real encouraging to hear."
McGraw's apprentice
It's Feb. 17, two days before the most important game of the season — up to that point — a road game against No. 8 Rutgers. The first team is working on their zone defense against two substitutes and three undergraduate men. Becker, standing near half court in a sweaty gray T-shirt tucked into black nylon pants with a stripe down each side intently watches the action.
More than a year has passed since the meeting with McGraw. Since then, he's coached the Villa Joseph Marie JV summer league team to a championship. He assisted with McOwen again over the winter break. He's been elected senator of Zahm Hall. He has an on-campus job, working in the Copy Center in the Grace Hall basement.
He's gone from an unknown to an integral part of the No. 5 team in women's basketball.
Talk to Becker for a few minutes and you'll hear the excitement in his voice, see the joy in his face. To this day, Becker still is in awe of his position.
"Of all the teams I thought I'd be on in college, women's basketball was not one of them," Becker said. "Sometimes I walk into the practices and can't believe I'm here."
He's quick to point out his mentors — McGraw and her three assistants — who helped make the transition to coaching easier than expected.
"They didn't know me from whoever [when he began last year]," Becker said. "We're in the middle of trying to win a national championship but they're still taking time to show me why we ran this play. They're amazing.
"I can't believe how much Coach McGraw knows about basketball," he continued. "She knows everything. I've never met anybody with as sharp a basketball mind as she has. And she is so passionate about the game. That's what I love most about her."
Those sentiments are echoed by the coaches with regards to their apprentice.
"He's a real positive influence on the sidelines which is always welcome," McGraw said of Becker. "At first, he was quiet, just watching and observing, but then he started stepping in being a passer in the drills and started charting statistics and stuff like that. He's got to know the girls pretty well and has been a nice addition."
"He's the jack-of-all trades," added assistant coach Kevin McGuff. "He really helps us out whenever we need something. He's done whatever we've asked of him."
If there's one thing Becker has learned in his tenure as student assistant is the time commitment, the dedication needed to compete in coaching.
"There's so much more than just basketball," Becker said. "You have to be a great public relations person to recruit people, there's a ton of non-basketball stuff like that that I've been shocked at."
"It's obscene how hard they [the coaches] work," he added. "Most people don't even know about that. I've been able to see day to day what makes a top-ranked basketball team tick. It blows my mind how much more there is than just basketball."
This summer, Becker plans to coach an AAU team near Philadelphia. The finance and government double major also hopes to have an internship at Morgan Stanley/Dean Witter or with his state senator.
After graduation, he plans to send résumés to college teams, looking for a coaching job.
"He'll have a jumpstart on a lot of other people," McGuff said. "Most people haven't had the same opportunity."
But before all of that, there's one short-term goal he hopes to achieve: a Final Four berth in his hometown, Philadelphia, on the first weekend of April.
"That would be amazing," Becker said. "I couldn't even imagine it. I can't even think about, I get too excited. God-willing we'll get that chance."
All Sports Stories for Wednesday, March 1, 2000
