Over the past two years, support for your program in the Fox Valley area has really exploded. What does that mean to you?

Talk a little bit about your coaching philosophy regarding the Fox Valley Skillz program.

"There are traits and skills that I believe are important to recruiting, but they should be constant within every recruiting philosophy. However, I truly do believe that these three principles make the difference between an average AAU program and a championship-caliber AAU program."

I think it's important that Fox Valley Skillz basketball is a program that is built on the concept of a family. I want our players and their families to all be a part of the Skillz family. I want them to feel proud about putting on a Skillz uniform! I think that having a family atmosphere is such a positive thing for an AAU program that travels and plays a national schedule like we do.

We spend so much time together over our players years in this program, that when they grow and improve, it will help our program grow as a family.

It is certainly very ambitious and it challenges us early on and throughout the spring and summer. It is certainly one of the toughest schedules in the state of Wisconsin and it will prepare us for the month of July and the evaluation period. We feel very fortunate to be traveling to North Carolina once again for the Tournament of Champions as well as another trip to Houston for the Kingwood Classic and to Las Vegas for the Reebok Big Time Invitational.

I like the fact that we are playing in the Kingwood Classic and the Spiece Run 'n Slam All-Star Classic already in April. It will give us a really good understanding of where our 17's, 16's, and 15's are in terms of team chemistry and basketball ability. I really do wish that they could move the state AAU tournament to the middle two weekends of May. So many AAU teams barely get a chance to practice with the state tournament immediately following the high school season. Our team usually plays our best basketball in the summer and therefore, the early spring can be difficult for us at times.

I believe, first and foremost, there has to be a certain level of talent that people have to play in this program. However, you can never fall in love with talent at the expense of toughness. Toughness in an individual is not just his physical strength but also his mental toughness, his ability to play through fatigue and his willingness to want to get better. If you have great toughness, then you have solid basketball character. I think they go hand-in-hand. I would hope that these are the two greatest attributes in our players.

I love coaching players who really want to improve and get better. Kids who have a strong passion for the game as well as for our program. I think that if you have that willingness to work on your game, you will work harder in school and work harder at being a better person every day. I feel very confident at this point in time with the way things are going here with the young men involved in our program.

I'm very detail-oriented. I tend to be organized and sometimes I think our coaches and players get a kick out of it. I really hope that I am improving in communicating with our players and our families. I never wanted to guess what my coaches were thinking and I don't want our players having to guess what I am thinking. I really want our entire coaching staff to be able to have a strong, trusting relationship with the players.

I like to think of myself as a player's coach. I have always tried to relate to their needs both on and off the court. It's important to me that we are able to talk with each other and share ideas whether it's at practice, during a game or outside of the basketball environment. I look at myself as a teacher who does his best to keep open the lines of communication.

Why should a youth basketball player say "Yes" to the Fox Valley Skillz?

Putting together a quality staff was the number one goal I had when I got involved with the program. It's so important for me to surround myself with people who have a passion for the game and believe in what we are trying to accomplish. I'm really pleased with the assistant coaches in our program. Logan Flora has been with me since I got here. He deserves a lot of the credit for our early successes. For the first time since I've been here, I am letting one of our assistants run a team alone without me being on the bench and I think Logan is ready for the challenge. Josh Kroetz has also been with me since my days as an assistant coach at Sun Prairie High School. Josh really understands our system and he relates ideas and concepts very well to our players. Francisco Vasquez brings a wealth of AAU knowledge and legal expertise to the program. His expertise in grassroots basketball as well as in law are a great asset to our families and players. Will Ryan was such a great addition to our program last year. Most people will think he is involved in basketball because of his father. Yet, Will truly does have a unique passion for the game and I think he is just so eager to get out and put into practice all of the things he has learned from his father and others. He is doing a remarkable job working with the players at the University of Wisconsin. Dan Weisse is back for another season with our U16/10th Grade and U15/9th Grade teams. I think he will be someone our younger kids will really look up to as they begin looking at the possibility of playing at the next level. And, finally, we are extremely excited about the addition of both Dennis Gates and Justin Lettenberger. Dennis learned a lot this past season while working with Tom Vrean and I know he is exvited about applying much of it with our kids. The same can be said for Justin. His experience over the winter with Bruce Pearl has made him very eager to continue his involvement with the game and with our players.

I am also quite proud of the fact that in each of our first three seasons, we have had an assistant coach from within the program move on to work at the collegiate level. In 2001, Nick Reider accepted a position with Barton County JC at the conclusion of our season. Nick has done a fantastic job in Kansas as an assistant and that program is well known all over the country. During the spring/summer of 2002, we were fortunate to have Matt Paddock with us. Coach Paddock was brought in to replace Coach Reider. He spent the majority of his time with our 16U/10th Grade team. In September of 2002, Matt accepted a full-time assistant coaching position with his alma matter at Embry-Riddle University. Former Skillz Standout, Mike Paynter, decided to join Coach Paddock in Daytona Beach, Flordia. At the conclusion of the 2003 season, Will Ryan accepted the position of Video Technology Coordinator for the University of Wisconsin. Will joins his father Bo on the Badger staff for the 2003-2004 season. I am very proud of Nick ,Matt and Will as I continue to follow their progress in the coaching profession.

What is your opinion of the level of competition in AAU basketball in Wisconsin?

"I believe the biggest assets are program has are the people in our local communities that support it including the varsity head coaches. We have quality people working for us and providing leadership to our young kids. These individuals believe in the care of the student/athlete first and are willing to provide the necessary support within a family structure. Secondly, the facilities that we are allowed to use for practice and skill work are easily the best on the Wisconsin AAU scene."

"I've got five goals for this program. The first one is to get better every day. The players have a scholarship to earn and part of their job is to improve individually every day. My second goal is to win the next game. I honestly believe that every successful coach and program needs some short-term goals. Our third goal with every team in our program is to win the Wisconsin AAU State Championship. The fourth goal is to compete at the highest level nationally year-in and year-out. Our program is recognized and followed by people throughout the country, We have set a standard for ourselves to uphold. Finally, our fifth goal is to have fun and enjoy every moment we spend together on and off the court."

Let me start by saying it's totally unfair to J.P. to even begin comparing him to Brian and Greg. He just turned 15 years old last May and he just enjoys playing the game so much. Brian Butch is a consensus top ten player in the country and a McDonald's All American. Greg Stiemsma is every bit as special and also also a top player nationally in his class. I don't want J.P. to have to deal with any of those expectations at this point and we will do our best as a coaching staff to limit the amount of pressure that comes his way. I also feel the same about Keaton Nankivil and Matthew Dorlack. I really think Brian can serve as a "big buddy" to J.P., Keaton and Matt.

J.P. is a legit 6'10" tall and wears a size 20 shoe. He obviously has a tremendous upside but it's way to early to even begin to tell. I expect him to be a leader on our 16U/10th Grade team this season we will continue to build our team around him.

At this point in time, we plan on playing J.P. on occation with our 17U/Junior team as well as other sophomores including Trevon Hughes and Anthony Green. I will monitor his progress throughout the spring and summer and we will make the best decision possible as it relates to J.P.'s growth as a basketball player.