Cal Basketball: What Utah Valley Officials Say About New Bears Coach Mark Madsen
The Deseret News, which covers the Utah Valley basketball team more closely than any media outlet, spoke with university administrators about Mark Madsen on Tuesday night, on the eve of him being announced as Cal’s next head coach.
The 47-year-old Stanford graduate and nine-year NBA player, was hired by the Bears after four seasons at UVU during which he compiled a record of 70-51.
Here’s what Deseret News writer Tad Walch reported from his conversations with UVU officials before the team’s season-ending 88-86 overtime loss to UAB in the semifinals of the NIT:
— Nate Mathis, UVU assistant athletic director for corporate partners: “I tell everybody that I know that Mark Madsen is the one-and-only, 100% honest basketball coach in America. He would rather get his arm cut off than break a rule.”
— Jared Sumsion, UVU athletic director: “As good of a coach as he is, he’s an even better human, and it’s hard to find that in college basketball. ... Mark is one of those people that everything he says is the truth. You don’t get that a lot in college athletics. What you see is what you get with Mark.”
— Val Peterson, UVU vice president of administration and strategic relations: “He’s a special person. I’ve worked with a lot of coaches on contracts and other things, and the thing I would say about Mark Madsen is he’s always thinking about his players and he’s also thinking about his staff, the other coaches.”
— Astrid Tuminez, UVU President: “When we interviewed Mark my immediate reaction was No. 1, he understood excellence; he’s got a track record of it. No. 2, I had a sense that he had character and care, and for UVU our fundamental value is exceptional care, so I knew he would care about our students, our players and the institution, not just basketball and himself. No. 3, he had coached already (assistant with the Lakers, head coach in the G League), so he had experience.
“I’m a university president with very little previous exposure to athletics, so you’re looking for those technical skills and the leadership skills. I always hire based on leadership. Leaders, regardless of your circumstances and your resources, will build men and women and make things happen. With Mark, you don’t see an ego. He gives credit to the players. I’m very proud of that hire.”
Leadership is the reason Madsen says he returned to Stanford after his NBA playing career to earn an MBA while also serving as a graduate team manager.
“I went back to graduate school to try to become a better leader, to become a better communicator, to try to enhance a skill set,” he told the newspaper.
“The combination of education and basketball was really appealing,” Madsen said. “The phrase, ‘Get as much education as possible,’ has always been in the back of my mind.”
Asked where he heard that phrase, Madsen credited Gordon B. Hinckley, the late president of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints, of which Madsen is a member.
“That is just a great mantra for life, always be seeking education,” he said, “whether it’s a formal class setting or just by observation, whatever the case may be.”
Cover photo of Mark Madsen courtesy of Utah Valley Athletics
Follow Jeff Faraudo of Cal Sports Report on Twitter: @jefffaraudo
