Courtney Eldridge Embraces Opportunity

Assistant Worked His Way Up the Iowa Basketball Coaching Ladder

Courtney Eldridge has seen the different sides of Iowa’s men’s basketball program.

That experience has prepared him for his new job as an assistant coach with the Hawkeyes.

Eldridge was Iowa’s video coordinator from 2017-19 and then the program’s director of recruiting and player development. When Billy Taylor left to become the new head coach at Elon, Eldridge was the obvious choice to move into Taylor’s assistant role.

The education, though, started with Eldridge’s job as video coordinator.

“It was a great opportunity for me to really see the side of the business from a coach's perspective,” Eldridge said during a media availability on Tuesday. “I'm really glad I got the opportunity to come in at the video coordinator spot because it allowed me to just view the game from a different perspective.”

The little things, Eldridge learned, make a difference.

“I know that just not talent alone will be sufficient at this level,” he said. “There are good players everywhere, but you have to put a roster together, you have to have a chemistry and a camaraderie in order to be successful.

“In the video room, I was able to hone in on certain offensive schemes, look at the trends and common things of teams and coaches in our league, so, going forward, that has helped me in opposing scouting tremendously. I can't put a price tag on how important it was to really get in at that level and really study that. I recommend that for a lot of people trying to get in this business, to really get in the video room and study.”

Eldridge played for Iowa coach Fran McCaffery at UNC-Greensboro.

“Coach McCaffrey has been somebody who's been very influential in my life,” Eldridge said. “He is a great family man. A role model of mine, a father figure of mine, and somebody I look up to with tremendous respect in the way he carries himself. I just hope to kind of emulate him one day.”

Eldridge played 12 seasons of professional basketball in Brazil, Poland, Italy, Belarus, Turkey, and the Dominican Republic. He also worked as a high school basketball coach in the Boston area.

“I know. I don't have the best resumé that maybe some other coaches might have, but I think my 12 years of playing experience is very valuable,” he said. “I'm able to relate to our guys and build relationships with the guys from all over the country, and all over the world for that matter. So, those are just some of the skills that I've been able to kind of bring with me and continue to hone in on as I develop as a coach and hope to be a head coach one day.”

Eldridge moves up as the Hawkeyes’ staff continues to undergo transition. Besides Taylor’s departure, assistant coach Kirk Speraw announced his retirement.

“I hope I can be half as good as he was,” Eldridge said. “You can't say anything negative about the guy. Always positive, bringing great energy to the practice floor every day. We're surely going to miss him. I was looking forward to working with him this year.”

As the director of recruiting and player development, Eldridge was always checking the NCAA’s transfer portal, but adding a player is not as easy as it looks, he said.

“It's hard to really know who you’re recruiting, what you know about them,” he said. “Will they be a good fit? It's easy to look at numbers and say, ‘Oh, he averaged, X, Y and Z at certain places, let’s get ‘em.’ You still have to factor into who you have on your current roster and playing time.”

The Hawkeyes have two open scholarships, but how, or if, they add players remains to be seen. Eldridge pointed to the June 1 deadline to stay in the NBA draft, and how that could add to players that are available.

“We'll look and do our due diligence and see if there's somebody that we think can help our team,” he said. “And if not, I like the team that we have, and we'll go to war with who wants to be here next year.”