Bruiser Flint knows plenty about John Calipari because he coached under him at UMass and is glad to be reunited with him at Kentucky. (UMass Photo)
New Kentucky assistant basketball coach Bruiser Flint has a big role to fill replacing former associate coach Kenny Payne. Payne not only was a trusted confidant of coach John Calipari and beloved by most players and their families, he was also extremely popular with Kentucky fans. However, Flint certainly seems to have the personality not only to fit in well with Calipari’s staff but also impress Big Blue fans who have to love his first recollection of Kentucky basketball.
“Probably my first time watching Kentucky was, Gene Banks was from my neighborhood, he played at Duke and he’s from my neighborhood, and watching Kentucky play Duke in the (1978) national championship game,” Flint said. “I think that’s probably one of my first real recollections of really watching them.”
He had more memories, though.
“I know Sam Bowie, Pennsylvania guy. You watch those guys. But you know they always have those great teams, great tradition. But I would probably say that team there was probably the first team that I really watched and started paying a little bit more attention and then Bowie came through and Clarence Tillman, who was actually another Philadelphia player that played there at Kentucky I think for a year or two,” Flint said. “So probably late 70s, mid to late 70s, that’s when I started really paying attention to Kentucky.”
Flint also seems to be the type of “position-less” coach that Calipari wants and needs. Payne had the reputation of developing big men but he also worked a lot with guards as well, including rigorous workouts before and after practices.
“Every year I was a head coach my point guard was All-League so I think I’ve done a pretty good job with guards and I’ve had pretty good job with big guys,” Flint said. “In terms of teaching it doesn’t matter to me. It doesn’t matter to position. It’s is all about just helping the guys get better and feel confident and that they’re going to be better and feel more confident in game-type situations.
“It’s all about the teaching and having guys get into good habits and things like that. I know one of my chief jobs and same thing at Indiana was to help the coach get good players that fit into your system and fit into your program. So, that’s the bottom line with it. If you can do that and you’ll be an asset.”
Flint was an assistant coach under Calipari at Massachusetts and knows assistants Tony Barbee and John Robic from his UMass roots. When he was head coach at Drexel, his teams played against Joel Justus, another current UK assistant. That’s why Flint considers leaving Indiana to come to Kentucky as a return to family.
Flint also believes the time he spent at Indiana on coach Archie Miller’s staff after he had been head coach at UMass and then Drexel helped prepare him to be a Kentucky assistant.
“After Drexel I sat out for a year and I actually thought that that was a big part of it. I thought I got myself together to be able to go possibly interview for a couple of head coaching jobs, but I didn’t get them. But I think I prepared myself to be a be an assistant coach,” Flint said.
“I thought one of the things that Arch would do is he would bounce some things off me that he may not have done with the other guys on the staff because of the experience. And hopefully the same thing (here), but Tony has been a head coach, Robes has been a head coach. I think it gives you a different perspective.”
How does the perspective change?
“I think sometimes you’re a little bit more patient because you understand what goes on. But you’ve gotta go and do your job and whatever Cal needs me to do, I’ll be able to do it,” Flint said. “But I think a year sitting out, I think the transition would have been hard for me if I would have went right from being a head coach to an assistant.
“I think that year sitting out gave me a little bit of time to sort of reflect and prepare myself to look at the changes that may be coming towards me.”
