HH: Tell us a little bit about your background...I know you were Mr. Basketball in Indiana in '78 and you played at Kansas....did you happen to be recruited by Western coming out of high school?
DM: No. No, I wasn't. Actually my only connection with Western is.....my brother Pat scored 36 against Western Kentucky in the early 70's...I think it was the year after they went to the Final Four or two years after they went to the Final Four (Note: 12/4/72 - W. Ga. 89 - WKU 88)...a little school from Carrollton, Ga., West Georgia College, which is an NAIA school, went up there and upset them in Diddle. So my brother had a big game against Western a long time ago. That was my first introduction to Western Kentucky. They won the NAIA championship and the biggest arena they played in the whole year was Diddle and he was pretty impressed by it then and that was before everything they've done now.

HH: So were you very familiar with Western back in those days?
DM: Yeah...I'm from Indiana and all we do is read basketball magazines and basketball historical periodicals and watch everything on tv and soak it up. We have to watch "Hoosiers" twice a year to maintain our Hoosier card, being from Indiana.

HH: You played briefly in the NBA after leaving Kansas right? Was it one year or two years?
DM: It was a year. I played a year in the NBA, a year in the CBA and two years in Europe.
HH: How long have you been in coaching now?
DM: I'm beginning my eighth year.
HH: Has it all been at Bradenton?
DM: Yes, it's all been at Bradenton Christian.
HH: Do you hope to get into college coaching one day?
DM: You know, I'm very intrigued by the opportunity to get into college. College is a very unique situation today because you either need to go in really young or you need to have something to sell to the colleges....which would be some kids, and I wouldn't piggyback DJ, or anybody else for that matter. So, I don't know how that would work and at 47 years old I'm not an AAU coach with connections that are huge, but I've had a very successful winning program and we do things the right way and I think our kids now how to play. So, ultimately I think there's a value that I could add but it's just a matter of finding the right program that would be willing to take that chance. So yeah, I've obviously thought about it quite a bit but I don't know how realistic that is unless it's at the Division II level or something.

HH: Well, as far as DJ....Bradenton is a smaller school. Do you think playing in a smaller school the competition he played against was an advantage for him or a disadvantage?
DM: I would argue that the toughest basketball in Florida is at the small school level. Florida is full of recruiting. We don't, but most teams that we face have many new kids every year when you get to the tournament. It's not uncommon to play against a school that has five kids and none of them live with their parents and they're not from this country. The last game of his high school career was against a 6' 10", a 6' 9" and a couple of good 6' 3"s. You don't find that a lot in Florida high school basketball, but when you get at the 1-A level or the 2-A level there's boarding schools and there's just a lot of recruiting that's going on. It's made for a pretty interesting environment. Plus, we play every large school in the area that will play us.

HH: What do you think DJ's biggest strengths are as a basketball player?
DM: I think DJ's very unique....I was talking to Coach Horn the other day and trying to come up with who he's like, and there's not a lot of guys that play like him. He's 6' 9" plus he's a legit 265, and that's not fat, he's just a big boy. But he can still run and catch....he loves to bang, he's very physical....but he's a GREAT passer. I mean, he just loves to pass, to be honest he would prefer to pass than score...which is a lot different than me. I wanted to put the numbers up and he just doesn't care. He wants his teammates involved, he wants to win....and yeah, I think his greatest strength is his unselfishness.
HH: So, you don't think he's very similar to you as a player?
DM: Not at all. We're about as far opposites as you can find. I'm a legit 6' 8" guard and DJ's a legit 6' 9 1/2" center. I mean he can play 4 and 5...he can play 3 at a different level 'cause he runs good and he handles it well. But I was a very skilled player that wasn't nearly the athlete DJ is nor near as TOUGH as he is. Unless you give me Karl Malone's body I'm not going in that paint.....DJ loves it, he loves to bang and push and shove. That's who he is.....
HH: That's something we've been missing for a while.....
DM: Yeah...you know, Western really did the job recruiting him. When you really look at the total thing, and you start with the coaches, we had every coach that was allowed to leave campus, at our gym at some point and they all did a nice job, and they lend credibility and they showed a lot of interest. Then when we saw the facilities....boy, you had to stop and be amazed. And then you back into that with we were fortunate enough to meet the president and his wife and listened to his vision for the university, and being inter-racially married, having a president say, "Listen, It's not by accident that our campus is as culturally diverse as it is. We do that for the richness of the education." And that blew us away because we were sitting there thinking, "Wow, what a great staff, a wonderful tradition, incredible facilities, good academics.....but, a vision of a president that says, "Hey, I want your kid to have a rich experience because all kinds of people he'll meet at Western Kentucky." We thought, "How do you beat that?" I mean, there's just not many people that talk in those terms.
HH: Yeah, the university is really growing and expanding right now and doing great things.
DM: They really are. My oldest daughter Jennifer just became the associate head women's tennis coach at Wichita State and prior to taking that job we would have loved for her to look at something to help with Western Kentucky.

HH: So where else did DJ consider before signing with Western?
DM: You know, it got really interesting because prior to the season. We had Iowa in, Steve Alford loved him. Then Purdue came in, they came in six weeks in a row, the last six weeks of recruiting when they were allowed to come in. Matt Painter was in our home a bunch of times and they really came on strong. Because again, he's something that they don't have. They've got a very good recruiting class this year, four Indiana kids that were good from a point guard to a power forward, but they didn't have anybody with size and toughness that can do the things that DJ can do. So it became a little interesting at the end because Purdue pushed hard, Iowa pushed hard, Oklahoma was really strong at the end....SMU. He also visited Valparaiso but that was because they were in early like Western was. The one thing that separated Western was they got in early. Jeff Strohm heard about him from another high school coach in Indiana, a friend of mine at Richmond, and the day he heard about him he called us and the next day he was down here watching DJ play and within a week we heard from Coach Horn and they didn't let up until they got the deal done. So they just flat outworked everybody.

HH: What do you think DJ needs to work on the most to be prepared for college this year?
DM: I think the basketball piece is going to take care of itself. He's ready to play at that level. The speed and size will be different from what we're accustomed to but the way he plays is a style that's very built for college because he loves to bang and he's real unselfish so kids like to pass to him 'cause he can catch and pass back. I think the adjustment of having the number of coaches on the court and the intensity that's required everyday. Just understanding all of that. As a basketball player I don't see a lot of major adjustments he needs to do. Usually you see a kid and say he needs to put some weight on or some strength or whatever.....he's going to come in and as one of the stronger guys on campus just because of his frame and his body type and he's been in the weightroom for three years now working with a personal trainer. So he knows how to train, he knows how to get in there and do what he has to do.
HH: Does DJ hope to play professionally someday or does he have other plans?
DM: I think he does....we were talking about comparing him to me.....from the moment I can remember I was studying everything I could on basketball dreaming of playing at the highest possible levels all the time, but that's just not him. He wants to conquer his freshman year and he wants to win a national championship....and he really believes that Western Kentucky has the ability to go that far and his whole focus is on college..."How good can we be?" So it's kind of neat 'cause it's almost blind faith that he's walking in saying, "Hey, we can get this done." And beyond that, "can I play in the NBA or can I play in Europe? We'll see what happens. If I'm that good I'm sure I will." But not, "Oh my gosh, everything has to line up for me to play in the NBA." He doesn't sweat that, he doesn't worry about it and he doesn't have any anxiety. Every minute I wasn't on the court I was worrying I wasn't getting better. It's just a different deal altogether. Sometimes I think his mindset is a lot more healthy for growth than mine was because I was always wanting to be something more than I was and he's pretty much content with who he is in his own skin. He's really good with young people. I personally would love to see him in coaching or teaching because he's just got a grace about him that young people are attracted to.

HH: Now are DJ and Jessica both adjusting to Western pretty well right now?
DM: Yeah, that's been a unique adjustment. We're a REALLY close family, so having Jessica on campus has been a great thing for DJ. It's helped ease the pain of not being in our home. He and her have had a lot of fun and he was on campus for five weeks this summer for summer school and the last two of three weeks he got really close to some of his teammates and those two things, hanging with Jessica and being with his teammates has just made it something that he's really excited to get back up on campus here in another couple of weeks and get after it.
HH: Is he pretty excited about this coming season as far as the talent on the team and expectations and everything?
DM: You know, again he's just very honest and he looks at them and he goes, "Dad, help me understand what Florida had last year versus how we would match up with them?" And you know, when you start looking at some of the talent on your team, whether it's Courtney Lee or it's Tyrone or it's a couple of the tandem guards you have with Orlando and Ty or Jeremy or Japeth and Boris.....there's just a LOT of talent there that with a little bit of bulk....you know, you could surprise a lot of people. I mean, he really believes this is the year that they can get it done. There's some great senior leadership, some great seniors that have been around a long time and some nice size that's a little younger. I just think that when you look at the entire group....boy, it could be a really fun year for everybody.
HH: I don't know how many times you've seen them play, but what do you think about maybe Courtney and Jeremy and their chances down the road of playing in the NBA?
DM: You know, I think Courtney.....I've seen him play in person a couple of times on campus and I've watched him work out with the kids...I think athletically he's there today. I don't know if there's many two-guards that have his pure athleticism and he can really stroke the basketball. I think if he understands the NBA game of moving without the ball and catching and shooting rather than putting it on the floor and creating, it will probably take him to a whole other level. If he works harder to catch and shoot than to catch and drive I just don't see how anybody's going to stop him because once he's stroking he's just a tough matchup. I wouldn't be surprised if he doesn't get a really good look this year and doesn't have a chance to make real money. Jeremy is just that longggg freak athlete that comes around not that often. One of the things though that I'm probably most impressed by him is he just seems like such a sweet spirit off the court. I mean, he's just a fun kid. I was watching him at Diddle running around with Orlando Mendez-Valdez and they're running remote control trucks and they're racing around Diddle this summer. How many 6' 9" kids are running around on their knees having fun with that? I just think that's a unique characteristic about Jeremy that makes him pretty special. You can find big athletes, but big athletes that are great kids like that, I don't think there are that many. Yeah, I think they both have a chance. Courtney obviously has a more mature game right now but Jeremy has some wonderful athleticism and great timing. That's the one adjustment DJ has to make playing inside against guys that are that long, shooting over him. When I watched him play as a freshman last year it didn't look like he was scared at all. He just went out and played, which is a pretty cool thing. I think both of them have a chance to get paid one day. At a place like Western I just think it really helps when you win, you know, the further you get in the tournament the more exposure you get. Once the country hears about.....I think it's a great-kept secret, how big-time Western is. I mean, I hear about Gonzaga, and they had some great runs, but I have no doubt in my mind that Western could turn into that type of environment and that type of success rate because there's just so much there to offer.
HH: Plus, we have the tradition that Gonzaga didn't have before they started winning.
DM: Exactly, you've already been to a Final Four and you've had a lot of NBA players so there's no reason to believe that once things start clicking....,look, my daughter goes to Rhode Island, and not that there's anything wrong with it, she loved the A-10, she loved her coaches but she wanted to have a chance to be in a place that was special and it wasn't a week that she was on campus at Western at something with the sixth-man or whomever, something that supports the women's basketball team, and she said there were more people at the dinner than she ever played in front of at URI. That's just at a dinner, just supporting them. And she goes places and she's buying something at Best Buy and somebody goes, "Are you that new transfer from Rhode Island?" I mean, Bowling Green is just into the Western Basketball program. So that's just a cool thing to be.
HH: Tell us a little about Jessica, what type of a player is she?
DM: Jessica can flat score. She had 3,500 points in high school and 2,000 rebounds and was second in rebounding and third in the state in scoring history. So she can really put points up and put them up in bunches. She wants to win in the worst way. Whatever Coach Cowles is going to require from her she's going to do. I mean it's such a neat opportunity for her to be alongside with her brother and be in a really cool environment like Western. She's just thrilled to be a part of that so I think it's going to be fun for her.

HH: So was the fact that DJ came to Western what turned her on to transferring to here?
DM: It mader her research it. And then when she researched it and she saw Final Four appearances and she saw a coach that has been to five or six straight postseason tournaments and she looked at the facilities....I mean she came from a place where you just couldn't go shoot if you wanted to. You had to go when the students were there. And now she can go to a gym 24 hours a day and shoot whenever she wants to? I mean, my kids are gym rats, they're just thrilled with having a chance to work like that. So she's just really excited about the opportunity.

HH: Well, can you tell us a little bit more about Jameson Tiping?
DM: He's going to be a fun kid. He's new to our school, so we're just getting to know him this summer. I just saw him, he went home to Canada for about a month after we finished working out in Indiana, so he's been around the kids for about a month and then he left for about a month and when he came back to school at open house Monday night we probably had 15-20 kids run up and give him hugs. He's just blended into our school really quick and that kind of surprised me because he's quite a bit more skilled than anyone I have returning. So, for him to be able to fit that way, that's a good testament to the kid.
HH: What are his strengths as a player?
DM: He can really shoot, he can really fill it up....
HH: A good three-point shooter?
DM: A GREAT three-point shooter. He's got great handles. He's got very deceivingly good athleticism. He gets up really well, he's got these huge hands....on his first day in the gym, we have a kid that works out with us that's about 28 that probably touches the top of the square, and probably the fifth time down the court Jameson just takes the ball off the dribble and goes up and dunks right in his face and nobody expected that, I mean he's a 6' 5", thin, white kid and you're going, "Ah, he's not going to....oh my gosh, did he just do that?!?" He's got really, really deceivingly good athleticism.
HH: In a newspaper article up here a few weeks ago you were quoted as saying that he was only "playing at 40% of his capability" right now. What exactly did you mean by that?
DM: What I mean by that is...I don't think that wherever he was that anyone was ever able to unlock his potential. And now that he's gotten into a place where people really believe in him and love him and are just excited to have him around whether he plays basketball or not, he just seemed to start thriving. But his intensity from where he first started to where he is today is night and day but it's still so far from what I want to see. The things I'm saying about Courtney Lee where when he really understands to move well without the ball....that's the kind of thing I want to teach Jameson as a high school kid. I want him to be able to move.....if you're old enough you can remember a guy named Jim Paxson who's now the GM of Cleveland I think. When Jim Paxson played for Portland he never stopped moving and he made so many easy buckets......Rip Hamilton NEVER stops moving.....Havlicek. There's a group of 6' 4" to 6' 7" guys that you look at and you go, "Man, they really got it. They understand what it takes to be great at their spot." When Jameson understands that, and he's so far from that right now, but when he gets it, which I believe he will, he's just not going to be fun to guard. I hope that we can get him to the point by the end of his high school career that people are going to guard him in shifts because not one person has the conditioning to chase him that long.
HH: Would you compare his game a little bit right now to Courtney's maybe?
DM: I think that's a fair assessment but Courtney's so powerful it's just hard....I mean, Courtney's arms are about the size of Jameson's legs. Courtney's a grown man and Jameson's a kid compared to Courtney....but skillset-wise, yeah, he's got a chance to do some similar-type things.
HH: What about his recruitment, was anyone else recruiting him when Western got involved?
DM: It's a funny thing. He'd spent several years at IMG and didn't have any offers and he spent several weeks with us and had three Division 1 offers pretty quick. It was a thing that whoever saw him the earliest said, "Yeah he can kind of play," and the longer the summer went, Florida Gulf Coast watched him and goes, "Yeah, I kinda like him. I want to really keep a close eye on him." And then Valpo sees him and says, "I kind of like him. I really thing we might be interested, we just have to figure out what position he plays." And then Darrin watches him and goes, "I love him." But I think in fairness to Valpo and Florida Gulf Coast, neither one of them has seen him at the level he became in just a few weeks. The later you saw him the more you loved him. It's like, DJ started last summer barely being able to dunk and at the end of the summer breaking backboards. If you saw DJ play early and you saw him in the wrong environment you might say, "Ah, he's okay." If you saw him in our gym in an individual workout and you really watched him and understood the nuances of his game you'd think, "My gosh, this kid can be spectacular." And I think that's kind of what went on with Jameson. I' m convinced, and I told Darrin, that if we hold Jameson out of Fall recruiting and we don't go ahead and sign in the Fall, by spring he'll get any Division-1 school he wants that has an availability. If the Carolinas, the Kansases and those schools have openings for whatever reason he's going to be one of the top spring recruits in the country because I think that's how much better he's going to be. And the classes are thinned out by then too. What he will tell you is he's looked at a lot of variables.....and he's a bright kid, and his parents are very smart, and they said, "We looked at a lot of variables and when you think about the size school that Western is, the type of basketball program that they have, the facilities....," the parents flew down and took a look at the place, "...the facilities and the coaching staff and then you add in the fact that Jessica and DJ are on campus, I don't see anyway where he could to a better environment than this, so why would we want to wait?" And I thought that was very prudent in their thought process.
HH: Last year he played at IMG Academy. What kind of numbers did he put do you know?
DM: Numbers and IMG.... those aren't concepts that make a lot of sense because they play like 50 games and you may play in 25 of them and you may travel to 25 more and not play because they've got 30 guys that they're rotating. So it's not like a high school equivalent that you can even compare them and they may play some small colleges and they may play some high schools. It's kind of like an independent team that just travels the country and plays. And quite frankly, I think last year he was hurt quite a bit so I don't even think he would have numbers much to speak of.
HH: So do you see him as a two-guard or a small forward in college?
DM: Oh, I think he's a two-guard there. He may even back up the point if you have a situation where you need help to bring the ball up or you're playing against bigger guards. He's skilled enough that he could probably do that as well.

HH: Do you plan to come to some of the games this season?
DM: Oh yeah. We're pretty nutty. I wouldn't be surprised if you looked up at the Midnight Madness and saw 15 Bradenton Christian School shirts there where we've driven the team up. I'm a big, big, big believer of spending time with the kids, so my guys spend a lot of time together, whether it's dinners on friday nights, movies on saturday night or breakfasts on the days of the games on saturday......we're together as a team-family a lot. So roadtrips to go watch DJ play....they'll ALL sign up for those trips. DJ was gone five weeks and when he came back he'd put a couple of pounds on this summer training up there. And the guys on the team, and we had a bunch of men that came to watch them play, and they were like, "Man, he looks amazing." His arms are getting big quick and his body-type changes so fast and he's so big, it's kind of fun to watch him grow into the man that he's going to be. And everybody around here is just excited to watch him so that'll be neat. I'm really proud of the kind of man that he'll be at Western Kentucky. I can promise you this....I'm confident he's going to help the basketball program but most importantly he won't embarrass anybody. He'll go to class, he won't get into trouble and he'll be a model citizen because that's what he does best, he's a great kid.

-THE END-

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