(Ep088) Tom Brennan: Guarding Pistol Pete Maravich, Learning Coaching from Rollie Massimino, Seeing Jay Wright’s Potential & Orchestrating an NCAA Miracle at UVM
Tom Brennan went from a small town in New Jersey to playing basketball at the University of Georgia, where he played for Dean Smith’s former assistant Ken Rosemond and won a senior leadership award. While he was at UGA, he had the difficult task of trying to slow down the college basketball phenom in the country, Pistol Pete Maravich. A UGA grad assistant role helped him learn the coaching ropes and he then assisted Bill Raftery at Seton Hall, Rollie Massimino at Villanova, and Bruce Parkhill at William & Mary. Tom coached basketball and baseball at Fairleigh Dickinson, before being named head coach at Yale University, where he guided players like Chris Dudley and Butch Graves.
Tom then took the head coaching job at the University of Vermont. The Catamounts had never been to the NCAA Tournament, but Tom turned them into a perennial power in the America East Conference. He became a fan favorite, co-hosting the Corm and the Coach radio show and becoming “a citizen of the community” in Burlington. Tom led the Catamounts to three straight conference titles and NCAA Tournament runs, culminating in an upset of top-ranked Syracuse. After 19 seasons, Tom moved onto broadcasting for ESPN and CBS, and Vermont named its basketball court in his honor.
In this episode, Tom shares:
What it was like guarding Pistol Pete Maravich
How he got addicted to the rush of coaching basketball
What he learned working for legendary coaches Bill Raftery, Bruce Parkhill & Rollie Massimino
Why he left Yale and the Ivy League to coach at Vermont, and what kept him there for 19 years
How strong relationships & trusting 4-year point guards led to championships
What advice Jerry Tarkanian (Tark) gave him before the Syracuse game
How T.J. Sorrentine and Taylor Coppenrath helped take down Syracuse’s roster of future NBA players
Why he was never afraid of his team losing
How he knew Jay Wright was going to become a brilliant coach
