Coaches Corner with Oberlin College Head Coach, Isaiah Cavaco.
February 23rd, 2010 - by
Isaiah Cavaco enters his fourth year as the head coach for the Oberlin College men’s basketball team.
Under Cavaco’s guidance, Oberlin made its first NCAC Tournament appearance since the 2000-01 season and swept conference rival Earlham for the first time since the 1997-1998 season. The Yeomen also won back-to-back road games for the first time since the 1990-91 campaign.
NCSA: How would you describe yourself as a coach?
Coach Cavaco: I like to teach and see guys improve in there time at Oberlin. I expect my guys to bring a great effort so that I can help them put it towards something positive. As a staff, we teach our guys how to play, how to read situations and let players go out and make the right plays.
NCSA: What’s unique about the experience at Oberlin College?
Coach Cavaco: This is a very diverse campus with people from all 50 states and over 35 countries. We have a lot of history including being the first school to graduate women and African-American students, and the progressive-thinking atmosphere continues on today. Our team doesn’t have a single player this year from Ohio or a state touching Ohio.
NCSA: What do recruits need to know about you?
Coach Cavaco: We are building the program from scratch. We have no seniors this year, three juniors that were recruited by our staff while we were just interim and a solid freshman and sophomore class around which we are building. This is a stage where we need guys that want to work hard to make a difference in a program.
NCSA: What do you look for in recruits?
Coach Cavaco: I look for good ball skills, basketball smarts, guys that communicate well and those that play defense with the same vigor as they play offense. Everyone in our program has to be able to do something offensively, so ball skills are key.
NCSA: What is the one thing every recruit needs to do with the recruiting process?
Coach Cavaco: Everyone needs to get us a transcript so we can see if the recruit is acceptable. We have high standards and averages like 30 as our average ACT, so we need to know how good a student we are recruiting. They also need to have footage sent to us of high school action. They need to also fill out the CSS profile as soon as possible.
NCSA: What sort of questions do you really like to hear from recruits?
Coach Cavaco: I like recruits to ask about the overall experience of being a student-athlete at Oberlin. This is a lifestyle for 4 years, and that is something that is most important – being comfortable in a day-to-day routine. I also like to hear them ask about what someone can do coming out of Oberlin. Finally, they should know how selectively we recruit so we can explain that we don’t recruit bulk numbers like most D3 schools.
NCSA: What turns you off when you’re recruiting a student athlete?
Coach Cavaco: I don’t like to hear that a recruit is looking at extremely ‘lesser’ academic schools because I know they will get merit money at those schools that we can not give because it may be a stretch just to get him accepted. I also don’t like to hear “I just want to keep my options open” because I’ll come back with, “well, what is it that will magically make you realize the right school?” This is a logical decision and an emotional one, but if a school has what you want and need, you should want to secure a spot – it is more likely that a spot will go away than a “better” spot will open up.
NCSA: What do you think your program is the most successful at?
Coach Cavaco: I haven’t been here long enough to create a tradition, but we are good at maximizing the abilities of our current players. Our program is successful at creating a great experience for a D3 program by traveling to different places, playing in unique situations and getting to meet and befriend people from all over the country and world.
NCSA: Why should a recruit consider your program?
Coach Cavaco: A recruit has the opportunity to create a legacy instead of deal with pressures of carrying on an identity that isn’t his own. Many people go places and only get a chance to play in about 50 of 100 guaranteed games, but here, at the place we are now, a recruit can realistically be an important player in all 100 of those games.
NCSA: If a recruit is interested in your program, how should they reach out to you?
Coach Cavaco: A recruit should E-mail me and fill out our on-line questionnaire. I can also be reached at 440-775-8407.
