The job offer ruined Matt Gatens’ concentration, so blame Iowa coach Fran McCaffery for the poor lawn mowing.
Gatens was mowing when McCaffery called to offer him the assistant coach’s opening on his staff.
Gatens decided to finish the yard work first before he went in to tell his wife the good news. It was then he got a look at the grass.
“My lines were all over the place,” Gatens said, smiling.
Life had come full circle for Gatens. He was an Iowa fan growing up, played with the Hawkeyes, helped build the foundation for McCaffery’s team.
And now he’s on McCaffery’s staff.
“The opportunity to come back and coach for him and coach with him, just continue to build on what they’ve done here, is just really exciting for me,” Gatens said during a media availability on Wednesday. “To do it in a place I call home, and being around family and friends, it’s extra. It’s pretty special.”
Gatens replaces Kirk Speraw, who is retiring. Speraw is still around the program in his final days on the staff, and he couldn’t resist interrupting when Gatens was asking questions.
“Come on, guys, leave him alone, he’s got to get back to work,” Speraw said, laughing.
Gatens spent the last four seasons on the staff at Drake, the last three as an assistant coach. Before that, he spent one season on Bruce Pearl’s staff at Auburn.
Coming back to Iowa was something that was always in the back of Gatens’ mind.
“You never knew. It takes the right situation and the right time to make it happen,” Gatens said. “I’ve always been a guy who’s said, ‘Be where your feet are.’ I never thought too far ahead at things like that. But sure, you always dreamed of maybe a scenario where it could happen. I’m thankful it did.”
Gatens had talked to McCaffery when Courtney Eldridge was moved into the assistant coaching job open when Billy Taylor left in the spring to become the head coach at Elon. When Speraw announced he was retiring, the two men connected again.
“It’s unique,” Gatens said. “I’m thankful to Coach for the opportunity. It’s pretty special, and cool, that he wants to have a former player on staff.”
The Hawkeyes started workouts this week, and the players are getting to know Gatens.
“So far, I’ve loved working with him after practice,” sophomore Payton Sandfort said. “Obviously, I really like the hire.”
“I remember a game when he had 11 (3-pointers) against someone,” junior Kris Murray said. “I’m happy he’s an assistant here.”
Gatens knew former Iowa coach Tom Davis, was recruited by Steve Alford, played two years for Todd Lickliter and then two for McCaffery. So he knows the history of the program.
And he was a big part of building the foundation for McCaffery. The Hawkeyes went to the NIT in Gatens’ senior year in 2012 after four years of losing seasons within the program.
“It took a lot of people at that time to get this going,” Gatens said. “Maybe I scored the most points that year, but it took a whole group of us to get it changed, to get the culture changed to winning. From there it just kept going — get to the NIT (in 2012), get to the NIT finals (in 2013), get to the NCAA tournament (2014). The momentum keeps going.”
Gatens played professionally in France, Spain, Turkey and Ukraine after leaving Iowa.
All of the experiences he’s had playing and coaching have helped him, he said.
“I’m thankful for the opportunities those coaches gave me,” he said.
Now he’s back, wearing Iowa gear, and coaching for McCaffery.
“He was great for me (as a player),” Gatens said. “He’s been great since. He’s been a great mentor for myself as a player, and then as I got into this business in coaching. He’s always been a great resource. To work under him, to work for him, it’s pretty cool to be able to come full circle with that.”
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