Today we’d like to introduce you to Joe Esposito.
Hi Joe, we’re thrilled to have a chance to learn your story today. So, before we get into specifics, maybe you can briefly walk us through how you got to where you are today.
Well, it all started when I was in college. I volunteered my time at a local high school when I was a junior in college. I have always wanted to be a basketball coach. For two years, I worked at Roosevelt high school in Hyde Park, New York, under legendary coach Duane Davis. After working with Coach, I knew that coaching was what I wanted to do for the rest of my life. Upon graduation, I sent over 200 letters to college coaches looking for a graduate position. I did not hear from many coaches, but one in particular, Jack Renkens at Assumption College, offered me an opportunity. In my seven years there, I went from graduate assistant to assistant coach to associate head coach to head coach. I learned so much during those years and developed as a coach. From there, my career started to blossom hired me at Tennessee State University, working for Coach Frankie Allen. Then I had the opportunity to be a head coach at the college level at Angelo State University. Angelo state university was my first opportunity to lead a program which was a great challenge. I took over a program that finished last for three straight years, and then three seasons, we were able to win a conference championship and go onto the NCAA tournament. After Angelo state, I took a high school job for one season at the Florida villages and then accepted a position at Cal State Riverside, which lasted two days. It lasted two days because I received a call from Hall of Fame coach Tubby Smith to join him at the University of Minnesota. This was a dream come true!
I spent six seasons with Coach Smith at Minnesota and then went to Texas Tech and the University of Memphis with him. Having the opportunity to work for a coach like Tubby Smith was an experience of a lifetime. He taught me more than basketball; he taught me only to be a great coach but to be a great father and husband in person! I went to UNLV and worked for my long-time friend Marvin Menzies. After UNLV, I went to Cesar Chavez high school in Phoenix, Arizona thinking it was time to wind down and enter semi-retirement. After two seasons, coach Menzies calls me and says he wants me to join him at the University of Missouri, Kansas City. I enjoyed my job then and didn’t want to turn down this great opportunity to be in a great school and live in a great community. I am excited and proud to be the associate head coach here at UMKC.
We all face challenges, but looking back, would you describe it as a relatively smooth road?
Coaching is never a smooth road, with many challenges along the way. Moving my family all across the country is always hard. Not having the opportunity to be at all your children’s events as they grow up is the toughest part of being a coach. Coaching is a 24-hour, 365-day job year. You’re away most holidays and sometimes find it very difficult to have a strong balance between your job and your family. At times I know I failed at having that balance, and I am not proud of that. You can win all the championships in the world but not having your family is not worth it. It took me longer than it should have for me to realize this. Job security is also a big struggle in the coaching profession. Getting fired and not knowing what is next in a competitive field is tough. Sometimes you are let go for no good reason; for example, we were let go at Minnesota after the third round of the NCAA tournament and had the best year in over 20 at the school. We were let go at Memphis after two years, averaging over 20 wins a season. We had the best recruiting class back-to-back years and, for no reason, let go. This is the difficult part of the business. So many coaches have difficulty staying in business after being fired. I’ve been blessed to coach college basketball for 35 years and always bounce back. Coaching has its ups and downs but is very rewarding when you make an impact on young men’s lives
Can you tell our readers more about what you do and what you think sets you apart from others?
Being a college basketball coach, you wear so many hats. Whether coaching, recruiting, scouting, managing budgets, building a schedule, working with travel, camps, clinics, community service, and so much more, it is gratifying. The daily grind is difficult, but to run a successful program, you have to be willing to work at a higher level. I think I’ve been known in the coaching business for building programs and being an excellent recruiter. Every program we have work that we have left in better condition than we got there. I am most proud of seeing guys grow and develop. Graduation day is one of my favorite days. Of course, winning championships is very rewarding and makes you extremely proud. What sets me apart from other coaches is my work ethic and ability to think outside the box. I started a slogan called BAM building a monster. This slogan has been a part of many of my programs as our goal is to build a great program or “monster” you have to be willing to do what the next guy wants. You have to dream big dreams, no little dreams.
So maybe we end up discussing what matters most to you and why.
What matters most to me is doing things the right way. I pride myself on never having a violation and live by a slogan Tubby Smith wants to tell me. “a clear conscience is the softest pillow at night.”
Contact Info:
- Website: https://kcroos.com/sports/mens-basketball/roster/coaches/joe-esposito/1136
- Instagram: coach_esposito
- Twitter: coach_esposito
