In-Depth: Orr Interview

Johnny what got you into coaching health as a kid I was always a captain of the team my coach don't Stanley is a great coach ray Elliott and Doug mills and they all told me I was going to be a good coach and that's what I should do he said I was a good leader of men so I I couldn't do anything else I guess I went in coaching your own playing career who molded you into who you are today well I think Don Stanley my coach in high school and also most of my college career had more to do it with me than anything else ray Elliott had a great deal football coach at Illinois and Doug mills - those are the guys I played for that I really respected and and they taught me more than basketball they taught me more about life than anything else how do you reflect upon your first coaching job oh I just a guy and I was enthusiastic man had a bunch of technicals and everything but I went to Milton Wisconsin and I was excited about the job the fact I got paid for something and got paid for doing something I really enjoyed and I had a good team took him to the state tournament first time in history and it was exciting you had great success with Michigan what got you to Michigan well I bumped in a day strike when he was a head coach at Michigan and I was assistant Wisconsin and gotten out of coaching a year and he was looking for a coach and I bumped into him he says he's looking for an assistant I told him I traveled all around Illinois I'd find him a guy and he said well no hurry weightless season's over when the season ended he called me and you know I usually don't call you back he called me Vegas as you found the guys as I found you the best one I know he said who is it it's me he said would you come up here and I said sure if Fritz Kreisler's was the ad pay me enough money make a living so I went to Michigan and Fritz paid me enough and after one year Fritz retired and canon became a d and made strike his business manager and made me the head coach what were your thoughts at that point in time did you think maybe you were in over your head or you thought you could really succeed there I was fired up man to get that job I thought that was terrific didn't pay me much you know can't ask me what I was worried I said well I don't know 18020 value is too high paid me 15 five but he was a great guy to work for and I enjoyed my time there are there 13 years John in 1976 you finished this the national runner-up to Bob Knight who's a good friend of yours yeah what were your thoughts at that point in time and was that your greatest team in your history class the greatest team I had that the next year I would have had a great team in 1975 we won the Big Ten championship in 74 and that can't be Russell declared hardship went to NBA and then we would have done it again and Phil Hubbard declared hardship went the NBA and I had two chances I think possibilities to win the national championship but 1976 was that your greatest moment oh I think is most exciting going to the Final Four and playing in the national championship game is a great thrill and is a thrill I like to see every coach get the opportunity to do that what were your thoughts when you left Michigan oh I had a good time there I thought I'd done a good job and I thought they appreciated the job I'd done for them and is ready for change as one of the challenge and see if I could build another program and I saw the facilities at Iowa State and they treated me tremendously and so I decided to take a shot at it you get to help Bob Mike with the Olympic Trials what's your liver coaching Olympic team give us your thoughts about that how did you enjoy that do you aspire to be an Olympic coach someday well I don't think so I I was with him for a week as within from 9:00 in the morning till 9:00 at night for a week I felt sorry for night and Donner and raveling and CM knew they had to be with those guys that long man that was long enough for me they were good kids and everything but who has a long time to be with him jelly or with 300 career wins a year or so ago how important was that to you oh I wasn't that important to me a nice thing to say I guess that doesn't really mean that much to me mark it just means I've been in a long time I think god I had a lot more wins than that if I had jobs at basketball schools I've never had a job I was at Wisconsin as a Massachusetts when I went into Michigan the program was down and when I came to Iowa State the program was down and I think for the way the program is where I think I've won a lot of games you were national coach of the year that had to mean a lot well that was a nice thing that was very nice I thought I should have had it in a different year that I got but that was ok when you get it it's a great thing and the nice thing about other great coaches have gotten it and I see my name up there with them that makes you feel good all the teams all the players who are your favorite players oh I got so many of them take too long down too long to talk about them all of you without Rudy Tomjanovich was one campy Russell I think Wayman Britten Steve Brodie of course Ricky green and John Robinson Phil Hubbard those were all great great players I hate to miss anybody because there's some others in there too I really like Michael but he was different but he was good and then I came here and I had Ronnie Harris and Terrence Allen it came with me we had nothing and then of course Barry Stevens Jeff hornacek Jeff gray are now the way shavers worked Garry Tompkins I got a lot of favorite guys most of the guys that I like we're guys who played above their abilities and put out and really were dedicated obviously they played above their abilities because of Johnny aura what do you do that's so special to get so much out of a young man I don't think I did anything just to treat him fairly trying to see if airily and I count on them having a little pride if they've got the pride and they'll play well what are Johnny yours hopes and dreams deep down inside hopes and dreams that people may not realize well I don't think anything like that mark I don't have any great fantasy is a dream or anything like that I want to be healthy as long as I can be healthy I want to coach as long as I'm healthy and feel good you once made a statement John but this is a hell of a child if it wasn't for the damn game you got a bad team your teams are playing well that's right when you play well who you look forward to the games right now I've been looking forward to too many of the games what do you dislike about coaching well I don't think I have any real dislike officials maybe the most frustrating thing of coaching is officials recruiting is a tough job and interference from outside forces into the basketball business I think if the NCAA and college presidents would let the basketball coaches handle the problems tell them what the problems are and let us solve the problems and pay attention to us we get rid of John reflecting back to when you started coaching since that time there had been a number of rules changes since that time basketball on the collegiate level has become a big business since that time there have been things like proposition 48 reductions in scholarships there have been investigations and all this if you knew all of this when you started would you still want to be where you are today I doubt seriously if I do it no because every one of these rules have been made by people who don't know what they're talking about they're not familiar with the situation they're not thinking one single bit about the student-athlete none of these rules have been made or for the student-athlete and they're not for the coaches either and no Avenue is going to be like that starting out in it now I think I choose something else if jelly or could change anything any of the rules what would jelly or change which what's big on your priority list oh the Scott chips I would never take the scholarships away cut it down to 13 I think that's ridiculous and I'll tell you what men's basketball provides 36 million of the NCAA's 40 million dollar budget and if I was an NCAA guy or college guys I'd do everything in the world to make College men's basketball coaches happy Johnny as a father you've had all daughters no sons if you ever wanted to have a son with a basketball player now I just saw the healthy mark I never I never thought about that basketball coaching on the collegiate level takes a lot of time away from your family any regrets oh no it's just that's part of the job and you got to get used to that market you gotta you got to spend your job time at your job and you do that in any job you're in you're very fortunate to have a very loving wife who is perhaps general's greatest fan as she's a real fan no question not that how's it gone over the years Johnny as you look back you and Romney together have you shared the your success have you grieved together when you lose a close one that she help you recruit what role does Romney play in your life oh well a lot of things there I mean so many things you know involve a lot of things ahead at Iowa State what's your goal sound I mean here you are been here seven years now what what's ahead for Johnny Law I want to win the big championship pull him out of the same I like get back that NCAA again that was exciting and the goal is certainly to keep basketball here at Iowa State and the fans as enthusiastic as they been is Johnny or gotta win that big eight in the near future I hope so it was getting harder though getting good coaches doing great jobs and I think basketball in the big 8 is getting better and better every year you ever get tired exhausted in this business term oh sure you do everybody does I think every coach comes a time when he wants to get out you know and then you get over it you get a victory or you get a good recruit something good happens to you and bam you're back in there again a lot of greed lot of great people in this business after called boy yeah I was out one year and I missed I missed the people you know connected with the job more than anything else if jelly or had a name a name right now of another man in your profession that you look up to and idolize who this Johnny or were beer oh I think I revere Don Stanley it was my coach and it's one that's almost a thousand games and I think Don Stanley taught me so much more than basketball all right modern-day Division one coach whose County or look up to well I look up to a lot of guys I I look up to anyone has had a successful program mark I Dean Smith Bobby Knight been in the same places done it so many times and of course John Wooden I I think any basketball coach looked up to John Wooden me how he did that so many times as unreal as Jenni or ages and mellows with age it's a job you're tougher I don't think any mellow and just get older but hello I don't know it depends on whether you're winning or losing you're losing booth man is along if you're winning then it's fun and it's tougher every year to find a winning combination isn't well it is and I think that athletes have changed tremendously John knowing some of the ramifications and some of the allegations that there's cheating going on and Bob Knight expounds upon this and I don't want you to get on a soapbox to do it but do you think college athletics is maybe sliding a little bit maybe taking a step in the wrong direction with all this that you hear about but young men sometimes we're bought here and so forth what are your thoughts on it no I don't think it's sliding in the wrong direction I don't like to hear those things a lot of them are unfounded and they get in the papers and a lot of them are true I'm sure but like I said if they just let the coaches handle the problems and give them the power to do it we get that straightened out Big Eight basketball you said four years it doesn't get the respected deserts highly underrated because of our location and a few number of people we have in where our conference is just every bit as good I think is the big ten anything out east when I was out there other conferences I've seen I don't think there's any difference that's good gentlemen change tapes for the one-on-one here in its entirety of the state of Iowa has great people and that's what I was looking for someone to tell me a point I view of his feelings about and John Cooper's an Iowa State graduate and he told me the same thing and so I kind of let it dry it died at that and I talked to several other people in random but that's the two people I referred to well I stand on being loyal to my assistants to a man they've helped me do what got me here if you're if the people wanted Jim Walton to come and coach it to school that's because something he's been doing impressed them and I'm almost kind of people that believed that my people who've been working with me should have the right to enjoy the fruits of this labor they're good enough to coach with me at Washington State they'll be good enough to coach with me at Iowa State and so they've all been offered an opportunity as I've met with the young the coaches here this morning I wanted to compliment them and it was a special treat for me to sit in a room with those who have not been offered jobs and already have accepted some and compliment them on the job they did here a year ago but I don't know well sometimes you don't understand it winning six and seven football games in a season is not not easy and these people came in and having had only been here one year and did a great job and I want to tell you that it's a compliment to them the bottom line is though that a man in my position has to be loyal to one group and the group he has to be most loyal to is the ones who have been helping him get it done so my first priority is to find out how many of my guys will want to come they have all been offered an opportunity to come in coach and do well for Iowa State I don't know how many I will take it but it's a stressful time we have two coaches who have youngsters going into their senior year and that's a stressful time and I'm giving them some time to make some decisions without saying okay tell me today and so they will be given I think a two week to until after the convention or during the convention to let me know what they do I I don't I think lawsuit is a one-way street me to them I expect them to work if they don't work our firearm I'm the loyal guy they can't fire me I can fire them but I'm loyal to them because I think that's what it should be my loyalty transfers into the fact that I'm not leaving people who I know have done so much for me as a coach besides that there's something I want you to know I intend to get out in this state and do some big-time stuff okay I mean I'm gonna be on the move just like I've always been on the move and what I'm gone I don't want they literally say I don't want nothing being done while I'm gone and I know one thing about it the guys I got they work hard all the time they slough off is when I'm back and so I mean that sincerely it's important for me to do what I've got to do for our state universities some of it a lot of it is away from this campus but what's most important is the coaches and the players are getting something done while they're here so that's why I tell you that we'll probably deal strongly with my assistants I'll tell you what I'll do I'll help this bunch is here get a job if I possibly can and they will have my second consideration I told them that this morning the guys that are calling in that I don't know are sitting in a third spot to the people who are here if anybody on this this staff that I think would blend well with mine and one of my guys doesn't come I will add him before I go out and hire someone I don't know Jimmy's football to be well I don't know I think they have a physical approach right here just what I said I haven't had enough time to watch the film and know I used to coach at Nebraska and at that time we thought we compared it to nothing because we thought we were the fat cats of America and we were pretty good there and until we came over here there in 72 and we found out we weren't that good but I think football is football you just got I got to wait and see I'm going to reserve the right to find out that probably first hand