Coach Profile: Chris Mack

The Xavier Newswire sat down with head coach Chris Mack to find out a little more about the Xavier coach.

• Xavier Newswire: What is your proudest moment as a coach?
• Coach Mack: I don't know if it's a single moment in time,
• but obviously when we won the Atlantic 10 season title last year. We were a decimated team with injuries, we weren't very deep. I was proud of the entire team for believing in each other to fight.
• XN: What was your toughest moment as coach?
• CM: Probably our first tournament two years ago, the Old Spice Classic. As a rookie coach very early in my tenure, it was kind of a "welcome to college basketball" moment.
• XN: Who is the coach that inspires you the most?
• CM: I'm a mixture of all the coaches I've worked with or played for. I would say Dick Burning, my high school coach at St. Xavier High School was probably a guy that I have a lot of fond memories of.
• XN: What kind of music would we find on your iPod?
• CM: Well, I don't own an iPod, but I generally listen to 107.1 and every once in a while when I'm in my old man mode I'll turn on 700 WLW.
• XN: What was your best moment as a player?
• CM: Ironically, it's probably when we beat Xavier when I played for the University of Evansville. We had a couple of really good games, and I played really well.
• XN: Who's your favorite NBA player?
• CM: Larry Bird. It's not even a question. He's a guy I grew up
• idolizing and trying to mimic certain things. I was really impressed with his ability to play despite the lack of athleticism he had.
• XN: Do you have any pre-game rituals or traditions?
• CM: When we're at home, after pre-game meal is done, I like to take a 15-20 minute nap, then go downstairs and lift weights.