Roster, staff are top tasks as Reveno takes over Brown basketball

Roster, staff are top tasks as Reveno takes over Brown basketball Eric Reveno hopes the lessons he’s learned over the last decade have prepared him for a second stint as a men’s basketball head coach. Staff roles at Georgia Tech, Oregon State and Stanford came after an extended period in charge at Portland from 2006-16. Reveno was the Coach of the Year in the West Coast Conference during a sweet spot with the Pilots, a three-year run of a success that ultimately couldn’t be sustained. How he approaches this next challenge at Brown University will be partly shaped by that background. Reveno was formally hired last week to take over for Mike Martin, who accepted an assistant coaching role with defending national champion Michigan. Reveno was identified quickly by Bears athletic director Grace Calhoun and a search firm as the program’s first new leader since prior to the 2012-13 season. “You sort of learn new things, see what you like, see what you pick up,” Reveno said Monday morning. “Having those 10 years of experience, it feels like it just helped me learn.” Identifying the right targets in recruiting was one of Reveno’s primary takeaways while he struggled through his final five years with the Pilots. They cracked the .500 mark only once after going 60-46 overall and 26-16 in WCC play from 2008-09 to 2010-11. That came against rugged competition that included national power Gonzaga, Saint Mary’s, Santa Clara and San Francisco. “They weren’t the same DNA,” Reveno said. “We lost our way a little bit. That was a very valuable lesson – the importance of finding fit.” Portland boasted three straight top-100 offenses in terms of efficiency and was a top-5 3-point shooting team nationally during that time challenging for the WCC lead. Nonconference wins over Washington, Minnesota and Boise State turned heads. The Pilots tripped up the Gaels three times and earned the majority of their four CIT berths under Reveno, with the last coming later in 2014-15. “The players who we were most successful with were players who were skilled, athletic and tough,” Reveno said. “They really wanted to be the best they could be. To this day I’m grateful for the opportunity to have worked with them.” Reveno’s last two years with the Cardinal included a graduate degree in Nerdball, the philosophy employed by coach Kyle Smith. It’s a numbers-based system Smith started crafting during his time at Columbia, and it stretches beyond the traditional box score. Defensive rotations, cutting and charges drawn are among the 50-plus evaluation tools Smith and his staff use for players. “The biggest thing I found with using those is it helps support your culture,” Reveno said. “It helps support how you want to play in terms of loose balls, defensive positioning, offensive pace of cutting. It gets the coaches to really focus on those things and be better teachers of it. “I can nerd out with the numbers with the best of them. We’re going to be using analytics.” Jeremiah Jenkins, Adrian Uchidiuno, N’famara Dabo, Malcolm Wrisby-Jefferson, David Rochester and Isaiah Langham all averaged at least 20 minutes per game last season. Tyson Wheeler, Omar Lowery and DeVon Price could all return in staff roles along with Andrew Becil, who was hired in the spring as operations coordinator. Reveno is still in the process of meeting each returning player and staff member either in person or via Zoom connection. “I’m really excited getting to know the staff, firming things up there,” Reveno said. “Looking at the players and the roster and watching film and trying to get more time for everything. It’s been a whirlwind.” Reveno’s new job comes at a good time for his family. His wife, Amanda, works remotely for an East Coast company and will now be in the same time zone for meetings with her employer. Their daughter, Katie, is about to start a new job in New York after graduating from Stanford within the last couple years. Reveno was immediately interested when approached by his agent and found common ground with Calhoun during the process. “We saw eye-to-eye on so many things,” Reveno said. “The conversations grew. Next thing you know I’m out here for an interview.” On X: @BillKoch25