Todd Phillips wants to build on Utah Valley's continuity, keeps key assistant

OREM — Before Todd Phillips accepted what he called his "dream job" as the head coach at Utah Valley University men's basketball, he knew he couldn't accept the promotion alone.

So before the press release had been sent to the media, before marketing emails had gone to the university's biggest donors and supporters, and even before athletic director Jared Sumsion had finished telling the team last week, he had an announcement.

Phillips wasn't the only Todd staying at Utah Valley; T-Squared was here to stay, with the promotion of third-year assistant coach Todd Okeson to associate head coach.

By Wednesday afternoon, when the school celebrated Phillips' hire with a press conference and party with dozens of boosters, school officials and administrators, and the team — including former UVU star Fardaws Aimaq, who sat next to Okeson and his wife Natalie — the cat clawed its way out of the bag with significant fanfare.

"It was huge for me," Phillips said of retaining Okeson. "He does so much behind the scenes for our program. It's never one person, but it was a huge key. … I think continuity is huge for the program. It helps the players who were here know, and it helps as a head coach to know someone knows what is going on and we don't have to change what we've been doing. We can just roll."

Continuity is critical to Phillips, and his next task is the ultimate challenge of continuity: building on the huge success he's witnessed first-hand as former coach Mark Madsen's top assistant in Orem through a 70-51 run that included two WAC titles and last month's berth in the NIT semifinals.

It's a task Phillips believes he is built for, because the Boise native who played at Snow College and received a master's degree from the University of Utah is built for the Wasatch Front.

It's not the first success Phillips has witnessed, either. The former eight year head coach at Salt Lake Community College whose 205-58 overall record included an NJCAA national championship was just trying to build on the legacy of his predecessor then, as well — that being Norm Parrish, who also won a national title with the Bruins.

But in the age of the transfer portal, when most Division I programs average 4-5 changes every year, continuity has been more hit-and-miss. Utah Valley, even, has used the portal its fair share — both to come and go — and has brought in transfers from BYU, Weber State, UNLV, Akron and the junior college ranks to build up last year's historic season that included the first 28-win campaign in program history.

Most of those players who had come to UVU previously by other schools were at Phillips' introductory press conference, including Le'Tre Darthard, Jaidan McClanahan and Tim Ceaser, who are still in the portal; Trey Woodbury, who has submitted a waiver to the NCAA to reclaim one final season of college eligibility; and Justin Harmon, the Chicago native who entered the portal and recently committed to Illinois.

Deep down, Phillips values consistency. And even if that consistency comes through the portal, there's something to be said of the consistent results he's managed. Even Aimaq, who became the nation's top rebounder at Utah Valley after transferring from Mercer then transferring to Texas Tech and most recently committed to California, valued the consistency Phillips has brought to the Wolverines' program.

Phillips joked that Aimaq was in town "ready to commit to Utah Valley again." That didn't happen, obviously, but Wednesday's housewarming for Phillips' new position was an even bigger cause for celebration, officials said.

"When this position was advertised, it was amazing how many great coaches wanted the job," UVU president Astrid Tuminez said in introducing Phillips. "We chose coach Phillips because he knows how to win and he knows how to win the right way, from a national championship to what he has done with our team."

The man in the office next door stood out for Tuminez and athletic director Jared Sumsion, despite a candidate pool that attracted national attention to the eight-member search committee of university and community representatives — the largest search committee in Wolverines' athletic history, Sumsion quipped.

It attracted the attention of UNLV assistant coach Barret Peery, a Payson native, and Utah assistant coach Chris Burgess, who previously worked at Utah Valley, according to several sources with knowledge of the search process. After eight days of searching, submitting and phone calls — as well as seven formal interviews that Sumsion declined to name specifically — the committee found the right candidate was among them all along.

"We set out to find a coach who could help us achieve: champions in the classroom, champions in competition, champions in the community and champions in life," he added. "We had to get this one right."

Phillips is still finalizing his coaching staff, though he already has an associate head coach and director of operations picked out, and he'll bring in a player performance coach from VCU, according to one source — assuming the hires are approved by the university.

But in the 24/7/365 nature of college basketball, one job stands out above all others — even as he transitions from the assistant coach's office to the one with the larger window at the end of the Nuvi basketball facility.

"Get players. Get players, get players, get players," Phillips said. "Right now, that's probably No. 1. No. 2 is probably to recruit, and get players. And No. 3 is retain, and get players.

"But from the minute I got the job, it was about reaching out to the players, trying to recruit guys. It's a crazy time in the NCAA; you look around the country and everybody's team is gone. I think the average is five guys transferring a year. We need to get out and get on some of those guys, while also recruiting some of our own guys back. Recruiting is the lifeblood of the program."

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