Ross McMains is a name that is new to many Louisville fans, but it’s a name that every Louisville fan needs to know. Chris Mack announced McMains as an assistant coach on Monday afternoon. Here is a quick introduction to Louisville’s newest assistant coach.
“His ability to develop individual players, his feel for the game as a tactician and his desire to help Louisville win a national championship is real.”
Welcome our newest assistant coach, @RossMcMains!
📰: https://t.co/ZhKnRTqp3j#GoCards pic.twitter.com/7B3z90sKdE
— Louisville Basketball (@LouisvilleMBB) May 17, 2021
McMains has been in the coaching world since he starting interning at 18. He has significant experience in international basketball as well as NBA player development. He worked for the Sacremento Kings in 2012-13, where he focused on player development. He then spent two more years at the G-League affiliate of the Kings. He also was an assistant coach for the Santa Cruz Warriors and Westchester Knicks of the G-League. He moved up to the Head Video Coordinator for the New York Knicks in 2018-19. If that’s not enough experience with NBA players, he also ran pre-draft workouts with NBA prospects. He was involved in pre-draft workouts with guys like Luka Dončić and RJ Barrett.
His international experience is also impressive. He was named Coach of the Year in the New Zealand’s professional basketball league and was also a coach with the New Zealand national team. From 2019 to 2020 he was an assistant in the Australian National Basketball League.
So, what is McMains going to bring to Louisville? Individual player development and offense.
Like Ricky Bobby, McMains likes to go fast. He wants his teams to push the pace, which is what Coach Mack wants to do as well. the 20-21 Cards couldn’t go as quickly as they wanted due to roster limitations. Chris Mack’s best teams at Xavier were in the top third of Division 1 in offensive possessions and I expect next year’s team to be there as well. McMains emphasizes sprinting in transition, which means free points for the likes of Withers, Traynor, Williamson, etc. He also wants the closest person to the ball to inbound it. That means no more waiting for a non-ball handler to inbound the ball, which =speed.
McMains doesn’t have actual college recruiting experience, but I don’t think Chris Mack is going to ask him to be a lead recruiter. Mack and Mike Pegues will handle the bulk of the recruiting, but that doesn’t mean McMains won’t have a role in recruiting. His NBA and pre-draft experience will be attractive to recruits, because he knows the drills that NBA teams run. He knows what NBA teams are looking for and he can develop those skills here at Louisville.
I think this was a great hire for Louisville and we will see an immidiate impact next season. If you want to get to know our coach a little better, watch this podcast he was on. He explains some drills that his players go through and just generally nerds out about basketball.
PRESS RELEASE
LOUISVILLE, Ky. – Ross McMains, who has served in varied roles in coaching and player development in the NBA, G League and international basketball for the past 14 years, has been named an assistant basketball coach at the University of Louisville under head coach Chris Mack.
“I am thrilled to announce our newest assistant coach, Ross McMains,” said Mack. “After interviewing several candidates over the past month it was clear that Ross was the best candidate for the job. His ability to develop individual players, his feel for the game as a tactician and his desire to help Louisville
