Episode 4: Rhode Island College Head Coach, Sam Ferry, Building Team Culture

Locked IN Basketball Podcast: Episode 4 – Building a Winning Program with Coach Sam Ferry of Rhode Island College

In this special episode of Locked IN Basketball, hosts Nick DeFeo and Jason Shea sit down with Sam Ferry, head coach of Rhode Island College, to talk about what it takes to build a winning basketball program. Coach Ferry shares his coaching journey, which includes stints at Vanderbilt, Monmouth, Pittsburgh, Cleveland State, and Holy Cross before landing at RIC.

Tune in to hear:

• Coach Ferry’s experience transitioning from D1 programs to leading a D3 team 🏀
• How he builds a culture centered around humility, hunger, and selflessness 🔑
• Insights on recruiting the right players for team success 🎯
• The importance of player development and fostering a high basketball IQ 🧠
• Tips for youth coaches on how to maximize limited practice time effectively ⏰

Whether you're a coach looking for advice, a player wanting to improve, or a fan of the game, this episode is packed with valuable insights that will get you thinking about basketball in a whole new way.

Don’t forget to subscribe for more episodes and stay locked in for all things hoops! 🏆

Transcript

0:10

Welcome to locked in everybody. Your source for everything basketball. My name is Nick defame alongside my cohost, Jason Shea. We'd have it to all things hoop from recruiting tips and training advice to hot takes and the latest news, whether you're a player, coach, parent orphan, we've got your covered. Don't forget to subscribe and follow us for more great content every week. Time to get locked in. Coach. Today's a special one. We have Sam ferry here. Uh, head cultural, Rhode Island college. Sam, how are you today? I'm great, Nick. It's great to walk by you and. I get invited to this is amazing. Couldn't have worked out any better. Um, just having to be passing by and. Figured I'd ask you to come on the pod and here we are. So I really appreciate it. Absolutely. Sam let's get started. Uh, about your path quick, started at Vanderbilt then to Monmouth then Pittsburgh. Then Cleveland state then holy cross. And now obviously Rhode Island college. Um, husband, how's your experience been at Rhode Island so far as a, as the head coach. So I got hired one year ago. Um, it has been the most fun I've ever had coaching. And I think I do work. I work with some terrific people, but at the end of the day, The kids that I coach. Are my type of kids. I mean, they are grateful. They're hungry. They're super coachable. They're highly competitive. They love ball. Um, so I'm, I'm having a blast and we haven't even really started winning this. Right. I'm gonna be gone yet, obviously your, your first year, last year. Uh, finished fourth in the league and the LEC, which is great for year one. What's on tap for year two for you guys. You know, everyone's talking about some of these kids we've added, um, we've added three freshmen, two transfers. We had a kid sitting out, but I think the thing I'm most excited about for this year is the internal growth we've had in our program. We, our core of nine guys is all returning. Um, and. Uh, a handful of them have taken major, major steps forward and hopefully their head coach has to. So. We're very optimistic about this year. Great. Coach. Tell me about, uh, building a program. You start out. Uh, at Rhode Island college now. Uh, obviously your goal, your first goal is probably when the league. Get to the NCAA tournament, those types of things. Those are your. How do you do it? How do you build culture and how do you put your stamp on the program? So I think, you know, I. I gave a lot of thought to this over the years, you. I've always wanted to be a head coach. I worked for four terrific head coaches. Um, Kevin Stallings at Vanderbilt and Pittsburgh king rice at Monmouth. Then it's Felton. At Cleveland state, who's now at prov, at PC as an assistant. I had them in the gym. Last week I read them. Yeah. He's recruiting one of our guys. Yeah. Okay. The best. Yeah. Um, no, Brett Nelson and holy cross. You kind of pull from each of them, but I think at the end of the day, You have to be as authentic to yourself as possible. Um, as my daughter tries to squirm away, but, um, so for me, You know, I, I started as a manager. Okay. And when I got the job, a friend of mine was like, don't, don't talk about being a manager. You're a head coach now. And, but really that's, that's how I started. Um, so the three, our three core values that all relate back to how I started our. We're humble, hungry and selfless. Like we're humble. We're not entitled to anything. I want guys to wear really, really hungry. You know, I'm not, I didn't take a head job just to hang out. And I got, um, I wake up with. With a fire. And I want team guys. So I think building your culture starts with identifying who you want to be. And if we can find guys that are humble, hungry, and selfless, Or we're at least off to a good start. That's great. And just as a, follow-up talk about the difference. I mean, you've coached some pretty major programs. We got a fan real quick. Just show it to show you. Let's go. Beautiful. This is like a, this is like a perfect, like fishing home. Right? You can find guests for the podcast. People from all over new England. Talk about the difference coming from division one. You know, to, to where you are now in recruiting. And, you know, talking to players and how you approach it differently. She was not having scholarships and kind of going into a different world. Yeah, but still trying to get the, the right guys to fit what you want in your program. So I think every school, regardless of level has a unique niche, you know, at Vanderbilt, obviously it's high academic it's in the sec is totally different than Monmouth is totally different than holy cross, which is in the Patriot league. Um, so I think it's important anywhere you're at to try to figure out what your sweet spot is. And Rhode Island college for us. I mean, it starts in Rhode Island. There's a lot of really good players in Rhode Island. But then there's a lot of good players. Not too far away. I. And in Connecticut, for example. Um, certainly. You know, financial aid and not having full scholarships, changes it a little bit. But, um, but at the end of the day, you got to find good players who are looking for what oncology, who. Who fit us? That's great. If you see a run that way. Yes. Yes. She scraper behind. We have our, we have our security behind. That's going to reign her in, um, you know, Just obviously. You see the highest of the division one levels and obviously being at the division three level first, talk about. What that difference is maybe for you specifically. And then what the difference is between connecting with the players at the division one level and connecting with the players at the division three level. And. Um, you know, It almost feels like there's a different passion in division three because they get to play basketball. You know what I mean? And division one, it's more of a job and you get the, you get the scholarship, but kind of talk on your experience there. It's fine. I think, I think you're touching on something that's real. I don't. Going to division three. I'm starting to wonder if division one has it wrong. Um, and not, you know, I'm talking about, even if you're trying to win like NBA guys, I'm talking about NBA coaches, look at division one college coaches and think they are just out of their minds with how they like it's a 12 month schedule. Basketball schedule. Um, now this was the hardest off season I've ever had. Because I was, I went all the way through basketball withdrawal. Um, I missed it on. I really, really missed it, but, um, But as far as the, you know, I think at the end of the day, it's really not that different. Like you're on the court in practice, you're competing in games at, you know, Maybe there's not as many people in the stands. If you mess up as a coach, no, one's going to, you know, It's not going to be the same criticism, but at the end of the day, it's basketball. Yeah, no question. And obviously you guys look forward to that October 15th date, which is just around the corner now. And I know this is the first year that the NCAA changed to the practice role in the fall. Is that correct. And how have you guys used that? I think it's eight hours. Yeah. Have you guys use that this year? So for us in division three, you get, you actually get eight practices before October 15th. Yeah for us this year, we used our first five to install our offense. Uh, I'm a defensive coach. And during that basket, six months reflection that I went through, uh, uh, I knew I needed to get better as an offensive coach. And I, I came back hopefully, a different coach. So I started by really getting an offense. Uh, we start contact practice Thursday at 6:00 AM, and I'm going to make sure I don't stray away from who I am. So we'll be starting with. Uh, full-court zigzags. I love that. That's great stuff, coach. Uh, the type of player you're recruiting. Talk about what you're looking for to player not only on the court. Uh, but also his body language, his academics, how he's off the court. Are you looking at social media for that kid? Uh, or for that potential athlete for you? Like what are the things you're most interested in seeing in an athlete that you're going to recruit? So for me, it all goes back to my why. Everyone talks about what's your, why, what you'd like. So at some point I realized I should probably give that some thought, you know, The reason why I coach. Is, I want to create a program. Where by the end of the year, those kids were in the locker room and they really feel like they're a part of something bigger than themselves. So I think it starts with finding guys who are good teammates. Who want to be a part of a team? You know, I just watched a kid. And he was all down. Cause he felt like he had a bad game. And I was. The thing that stood out to me more than anything. Is, he was an extraordinary teammate. I mean was picking guys up, never got frustrated with anybody. Um, now his role would be a lot different on our team as a freshmen. Cause he wouldn't be the star. But the fact that I could see those guys that played with him, enjoyed playing with him. Um, so I think for starters, good teammates and basketball wise. To me, you gotta play hard. You gotta know how to play. You gotta have an IQ. And then as I'm watching. Whatever I think of you, it either goes way up or way down when you take that first jumper. I mean, if, if you can't shoot. It's hard for you out here. But if you can make a dumb. I'm gonna have you repeat that one more time, Sam. Oh, man, shoot that one more time. I tell our women's coach. I gave birth the day after they lost in the sweet 16. And she had her little kid around, what is he? Five months now. And I was joking around and talking to them. I said, Hey, Casey, obviously he doesn't understand me. I said, you better be able to shoot now. It's hard out here. If you can't make a jumper. Yeah, no doubt about it. No question. No question. And Sam obviously. You've had a little bit of the transfer portal. Um, experience from the division one level and in. Maybe an off season of so far of trans reporter for the division three, but not so much, but talk about your experience for the, with the transfer portal at the division one level. So I think, you know, a lot of people complain about the portal. And I don't think there's enough people taking ownership. I want people to complain about the portal. They're talking about how many people are in the portal. You know, in recruiting. How are we recruiting? You know, like that's why my I've made a lot of mistakes as a head coach. Other than hiring my staff, which I think I hit out the park. I think the way we recruit, I am as honest about. I mean, I tell when I recruit, I don't recruit to get kids. I recruit them in a way so I can coach them once they are with now. If they're upset once they're there. You know, that's normal, but they're not going to be able to say, you know, coach told me this and now it's like this. Not at all. I told you it was going to be like this. You told me you were going to handle it this way. Okay. And I think so. I think how we recruit as coaches, you need to build a foundation in recruiting. The right way. So when they do come with you, they're not looking at you sideways, like, like you sold a shirt. Yeah, that's great. And have you had any experience with, with portal kids in division at the division three level or, or not many at all? No. For sure. We had about what's up guys. We, uh, about half of our incoming guys in year one were transfers. And this year two of our five, our transfers. Got it. Got it. Yeah, that that's great. That's great stuff. Um, You know, for, for young coaches out there. Uh, you know, talk about your experience, uh, becoming a manager initially, and then, and then getting onto that, you. No major level. Uh, major division one level and kind of working your way up to an assistant and then ultimately to a head coach. So. You know, what did it take for you to become that manager? And then take that step from manager to, to assistant. Yeah. So I, I think I was lucky I had enough self-awareness at 17 to know I wasn't good enough to play at the division one level. I actually thought I could play at the D three level and now I was probably wrong. No, but, uh, I think the, the key, the hardest thing to do is to get in the door. So I, you know, Like people ask people, come up to me all the time and say, Hey, I want to break in what you're doing when you break in is irrelevant. Like you could go get coffee for it. Doesn't matter. It's just the people you're around. So you can build those relationships. And hopefully that catapults you. I was lucky. Kevin Stallings was the head coach at Vandy. I went there for undergrad. One of the assistants on that staff. Ended up getting the job at mama and five years later. He hired me as his assistant. Six years after that, Kevin Stallings is that Pittsburgh. He hires me back. The same guy. I was a manager for hires me as an assistant in the ACC. So as far as guys who want to get into coaching, first of all, you can always reach out to me because it's not easy. I want to help you. Um, but it's all about just breaking in with the right people. Yeah, no question. And as a coach myself, and obviously the first time I had met you, it was, I think we talked about back in 2017 or so. Um, might've been right before that. When the buddy of mine has got Moses and I came down to. To Monmouth practice. Um, and that was probably one of the coolest experiences that we've ever had and then I've ever had, and obviously you walk Dustin. Uh, gang put us right at half court. Um, and you guys were prepping for the NCAA tournament or. The conference tournament at that time. You know, it was lively, the music was bumping, so it was a good experience, but it's. Got a good shape. That was a fun team to watch for sure. For sure. So, um, Coach. What else you got anything for Sam? I got a lot. I mean, one, I've got to get Sam down to any coach down to Notre Dame. Of course staring at a good recruit right now. Yeah, within the table. We're at, we're at the vertical hoops tournament this weekend. You don't coach some advice for youth coaches. Um, We've had a little a conversation about this or the night we're talking about red flags to watch out for when choosing an AAU program. But some positive advice for a new coaches. Who are, are, you know, limited and practice time limited in gym time. What should they focus on if they're getting the gym? Twice a week for a couple hours or less, what do they focus on and not amount of time in a shortened season in AAU. From a college coach's perspective, that would be helpful for their kids. I think if you asked any college coach. Where kids are falling short as freshmen. I think it would be close to unanimous. They would be a lack of IQ. And lack of knowing how to play. I think if you asked any MBA coach. Work guys are falling short when they enter the pros. They would tell you it is a lack of IQ. So I think we all have a responsibility. These guys are in the gym now. They all have their trainers. They're all getting shots up there up. Well, maybe they're not getting shots up enough, but they're working on their skills. I think designing practices where they have to make decisions and be basketball players is the best thing you can do for them. That's great advice. That's great advice. And Amanda Manor zone. At the youth level. Well, I mean, there's more decisions that have to happen if. If you're playing against a man, so it would probably help these kids to play, man. We're in agreement. Yeah. How many, how many times have teams that you've coached with going zone? In your career. More often than not it's how many times have we gone zone against somebody else? You guys at? As your team at Rhode Island or any of the times as, as an assistant or a manager, more obviously majority has been man to man. So, I mean, Kevin stylings, I was with for six years, king rice, I was with for six years. And it's the same family of coaches. So that's 12 years of my career. Really 80. And I'm one of them we're kind of 80, 20 people, like 80% and 25 cents on. Beautiful. Beautiful. What does Rhode Island college expect for this upcoming year and in your second year, obviously you want to make that jump. Um, maybe what are some, some. Scheduling the guys who are you guys playing this year? Um, what are going to be some tough games and what are you expecting of the team? So our, our guiding compass from day one, what now? I've. I've been able to articulate it a little better with each day, but we, we want to provide the best college basketball experience. In new England. Um, and I said, college basketball experience that's any division. So we're going to run it like a division one program. We're going to schedule as hard as possible. We actually open at Monmouth. Three weeks from beautiful three weeks from Friday. Um, You know, but we, we have a core of got nine guys returning. Uh, poor were really old. We added some good pieces. Um, I think. Like I said we've had good internal growth. I think I've gotten grown a lot as a coach. Um, uh, I'm expecting us. You know, for this year, my whole thing is by the end of the year, I want us to play championship basketball. Um, Is that going to happen tomorrow? No. Is it going to happen in November? No, it's not. But by the time we get to February. I want us to be blind championship basketball junior league. Just remind me your top three teams. Probably. So Keene, state, Westcon, and Dartmouth. Um, it's easy for me to remember those three, cause we went oh, and. against the last year. I'm. That's sitting on the shoulder right here. Oh, okay. And for your guys at Rhode Island. In your practices workouts. How what's the percentage breakdown of skill development versus, you know, Laying neither three or three, four and four or five on five, but even with skill development. Maybe some ball handling, maybe some shooting. And what does that breakdown look like for you guys? So going into this year, that's an emphasis, you know, w we're going to do player development is going to be at the core of what we do. So we're, we label each practice. One of two things. Is it a station day? Or a breakout day. So stations are to start every practice. Stations. And you'll have the guards over here shooting well, ball handling over there. I'll be with the bigs and we'll rotate old. Full-time started to is right there at stations. We'll have breakout days, which we haven't done yet. We'll split the team in two, we'll have half the team. We'll lift for just 15 to 20 minutes, half the team on the court. Going player development. And then at the very end of practice, we'll flip that. So if you started on the court, you'll actually lift after practice and vice versa. So it's, it's an everyday thing for us. That's awesome stuff. And obviously for our listeners, This guy has been prepared at seasons just about to get underway and he already knows what he's doing for practices. Obviously. He knows what he wants to do for February and March so that they could win championships. That's a big time coach right there. Um, Sam and we really appreciate it. this could not have worked out any better. Um, you know, we look forward to watching you guys this year. Obviously, like coach said, we've got to get you down in his gym. Absolutely for yourself. Um, we appreciate it. Best of luck. Uh, Sam fare and what I would college. Um, this is locked in podcast, your source for everything basketball. Uh, once again, make sure you subscribe and share. Um, More great content every week coming up. Thanks. So thank you.