Coffee with Crawford | DeJuan Wheat finds his head-coach voice in first year at Simmons | Sports

LOUISVILLE, Ky. (WDRB) -- One of the first challenges for DeJuan Wheat in his new role as head coach at Simmons College of Kentucky? Just speaking up.

As an assistant coach at IU Southeast, he could let head coach Wiley Brown do most of the talking and offer his suggestions when needed. But now, he’s the one making decisions — and his voice is the one his players need to hear. He’s the one in demand at university events, with fan groups, and in the huddle.

“I’m just taking it in stride,” Wheat said before practice last Friday. “I haven’t really been a real sociable person, but the older I got, I have come out of my shell a little bit. And it’s good. It’s a different process being a head coach. It brings that out of you. But I’m ready for it. I prepared for a long time.”

And strangely enough, whether he’s meeting with players or coaching on the court, it’s not always his own words that the former University of Louisville star is using. It’s the words of many coaches he’s played for.

“All of them,” Wheat said. “Every one of them, from my high school coach, Scotty Davenport, to Denny Crum, to Flip Saunders when I was with the Timberwolves, even when I was an assistant to Wiley Brown. I took all that into my head and, with my own style, what I’ve learned from all those guys I’ve put into my own system.”

Wheat took over a Simmons team he already knew a little about. He coached against them last season and spent the offseason studying video and learning his new roster. He’ll be assisted this season by another former Louisville standout – Jason Osborne.

“In our first meeting, they said they wanted to pick up where they left off last season and keep going further,” Wheat said. “I just asked them to trust the process and trust me, and that’s what they’ve done. … We’ve got 16 guys — I’d say half of them didn’t play basketball last season. I just like giving guys the opportunity to live out their dreams. For us, it’s about education first. Go to class. I played a lot of basketball, but I wouldn’t be coach at Simmons College if I hadn’t got a degree.”

Wheat does have some key returnees. One is Jonathan “B.J.” Johnson, a native of Marion, Ark., who wasn’t playing basketball or attending school when Simmons player Caleb Franklin suggested the program might have a spot for him. Johnson’s versatile game and 6-foot-4 frame were a fit from the start.

“Getting the call to come here was the chance I was waiting for,” Johnson said. “And it’s been great ever since. … Coach Wheat has been wonderful, like a breath of fresh air. He’s more than just a coach. He doesn’t treat us like we’re just here to win games. It’s bigger than basketball. With him, this is life. He shows us how to carry ourselves as men, how to think about when this is all said and done, who are we outside of this? That’s what he teaches us.”

Wheat is also working to find a more consistent position for Johnson, who’s played all over the court in the past.

There’s no question about the role of senior point guard Gavin Withrow. The Male High School graduate, like Johnson, was out of the game and pondering his next move after COVID when Simmons called. He said having a coach with a guard’s mindset has made a big difference.

“I talk to him in depth,” Withrow said. “He tells me what he sees on the court, and I tell him what I see. So we kind of make that connection — he tells me I should do this. He’s been there, done that, star Louisville guard, top scorer. Yeah. So why not take his advice?”

Asked for the team’s biggest strength, Withrow didn’t hesitate: “We can get out and run on anybody. Pick up full-court, 94 feet of defense, get under anybody, make them uncomfortable, just run in transition and get easy buckets.”

Wheat called Johnson and Withrow “the backbone of the team.”

They’ll need some backbone early. Simmons opens its season on the road at College of the Cumberlands on Oct. 24, followed by a trip to IU Southeast. After a tournament in Whiting, Tenn., the Falcons return home to face Indiana University Columbus on Nov. 4. December road trips include games at Kentucky Wesleyan and Georgetown.

“A lot of those teams are at a higher level than we are, but that’s one thing I learned from Coach Crum,” Wheat said. “You play the tough games early. You might get beat up, but you learn from your losses — if you take them — and then you prepare.”

Quick sips

CALIFORNIA DREAMIN’: Louisville volleyball rolled through its ACC west coast swing over the weekend, dominating Cal before surprising No. 4-ranked Stanford in a four-set win that saw the team continue to move forward. Read more about it here.

SELF-INFLICTED WOUNDS: Heading into its bye week at 4-1 with a trip to No. 2 Miami upcoming on the other side, a look at what has plagued the Louisville football team this season, and how much of it seems to be of its own making. Read it here.

The Last Drop

“You guys can write and say what you want about me, but I told you, there is zero chance I'm walking away. You know what I mean? Zero. There is no quit in me.”

Kentucky football coach Mark Stoops, asked about rumors that he was willing to talk about an exit strategy after the Wildcats’ loss at Georgia on Saturday