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Inside Hokie Sports
Coaching at the collegiate level is a year-round, full-time job— long
hours of hard work, both on the court and in planning meetings, and
countless days on the road recruiting. So why would Virginia Tech
men’s basketball assistant coach Jamie McNeilly want to add to this
workload during the summer?
“By far, the most important thing to me is the chance to represent
my country,” McNeilly said. “I know that this is a very unique and
limited opportunity. Every summer that I get a chance to do that, I’m
jumping on the opportunity.
“Obviously, Coach Buzz [Williams] has been extremely gracious
in giving me that time to do that. It’s not even close. Being able to
represent your country on an international stage is, by far, the most
fulfilling part of this—and also getting to know these young kids.
They’re awesome kids, great young men who are eager to go through
the things I went through with the national team. Being able to share
and help them grow has been extremely fulfilling.”
McNeilly, originally from Toronto, has been involved in his
country’s developmental program for years—first as a player and now
as a coach. He sees great benefits in coaching in the Canadian system
and now has a gold medal to go along with the experience. In July,
the Canadian team won the gold medal in the FIBA U-19 Basketball
World Cup held in Cairo, Egypt. The Canadian team defeated the
favored U.S. team 99-87 in the semifinals and then captured the title
with a 79-60 victory over Italy in the championship game.
The experience of coaching in the Canadian system is beneficial in
many ways, and McNeilly sees it as a two-way street. The experience
and wisdom he takes from Virginia Tech and Williams is a true help
to Canada, and the same can be said for the knowledge he
brings back to Blacksburg.
“I think it kind of goes both ways,” McNeilly said. “Coach
Buzz gives me a lot of freedom here, and that freedom …
when I get with the national team, I can share a lot of things
firsthand. It’s not ‘I see Coach Buzz do this, and you should
do this.’ It’s ‘I get to do this every day, and I can do this
for our program.’ And the same is true with the national
team. There are things we do there in our approach and
philosophy that are extremely different. Every summer, I
come back and say, ‘Hey, Coach Buzz, how about this? This
is what we do with the national team, and this might be
worth trying.’”
McNeilly is exposed to the finest young players in
the Canadian system and obviously was involved in the
recruiting on Nickeil Alexander-Walker, a Canadian who is
a freshman on this year’s Tech squad. But don’t expect there
to be a wave of Canadian players on the Tech roster. He
knows what and where the priorities are.
Experiencing new cultures has been a great benefit to
him both personally and professionally. During his time as
a player and coach in the Canadian system, McNeilly has
traveled to Africa, Europe, South America and Asia. For a man
who always has been so eager to learn, his travels have been
tremendous, providing himwith a multitude of opportunities.
IHS
extra
men’s assistant
Jamie McNeilly was an assistant coach on
the Canadian men’s basketball team that won
a gold medal at the FIBA U-19 World Cup in
Cairo this summer
by
Bill Dyer
Special to Inside Hokie Sports
enjoys
golden
summer
This year’s trip to Cairo was a great eye opener for McNeilly. The
change in cultures added to the challenges of international travel these
days and having to prepare quickly to win a tournament made this a
truly unique experience.
“Cairo is a city of 20-plus million people,” McNeilly said. “It’s a big
city, and this was the first time for us being in an environment like that.
We took our kids to see the pyramids, and I rode a camel. I really got
to experience it firsthand. That was awesome. A lot of our players were
very hesitant to ride a camel. I was one of the first ones to run and hop
on one. They saw me have the time of my life, and before you know it, I
look back, and the whole team was on camels.”
Looking to the future, McNeilly doesn’t know what to expect. Would
he like to advance in the system? Will duties here at Virginia Tech limit
these opportunities? How will fatherhood affect these opportunities?
He makes his thoughts on these points very clear.
“I want to stay at Tech as long as possible, and I want to stay with
Coach Buzz as long as possible, and I want to continue to do the
national team and rise in those ranks as long as possible as well,” he
said. “Every year, a lot of things change dramatically, and you have to
adapt. Hopefully, I’m doing it for a long time.”
Jamie McNeilly showed off the gold medal that he and
the Canandian U-19 team won in Egypt this summer.