UConnCincinnati will have a fraternal flair
CINCINNATI — The Youncofski brothers, Eric and Greg, grew up in New Jersey worshipping at the altar of roundball.
“Our lives revolved around basketball,” Greg, the older of the two, recalled. “‘Obsessed’ would be the word.”
Just about every day after school, it seemed, the two would be looking for pickup games at the park. They both played at Middletown (N.J.) North High, and there have been plenty of one-on-one battles between the two over the years, as well.
But not anymore. “The games got too competitive,” Greg reported.
Both Eric and Greg Youncofski remain hungry and driven as they try to make their respective ways up the college coaching ladder and ultimately take over programs of their own. But that competitive, fraternal fire won’t be in evidence on Saturday night as they face each other from opposite benches,
when UConn faces Cincinnati at Fifth Third Arena (8 p.m., ESPN2).
Eric, 24, is in his first year as Dan Hurley’s director of basketball operations at UConn. Greg, 28, is in his first season as one of Mick Cronin’s assistants at Cincinnati. If you think the two have been trash-talking all week and are battling for Thanksgiving dinner bragging rights, however ... you don’t know the Youncofski brothers.
“It’s like any other game,” said Eric. “We try to take that same approach.”
“I’m not really thinking about it as ‘Him vs. Me,’ ” Greg added. “I’m just trying to do my best to reiterate the coaching staff’s message to our guys, to make sure they’re as prepared for UConn as possible.”
UConn (10-6, 1-2 AAC) will be looking to build off Thursday’s nice, 76-64 win over SMU. Cincinnati (13-3, 2-1) will be happy to be back home after losing at ECU, then needing overtime to edge Tulsa on Thursday.
Ultimately, the game will be decided by Hurley, Cronin, Jalen Adams, Jarron Cumberland or any number of other players. The Youncofski brothers won’t figure in the box score.
Eric, who served in the same capacity under Hurley at Rhode Island last season, is in charge of much of UConn’s day-to-day, behind-the-scenes stuff: setting up travel arrangements, shootaround times, practice schedules. If the Huskies got a lousy night’s sleep the night before at a bad hotel, blame Eric Youncofski. Otherwise, he’ll have no outcome on the game, other than offering support from the bench, keeping track of fouls and timeouts.
Eric is a true Dan Hurley disciple. He played at URI as a walk-on for three years, then served as Hurley’s grad assistant for two before taking over as director of basketball ops last season. When Hurley took the UConn job in March, Youncofski followed.
“My first year was his first year (at URI), so I was a part of the whole process,” Youncofski said. “I saw it first-hand, had a front-row seat to the rebuild there. It was amazing.”
Youncofski’s dream is to some day run his own program, and he’s taking notes.
“Just being a walk-on for coach, then working on his staff, it’s all about the guys,” he said. “He does extra stuff for the guys — reading, podcasts, so much more than basketball. It’s so fulfilling. I want to take that approach to his thing where it’s not just basketball, it’s so much bigger, trying to help people down the road.”
Greg Youncofski is in his sixth season at Cincinnati but first as an assistant coach. He was a student manager at Kansas for four years and went straight to Cincinnati after graduating, serving as a program assistant for three years, then video coordinator for two before being promoted this season.
He and Eric talk two or three times a day by phone about everything — sometimes sharing views on common opponents, but often just about everyday life.
“I’m super-happy that he’s at UConn, at a great school,” Greg said. “These are things we dreamed about, being part of historically great college basketball programs. We’re superhappy about that, but we’re definitely not thinking about the other guy on the other sideline on Saturday.”
Their parents, Greg and Kathleen, will be “nervous wrecks” at the game, according to Greg, sitting high up in the stands so no one can see them root for either team. Of course, Eric already boasts a 1-0 advantage over Greg. Two seasons ago, URI popped the Bearcats at Mohegan Sun Arena.
But the Youncofski brothers aren’t going head-tohead on Saturday night, or anytime soon. In fact, they hope to be on the same staff in the future, after watching Dan and Bobby Hurley do so for a season at URI.
“Their relationship inspired us to be brothers in coaching, and hopefully work together someday,” said Eric.
Although the Huskies have had their struggles in recent years, Greg Youncofski likes what he sees from afar.
“They’re gonna get it going,” he predicted. “I’ve got a good feeling about them. (Hurley’s) bringing some excitement to it.”
Just not on Saturday night, Greg noted.
“It’s got to wait a little longer.”