University of North Carolina Athletics
Mike Fox Optimistic Entering The 2000 Season
January 11, 2000 | Baseball
Jan. 11, 2000
UNC's Head Coach |
He continued that success in 1999, his first year at North Carolina. The Tar Heels finished the season with a 41-18 record that included a trip to the NCAA Tournament.
Coach Fox brings a fresh, positive attitude to Carolina baseball. He's a disciplinarian who demands, and gets, the most out of his players, yet they have fun playing for him.
TarHeelBlue talks to the man whose goal is to take Carolina to the top of the college baseball world.
y: Joe Bray
TarHeelBlue.com
TarHeelBlue: As you begin practice, what do you think will be the team's strengths this year?
Mike Fox: "We've got eight seniors and five juniors, all of whom have a lot of experience. Overall, our experience is our biggest strength.
"More specifically, offensively we will have a combination of speed and power and be able to score in a variety of ways, which is exciting for us. We're not going to be just a home run hitting team, or a Punch and Judy type singles club. We'll have a combination of both.
"We've got some versatility offensively that I really like. Between left and right-handed hitters, guys who can bunt and run a little bit, and guys who've got some power, I like our options.
"As for our pitching, we've got Derrick DePriest, who we can bring in when the game's on the line. Our team has a lot of confidence in Derrick. He throws strikes, and he's had a couple of great years here.
"We lost a couple of great ones in Kyle (Snyder) and Mike (Bynum), but I like our pitching staff. We've got to have some young guys step up, but I think our starting pitching is going to be good and solid. We need to have somebody step up into that long, middle setup role. I think we'll be fine with our starters and Derrick as our closer. It's in that middle relief role that someone's got to step up."
TarHeelBlue: What are the team's weaknesses?
Mike Fox: "A little bit of youth on the mound at some critical times is probably the biggest concern. Plus, the fact that we could be playing three freshmen position wise, possibly at second, third and center field. However, I hate to call that a weakness, because if we didn't think they were capable of playing we wouldn't have them out there. They have the talent, but we'll have to find out whether or not they can perform out there."
TarHeelBlue: Is it too early to name your weekend pitching rotation?
Mike Fox: "Not really. Ryan Snare is certainly going to be one, then Chris Elmore and probably Eric Henderson. All three are left-handers.
"Ryan's been a starter the last two years. Eric Henderson is a transfer who showed us some good things in the fall. He's got a real good arm. Elmore's been in the program for five years and has been a starter for us, so right now those three would go for us if we had to start tomorrow."
TarHeelBlue: Will you move Tyrell Godwin from left field to center?
Mike Fox: "That may be what we'll do but Adam Greenberg, a little freshman left-handed hitter who really played well for us in the fall, is fearless in the outfield. If he can fill the lead-off spot for us and help us offensively, I'd probably keep Tyrell in left and put Adam at center. That would probably be our best outfield. But if Adam doesn't play then I'll play Tyrell in center field."
TarHeelBlue: You've got an exciting early-season road trip (the Disney aseball Blast in Orlando). Tell me about it.
Mike Fox: "Yea, I've never played a game in January before but I think it'll be fun. We really haven't talked a lot about it because I don't want to put too much stock in it. I don't think it'll make or break our season however we do down there.
"What it'll really do is break up our preseason. Usually the guys come back and go, 'oh gosh', we don't play until mid-February. This does give us a little sense of urgency and something to shoot for, but after that we've got a couple of weeks before we get back into the regular swing of things. To me it's a nice break in our preseason practice to (laughing) go play three of the best teams in the country. The players will have fun."
TarHeelBlue: I noticed there's some different teams on the schedule this year. Was that intentional or did it just work out that way?
Mike Fox: "It really just worked out that way. I went back and looked at a lot of the previous schedules here, and I want to improve our schedule. You know we've got a home-and-home series with UCLA. We want to play different people, and we want to play good people because that's the only way you improve. The only way we'll get our program to the level I want to be at is to play the best teams.
"You have to give your kids something to measure themselves against. We play last year's two finalists, Florida St. and Miami, so we'll know how we stack up against the best. We want to get in that category.
"We basically want to play 36 home games and 20 on the road. Twelve of those 20 road games are conference games.
"We like to play in a tournament early in the season. Next year we're going to play in a tournament at South Alabama with South Alabama, Auburn and Minnesota. We're already talking about trying to get into the tournament at Minnesota in the Metrodome in 2002.
"We want to get the national opponents. Players want to play in the big games. That's the only way you get better."
TarHeelBlue: Who's your most versatile player?
Mike Fox: "Ryan Earey. Ryan can play third, he can play first, he can DH, he can start or pitch in relief. He fills so many roles for us.
"Ryan's got such a great arm, and he's such a good hitter. The pro scouts out there are trying to figure out what to do with him. Some organizations like him as a hitter, others like him as a pitcher."
TarHeelBlue: How would you rate the strength of the ACC as a baseball conference?
Mike Fox: "I haven't seen every team across the country, but if you go by the RPI (Relative Power Index) you have to say the ACC is one of the best in the country. I think the last two seasons the ACC and the SEC have had the best RPI rating.
"I think with the ACC it's been Florida St., Georgia Tech and Clemson as probably the best three teams. I think the key to having a strong conference is having the number eight and nine teams with good programs. The SEC probably has a little more balance from top to bottom, but I think the ACC's very good."
TarHeelBlue: Compare the quality of play of Division III baseball, which you used to coach, with the quality of Division I baseball.
Mike Fox: "Obviously in Division I you've got a higher number of talented players, more of them. The biggest difference is probably on the mound.
"From an overall standpoint of talent, which to me is arm strength, speed and power, there is just so much more of it in Division I.
"I've had umpires tell me they prefer to call a game behind the plate in Division II or III because the game moves quicker as there's a lot more strikes thrown. That's because you don't have a guy throwing 93 or 94 mph, you've got someone throwing 83 or 84. The slower throwing pitcher knows he has to throw strikes to win.
"The biggest difference may be off the field. We didn't have all this other stuff in Division III. We didn't have web sites, we didn't have NIKE contracts, but kids do love to play at that level. Division III kids have the fundamentals and work hard, but are just not quite as talented."
TarHeelBlue: You went to 8 World Series in 15 seasons at N.C. Wesleyan. That's quite an impressive statistic, but an even more impressive statistic is that 92% of your players graduated.
Mike Fox: "That's a given with me. We have to remember that we're an institution of higher learning, and that's why those kids are here. If we ever lose sight of that we're in sad shape.
"If you're in that arena where you've got to win to keep your job, it's a sad situation. I still think you've got to keep the focus on the kids and graduation and trying to give them skills that prepare them for life after this athletic stuff because it's got to end at some point.
"For most of them it ends real quickly, for others it ends at a real critical time in their life. Pro guys that have played eight years of minor league ball are suddenly out of a job with a wife and kids to support. They're in big trouble without that degree.
"The more talented kids leave after their junior year. I make them sign in blood that they will come back and get their degree. If Michael Jordan can come back and do it, then those guys should also be able to do so."
TarHeelBlue: Are you pleased with the improvements that have been made to oshamer Stadium over the past year?
Mike Fox: "Oh yes. You know fixing things up is probably a pet project of mine. I like things neat and first class. I like the fact that we've been able to do some things here. I'm grateful to the people who have donated money and helped us.
"Boshamer is a neat little place, but it's 30 years old and needs to be refurbished. It's fun watching it happen, and I think it'll help recruiting.
"We got the players and coaches to paint the bleachers this past winter. We put on the gloves and got the rollers out and painted the bleachers in about five hours. That's typical at Division III level, but I think some of our guys may have been a little taken aback.
"I'll tell you one thing it did. Our players had painted about half of it then went out to center field, looked back and went 'wow!'. Even though they might not have wanted to do this at first, I think they liked it once they saw it.
"We painted the stadium columns, put siding up, put signage on the press box, painted our foul poles and got a new screen in center field. I could go on and on. We're pleased with the progress we're making, and our players are taking a lot of pride in the facility.
"We're working on a player's lounge now. We're going to put some computers in there, and we now have internet access. I want them to come down here and study. I like having them come down here and study or socialize a little bit. I want them to be excited to come down to the stadium."
TarHeelBlue: In 1978 you got to experience what every college player dreams about. You played in the College World Series in Omaha. Tell me a little about that.
Mike Fox: "That was a great way to end my college career. In hindsight, that experience is probably the biggest reason I got into coaching. I think that feeling of achieving the success we did probably stirred something in me that made me think 'wow', I want to experience this again, and the only way I can do that is as a coach.
"I can remember sitting in Rosenblatt Stadium after our final game. I was sad that it was my final game, but I was thrilled that it ended up in Omaha in 3rd-place in the country.
"We lost two of our best players that year, but everybody sort of banded together and we were a real Cinderella story. Now that I look back on it twenty years later, I realize that was probably the biggest single event that propelled me into coaching. I just wanted to get that feeling back."
TarHeelBlue: Are you ready to go back to Omaha?
Mike Fox: "I'm ready to go back! There's no question about that."
TarHeelBlue: Should colleges put up with the increased expense and go back to wooden bats?
Mike Fox: "I like the aluminum bat. I think the aluminum bat gives colleges a little something different than the Major and Minor leagues. However, I don't like them as lively and as hot as they are.
"I was on the rules committee for six years. I sat in all the meetings concerning aluminum bats, and I kept hearing about the integrity of the game and the balance between offense and defense. I don't think there should be equipment that upsets that balance, and I'm glad there has been a change this year to curtail the power of the bat. It's a new standard that will be in effect for three years.
"Wood is an entirely different game. I've seen Coastal Plain League games and they're different. You sacrifice bunt in the 2nd inning because you know how important one run is. It turns it into more of a speed game, and takes away the home run potential of a lot of guys.
"Aluminum gives college baseball a uniqueness that right now I'd like to see us keep. However, I haven't seen some of the injuries that have happened either. Our number one concern has to be the safety of everyone out there."
TarHeelBlue: What do you think of the Designated Hitter rule?
Mike Fox: "I like it. I don't like to see someone up there who's an automatic out.
"I've really never given it that much thought, because I've grown up with the DH, and I've never, ever coached without a DH. If all of a sudden college baseball went back to wood and did away with the DH, I'd really have to start all over again. It would probably take about a whole season to get used to coaching without a DH.
"I realize there's a lot more strategy involved without the DH."
TarHeelBlue: Do you have a favorite Major League team?
Mike Fox: "Probably not, I just don't follow Major League baseball that much. I just don't have the time. I was a big Yankee fan growing up with Mantle and Maris, but I really don't have a favorite team now.
"I'll watch the playoffs, but I'm just not a big fan of Major League baseball."
TarHeelBlue: What do you do to relax?
Mike Fox: "We have a beach house. I like to get on the water, and I've got a Jet Ski. I usually have to get away from here to unwind. If I'm close by I usually come up here and I'll work, because I like to work a lot.
"We go to Emerald Isle and get away from the phone. I really like to be with my wife and children. That's how I mainly relax."
TarHeelBlue: What's your vision of Carolina baseball five years from now?
Mike Fox: "I'd like for us to be an annual contender to go to Omaha, but to do that we've got to get to the top of the ACC. We haven't won an ACC title since 1989, so that means we went through the decade of the nineties without a title. We can't let that happen again.
"It takes a lot of luck and good fortune to make it to Omaha, but you have to be one of the best teams in the conference to even have a chance at making the College World Series."
TarHeelBlue: Could you please summarize your coaching philosophy?
Mike Fox: "Overall I think I'm a coach who wants to lead by example. I want the players to see that no matter how much talent you have, you have to work hard, because that's how you get better. That's how you make breaks for yourself, and that's how you get lucky sometimes. I think hard work's a critical factor.
"I want to be a coach who pushes his players, who's a disciplinarian. Organization and discipline are probably the two fundamental foundations on which you build a program. You have to start with those two. I hope that's what we've started to do here.
"But I also want to be accessible and be a player's coach. I want to have fun with it, and I want my players to enjoy being a part of this program.
"I want the players to realize there are lessons they can learn from baseball, such as discipline and hard work, that will help them succeed in life."
