Before Loyola’s basketball players and coaches could head off to Jackson, Miss. for their next road game, former assistant coach Joey Stiebing had already left for China. ‘ ‘ ‘

Stiebing has accepted a position as head coach of Sichuan Jinqiang that hopes to be part of China’s National Basketball League. The decision to leave mid-season caught both coaches and players off guard.

‘The timing of it was surprising,’ said assistant coach Richard Hinton, who worked with Stiebing for two years.

Stiebing is no stranger to coaching basketball in Asia. In 2005 he led Qatar’s national team to a third place finish in the Asian Championship. The next year, Qatar’s national team had a best ever second place finish at the 2006 Asian Games. Before he left his position as head coach to work with his long time friend and current Wolfpack head coach Michael Giorando, Stiebing compiled a record of 125-60.

It was during his successful stint with the Qatar national team that he met an agent in China at the Asian Championships in 2003 who offered the former Wolfpack assistant coach a head coach job in China.

Though he is excited for the opportunity to take head coaching position in an area where basketball is growing in popularity, he also has mixed feelings about the decision.

‘It (the decision to move) is something I still ponder today,’ Stiebing said.

‘ While he had hoped to stay with the Wolfpack until the end of the season, the coaching job in China would not have waited for him that long.

‘They basically gave me an ultimatum,’ Stiebing said. ‘They said if I wasn’t here by the 15th that they would start looking for another coach.’

However, his new job comes with high expectations. Before the team can be selected for expansion they must participate in an eight team, 20 game tournament where the top two teams will be selected for expansion into the league. ‘ ‘

‘ Stiebing commented on the pressure he is under at his new position saying, ‘Internationally, they expect American coaches to do miracles sometimes.’ Stiebing also acknowledged that if success is not immediate and his team falls out of the top two, he could be relieved of his coaching duties.

Along with being pressured for instant success, Stiebing is also dealing with the language barrier.

‘In Qatar, 75 percent of my players spoke English. Here, no one speaks English,’ he said.

Overall, he expressed sadness over leaving Loyola, but is committed to working to improve his new team.

When looking at his situation he said, ‘China is really different from the states but I am trying to make the best of it.’

In the meantime, Loyola will replace the open spot on their coaching staff with volunteer assistant Ted McNeel. Richard Hinton said they will continue to look for a permanent replacement.

Hasani Grayson can be reached at [email protected]

‘