One of the new assistant coaches for the men’s basketball team learned what he knows about the game in the state capital. The other, however, put what he knew about the game to the test in the Middle East.
Respectively a former Olympic head coach and a manager for Louisiana State University’s women basketball team, assistant coaches Joey Stiebing and Matt Couvillion offer well-qualified Division I and international experience this season.
A native of Plaucheville, La., Couvillion started his journey to Loyola parlaying his Student Worker of the Year award into a team manager position under former women’s team head coach Pokey Chatman.
“I had to work as volunteer for one year,” he said.
As manager, he organized practice times and completed operational tasks for the Lady Tigers, who reached the Final Four three times during his tenure.
“I’m enjoying my first coaching experience. I like the motion offense, I’m picking up whatever I can from coach Giorlando and coach Stiebing, and support them anyway I can. It’s different from women’s basketball, the transitions are faster and the tempo is different,” Couvillion said.
Stiebing was raised in New Orleans and prepped at Rummel High School. He played point guard on both of the Raiders’ state championship teams in 1977 and 1978.
He later worked as a manager for LSU’s Dale Brown from 1982-85, what many fans considered to be a period of decline for the program.
He was the head coach for the Qatar men’s Olympic team from 2003-07. Qatar was invited to the International Basketball Federation’s 2006 World Championship Tournament and ranked in the Top 25. Last year, Qatar finished No. 2 in Asia, the highest in its history.
“I have always been a defense-oriented coach, but lately I’ve taken a real interest in the offensive side of the court. We’ve been working on a triangle overload-based offense, made popular by Phil Jackson in Chicago (with Bulls),” Stiebing said.
Stiebing has been working with 6-foot-9 inch freshman center Darrinton Moncrieffe, management freshman, on fundamentals.
He explained, “I’m working with Darrinton on his shooting, and movement around the paint and posting up. He’s a good player, but young and needs polish.”
Couvillion is working on the team’s ball-handling skills and recently arranged a team trip to LSU’s Rope Challenge Course, an obstacle course.
“They had to climb 25 feet and jump over to a pole to get down. The course is designed to build confidence and team trust,” he said.
They share the same feelings about head coach Michael Giorlando. “He’s very intense and motivational … He is defense-oriented and stresses taking care of the ball, smart play, good shot selection and rebounding,” Stiebing said.
The coaches have their place in the ‘Pack and are hoping to enjoy a good run.
Don Weaver can be reached at [email protected].
