Drexel coach Bruiser Flint. (Yong Kim / Staff Photographer )
At least new Kentucky assistant coach Bruiser Flint understands just what he’s getting into with Big Blue Nation. Flint has worked as an assistant coach under John Calipari before at UMass. He’s also been a head coach at UMass and Drexel and had been working as an assistant at Indiana before joining Calipari’s staff after the departure of Kenny Payne to the New York Knicks.
“I think all assistant coaches, especially with social media, have pressure because they (fans) can talk about you. If they don’t think you’re getting any players for the coach and things like that, that comes out now,” Flint said. “That wasn’t the case years and years ago when I got into coaching.
“There’s always pressure and one of the biggest pressures is to bring in players. The better your players are the better your coach is. I know that myself. I was a head coach for 20 years, so I get that part of it.”
He also gets that being at UK with the passionate fan following only intensifies that pressure not only on Calipari but also his staff members.
“People talk about you. They put you on social media and ask, ‘What is he doing?’ Those are the types of thing that go on down there,” Flint said. “Probably didn’t go on when I first got into coaching, but that’s part of the game now and you’ve got to deal with it.”
“I think all assistant coaches, especially with social media, have pressure because they can talk about you. If they don’t think you’re getting any players for the coach and things like that, that comes out now. There’s always pressure and one of the biggest pressures is to bring in players.”
