Geriot offers refreshing self-assessment after Iona’s 4-0 start

Iona players surround head coach Dan Geriot (center) during postgame interview following Gaels’ win over Hofstra in November 7 season opener. Team chemistry has been a key component to Iona’s 4-0 start. (Photo by Iona Athletics)

NEW ROCHELLE, N.Y. — When Dan Geriot was hired at Iona, he did not make promises to win right away or mention a specific method in which he would recruit or schedule. What he did do, though, was outline the type of players he wanted to attract to the program, the foundation upon which a longstanding winner would support its newest iteration.

“The people in this program are going to matter so much,” he said when introduced to the Iona community in April. “We need to understand that people matter more than anything else, and we need to get selfless faster.”

Four games do not necessarily define an entire season, but Iona’s initial body of work suggests a much greater dividend being paid from Geriot’s arrival than was first presumed. Yes, the Gaels are 4-0 — their latest victory being a 20-point handling of a Princeton team projected to be an Ivy League frontrunner — and their offense does resemble scenes from the Tim Cluess years at times. But the one constant no matter the score or the situation on the floor is a team camaraderie that reinforces when tested, and continues to mold itself harder and stronger.

“We trust ourselves and the coaches trust us,” Toby Harris explained. “We expect this. It’s nothing too crazy for us.”

“He was very specific with his recruiting,” Kosy Akametu shared. “I know the kind of guys he brought in, and every day we practice with each other, we work on our chemistry, we work on what certain guys are good at or not good at. We know our strengths, we know our weaknesses, so we just try to work off that and build off each other.”

In a pleasant coincidence, Tuesday’s meeting with Princeton marked a confluence of emotions of sorts for Geriot, as he matched wits with Tiger head coach Mitch Henderson. It was Henderson who gave Geriot his first coaching opportunity, adding him to his first staff at Princeton several months after his playing career at Richmond came to a close. And as Geriot recalled, his first mentor helped shape his own philosophy.

“I think when he first hired me, it was all about relationships,” he said of Henderson. “That was big. It was all about the player relationships. We had Brian Earl, we had Marcus Jenkins on staff, and they were elite minds for what they’ve done in their careers as well. But we had such a great staff and it was really about me being the bond to the players, the bridge to the players. So I think that’s what he saw in me to start, and then as we got into it, it was a really great bond that Mitch and I formed. I truly believe made me a big-picture thinker. I owe my whatever you want to call it — journey, success, failures — all to him. Without him, I don’t think I’d ever have that mentality. There’s a different world where, if things go differently in my life, I’m probably sitting on that bench still with him. I really owe him. Debt of gratitude is a great way to put it, but I probably owe him everything.”

Being able to serve as a conduit to players helped lead Geriot into the ranks of the NBA, where another facet of his ethos as a coach was soon cultivated, with an assist from the sport’s all-time leading scorer. While a Cleveland Cavaliers assistant, Geriot was able to work alongside LeBron James, who used Theodore Roosevelt’s “Man in the Arena” quote as a reminder to silence those who criticized him from behind the ropes. A recording of the former President explaining the meaning behind the quote was played before Iona was introduced Tuesday, and Geriot took the time to explain why.

“A big thing for me was asking (James) about Man in the Arena at times,” he recounted. “Who do you want to be? What type of man do you want to be when you’re in the arena? For me and our team, it’s like, who do we want to be? And for me personally, the way we’re doing the (Oklahoma City) Thunder get-togethers after the game and everything, that’s who we want to be.”

“We want to be the right men in the arena, and that’s a big deal for where we’re going. This is a new arena for all of us. I try not to put that on the guys, but that meant a lot of me because I think it resonates with where we’re at and what we’re doing.”

The most unique piece of this marriage between Iona’s players and coach is that each man is essentially embarking on this journey with a clean slate and, in essence, a blank road map. Not only are the players new to one another as teammates, but as a rookie head coach, Geriot is in a similar boat, a dynamic that has bred a deeper trust through four months of summer and fall practices, and now, four games.

“I think you just have to go through the experiences,” Geriot said of how to best navigate the waters he and his players now sail in. “My only experience in this seat was a G League season that was nuts, and I think for me, it was really about the first scrimmage, then two weeks later, the second scrimmage, and really just — in my own world — finding my routine, finding my consistency. I preach it all the time, now it’s time for me to do it. That’s been big for me personally to be able to find my routine in this seat. I think our preparation and our consistency is above average, and I’m hopeful that mine continues to be.”