It's been a long road for Virginia men's basketball Asst. Coach Tom Herrion.
Six years ago, the 31-year-old was an assistant at tiny Merrimack College in North Hanover, Mass., where he had coached for nearly a decade.
Now, with Bobby Gonzalez's departure to the heada coaching position at Manhattan College, Herrion takes over as the new head assistant under Cavalier Coach Pete Gillen.
Herrion replaces Gonzalez as the assistant coach in charge of recruiting. After following Gillen from Providence to Virginia in 1998, Herrion now has the opportunity to do what he does best - deal one-on-one with 17 year-old basketball prodigies looking for guidance.
Last season, even with Gonzalez as the head assistant, Herrion was instrumental in bringing in Virginia's top recruiting class this season, including 6-foot-5 guard Roger Mason.
"During the whole recruiting process, he was up front with me," Mason said. "He built a solid relationship with me by talking to me as much as possible. He's a great guy and I could really relate to him."
Herrion joined Gillen's coaching squad when Gillen moved from Xavier to become head coach at Providence in 1994. Because Merrimack is located in Massachusetts, Herrion, a coach and recruiter with New England connections, was a definite asset to Gillen. Despite Herrion's relative inexperience, he fit right into Gillen's system.
"I was really the only person he spoke to," Herrion said. "To be able to make the jump to the Big East was a huge break for me. I'm very fortunate for the opportunities that have been presented to me."
Herrion's older brother Bill is a first-year head coach at East Carolina and the former head man at Drexel. Although Tom Herrion may be headed to similar heights, he feels fortunate to be where he is now.
"I have one of the best jobs in the country," he said. "I work for one of the best people in the business, Pete Gillen, who gave me a great opportunity six years ago by taking a chance with me. I work for a great guy and work at a great school. We have a lot of work ahead of us, but we're headed in the right direction."
Herrion's success as a recruiter will be determined by the interaction that he has with the young men who will be the future of the Virginia men's basketball team.
In his first class as head recruiter, Herrion has already earned an oral commitment from Maurice Young, a 6-foot-5 forward from Bishop McNamara in Mitchellville, Md., who is considered one of the top 35 players in the nation. According to players that Herrion has recruited in the past, he is a hands-on, personable and knowledgeable instructor.
"He's experienced as a recruiter," Mason said. "He relates well to players. The difference for me was his persistence in always calling the house and checking on me to make sure I was always working on my game. I could tell he was a good teacher because it seemed like he knew the game. It seemed like he knew how to get you prepared while you're in college."
While working with Gillen and Rodriguez at Providence, Herrion was instrumental in recruiting some of the Friars' most talented players, including Erron Maxey, their top-returning scorer this season.
At Virginia, though, Herrion and the staff have the advantage of recruiting high school prospects to one of the top universities in the country.
"You have to identify the kids that will be successful at Virginia. We have great kids at Virginia, and we have to be a little more conscious of academics here," he said. "You have to ask yourself not only if they can work, but if they can succeed."
With the young and upcoming team that the Cavaliers feature this season, recruits are taking notice of Gillen's method to find success in the Conference.
Herrion's job is to sell the blue-chip prospects on both the Cavs' up tempo style of play and the academic prowess of Virginia. He said he hopes to select players who can contribute not only to the basketball team, but to the University itself as well.
"If you're talking to us, you have three qualities: You must be a great student, you must bring something to the table as far as basketball and we really value having good kids," he said. "We have done a really good job of evaluating character.
"We want to put people on the court that our school can be proud of, our administration can be proud of and that our students and alumni can be proud of," he added. "It's about how you carry yourselves as young men. We pride ourselves on having a team of people of high moral character."
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