Darryl LaBarrie was officially hired as an assistant coach at Georgia Tech May 4, 26 days after coach Josh Pastner’s hire. Evidently, Pastner did not spend those days idly pondering the decision to lure LaBarrie away from his assistant position at Georgia State.
“I felt like I was going into the FBI,” LaBarrie said. “I have never been vetted before like that in my life. And not only was he asking me a ton of questions, he was asking a ton of people in the area a ton of questions about me.”
The 37-year-old Tech grad, who played for both Bobby Cremins and Paul Hewitt and later was an assistant on Hewitt’s staff, said he was getting calls from colleagues two or three times a day telling him that Pastner had called to ask about him. As for his own interviews with Pastner, LaBarrie said the questions ran the gamut – coaching philosophy, family, high-school and AAU coaches he is close with, skill instruction and more.
“Whatever you can imagine, he asked it,” he said. “Multiple times, at that.”
Having passed Paster’s muster, LaBarrie has started on arguably a greater challenge - helping return the Yellow Jackets to their past glories. More to know about LaBarrie:
1. Respected by AAU coaches
One of the AAU coaches whom Pastner called was Darren Darby of the Atlanta Express.
“When Josh got the job, he was talking, trying to know the lay of the land,” Darby said. “Darryl was the first name that came out of my mouth. Not just for the Georgia Tech ties. He’s connected with the major shoe guys in Georgia. All of us think highly of him.”
Darby said that he’ll hear from most college coaches only when they’re interested in one of his players. LaBarrie works at maintaining the relationship, Darby said, checking up to see how he’s doing and giving updates on players who have gone on to to play for him. He acts as a sounding board for Darby on other coaches who are recruiting Express players and recommend’s Darby’s players to other college coaches.
LaBarrie is one of “only three or four coaches that I’m personal with, that I really trust with my guys, in terms of other college coaches,” Darby said.
2. Doesn’t like to lose
LaBarrie has kept up one of his friendships since he was five years old. LaBarrie met Darrell Davison playing baseball at Browns Mill Park in DeKalb County and have been close friends since.
“So we heard, ‘This is my brother Darryl, and this is my other brother Darryl,’” LaBarrie said, referring to a bit from the 80’s sitcom “Newhart.” “So we’ve probably heard that joke 1,500 to 2,000 times.”
“Every time I hear that, I’m like, I’ve never heard that,” Davison said.
As high schoolers, they played basketball for Tucker High, which won the Class AAA state title when LaBarrie was a senior. They were in each other’s weddings and are godfathers to each other’s children. Davison calls LaBarrie strong-willed, stubborn and “one of the worst losers I’ve ever known.”
He also said that LaBarrie is intelligent, was the sort of player who thought his way through games and, not surprisingly, is highly competitive.
“If you’re going to battle with somebody, you would want to go to battle with him, beacuse he’s not ever going to cheat, but he’s playing to win,” Davison said. “That’s the most important thing to him, is to compete.”
3. Ex-youth coach
LaBarrie is married (Aisha, also a Tech grad) with three daughters, Sydney, 10, Kai, 8 and Diarra, 5. He tried coaching the elder two in a recreational soccer league in Smyrna. It didn’t work out so well.
LaBarrie said that when he coached Kai, he got frustrated because he thought she was not applying her talent. In her defense, she was six one season and seven the next.
“It’s hard for a coach, I don’t care at any age, for me, to watch somebody who has a lot of talent just go through the motions,” he said.
LaBarrie acknowledges that he was probably too hard on them and said will never coach his kids again.
“So I feel (Georgia State coach Ron Hunter’s) pain,” he said. “I don’t know how he coached his son (R.J.), especially at such a high level, because it’s extremely difficult to be objective with your child when you’re coaching them.”
4. Wants to improve Tech’s perimeter shooting
LaBarrie will work with the Jackets guards. He is particularly attuned to improving their shooting. Last season, Tadric Jackson shot 38.5 percent from the field and 27.7 percent from 3-point range. Josh Heath shot 38.3 percent from the field and 29.4 percent from 3-point range.
The fix isn’t just working on the release, LaBarrie said, but requires a more comprehensive approach including footwork and shot preparation. He has watched film with players to help them think through game situations to know what kind of shots would be most appropriate and effective.
“Knowing what a good shot is, knowing what a bad shot is, all those things are going to improve your shooting numbers,” he said.
5. Already bringing in recruits
LaBarrie had been on the job for a month when he brought in his first signee, point guard Justin Moore from San Diego. LaBarrie had recruited Moore when he was at Georgia State, offering him a scholarship going into his sophomore year, but Moore ultimately signed with Tulane. However, after Tulane changed coaches, Moore was granted a release from his letter of intent. LaBarrie’s relationship with Moore and the chance to play in the ACC brought him to Atlanta.
LaBarrie and Moore originally connected through another San Diego player, David Travers, whom LaBarrie signed to Georgia State. Travers and Moore are close and refer to each other as brothers. The relationship stood even after Travers left the team and LaBarrie told him he was making a mistake.
“But just because of the way I handled situations with him, his AAU coach, his family, letting them know everything that was going on, being upfront and honest, even when I thought he was doing the wrong thing, they trust now that I will do the right thing with Justin,” LaBarrie said. “So that’s just kind of how it works.”
6. No flip flops
Travers, who lives in Atlanta and is trying to make it in the music business, recalled LaBarrie as a great teacher and someone who understood the different ways that players are motivated and relate to their coaches.
He also said that LaBarrie, when checking to make sure players were in class, was adamant about appearance – no flip flops, no hats, no earrings, sit in the front of the class.
“Next, ‘Oh, O.K., you’re sitting in the front – why don’t you have your laptop open? Why aren’t you taking notes?’” Travers said. “When you’re 18 and you’re a freshman, you don’t appreciate it. Now that I’m older and I’m 22, I definitely appreciate it.”
Travers gave warning to Moore when he got to Tech in June.
“I just helped him get into his first class,” LaBarrie said last month, “and he said, ‘I already know. David told me, Don’t wear flip flops.”
