South's McRoy finds road to success as college coach

Elwyn McRoy isn't an old guy. But if he were a used car, you'd definitely want to kick the tires, because he's been down the road a time or two.

McRoy, a 1992 graduate of Wichita South, has been a coach now for almost 14 years. He has made stops at: Butler Community College, Independence CC, Redlands (Okla.) CC, Frank Phillips (Texas), Southern, Northwood (Fla.), Georgia Southern and Arkansas State.

He's been on the backroads of college basketball recruiting, waiting for a chance to jump on the Super Highway and hoping he had enough oomph to keep up.

So far, it's going well.

McRoy joined the staff of new Iowa State coach Fred Hoiberg in late August and is the Cyclones' chief recruiter. So he still doesn't get to sleep in his own bed very often, but is enthusiastic — giddy, even — to have an opportunity to coach in the Big 12.

"Shoot, man, coming from where I come from, I love it,'' McRoy said before a recent practice. "They've got a real good situation up here.''

Hoiberg, who is from Ames, is one of the most popular players in Iowa State history, so beloved that he received more than a few write-in votes during the city's 1993 mayoral election, a happening that got him nicknamed "Mayor."

McRoy has a Type A personality, too. He never stays in one place for long and relishes being on the road and recruiting players.

He said he's known primarily as a junior college recruiter, so he's eager to show he can woo a few top high school players to Ames.

"Everybody has their niche,'' McRoy said. "But a lot of times, you recruit a certain type of player because of where you're at. If you're not going to have a chance at a high level high school All-America type, then you're not going to waste your time. But now I think I can recruit some of those kinds of kids.''

McRoy's parents, Elwyn and Ethyle, are coaches and their enthusiasm for working with young people rubbed off. But he learned the most from Steve Eck while helping win City League and state championships at South.

"Coach Eck showed me another side to this,'' McRoy said. "There's no question I learned a lot from playing for him and later on working for him at Redlands.''

The outgoing McRoy knew all along he wanted to get to a school like Iowa State someday. The Cyclones have been down in the Big 12 standings in recent years, but when ISU is good fans fill Hilton Coliseum to the rafters. It's one of the best venues in the country for college basketball.

It was through networking for more than a dozen years that McRoy ended up at Iowa State. He got to know Bobby Lutz when Lutz was the head coach at Charlotte. Turns out, Lutz, who was fired from Charlotte after last season, was the first assistant hired by Hoiberg.

Lutz recommended McRoy to his new boss and McRoy and Hoiberg met for the first time at a junior college camp in Tulsa last summer. They hit it off.

"It's a tremendous break for me,'' McRoy said. "Life-changing, to be honest with you.''

Not surprisingly, McRoy met his wife, Carmen, when he was on the road recruiting in the Seattle area. They've been married six years and have four daughters — 11, 4, 3 and six months.

She's obviously an understanding wife because of his job. In fact, McRoy missed Iowa State's Big 12 opener Saturday, a one-point loss at Nebraska, because he was on the road recruiting.

"But I love it, I absolutely love it,'' McRoy said. "And that's why I was hired here, to recruit. The best thing about this job is the relationships you get to build. You meet so many people, whether they're parents or recruits or other coaches. I've always been a people person. I love to meet people. And I was always taught that life's about networking. If you can get out there and network, you definitely increase your chance of having a successful life.''

Iowa State, which is at home against No. 3 Kansas tonight, is 13-3. The Cyclones are having a better season than anyone expected and Hoiberg, of course, is getting most of the credit.

"People told me what a nice guy he was, how down to earth he is,'' McRoy said. "Well, you don't always believe it until you're around somebody. But it's unbelievable the kind of guy he is. You would never guess he played 10 years in the NBA or that he was in charge of an NBA franchise (Minnesota Timberwolves). This guy is as down to earth as anyone I've ever met.''

And McRoy meets a lot of people.

He's an encyclopedia of junior college basketball information, even though he's spreading his wings to recruit high school players, too.

"I follow the jucos like I'm still coaching there,'' he said. "I would guess there aren't too many players who go under the radar at that level, guys I haven't heard of. That's what I've been known for. Of all the places I've been, those are the players I've been asked to recruit.''

If you're keeping track of McRoy, Iowa State is his ninth school in 13 years of coaching. It's the kind of place he'd like to stay a while. The wins and the losses will likely determine how long.

This story was originally published January 12, 2011 at 12:00 AM with the headline "South's McRoy finds road to success as college coach."