'Coach' Rupp says all the right things

I have seen Kerry Rupp coach just one game, and I'm already convinced the man has the right stuff.

Why is he still working for Rick Majerus?

Rupp made his head college coaching debut Saturday in the Utes' win at BYU. I was impressed. The Utah assistant coach managed the substitution and foul situations expertly, worked the clock adeptly and remained calm in the most intense Utah-BYU game in years.

He even had the Utes looking as though they were having fun — something they seldom do.

But what convinced me beyond doubt that Rupp belongs in the big time was his fluency in "coachspeak." There are a few notable exceptions — among them Majerus at tournament time — but for the most part, all head coaches speak the same language.

It is a tongue Rupp appears to have nearly mastered already.

To be fluent in coachspeak, you must begin with a broad, post-game overview that immediately signals you aren't going to reveal anything interesting. Rupp was marvelous in this area. Asked about his first collegiate coaching win, Rupp said, "It felt really good to win this game." (Good icebreaker! Hauntingly similar to the ever-popular "This was a good win for us.")

Rule No. 2 of coachspeak: Defer credit wherever possible. "Coach (Majerus) did a great job putting together a game plan and the players executed it well," said Rupp. (Nice. Very nice. Give your boss the credit and top it off with something positive about the players. Make it look like an encyclopedia salesman could have won the game with the support you had. Your boss and players will love you for it. Your fans will appreciate the modesty.)

Rule No. 3: Pretend you weren't paying attention to the fans or media in the week preceding the game. Huh? A 44-game BYU home win streak? No kidding?

"We didn't talk about the streak," Rupp said, last Saturday afternoon. (Again, masterful job. Majerus set the standard for this sort of thing earlier this year when the Utes played then-No. 1 Alabama. "That's really a media thing," he said of the rankings.)

Rule No. 4: Sprinkle the conversation liberally with coaching homilies.

"Coach doesn't talk a lot about whether a game is at home or away, he talks about getting prepared," said Rupp. (Excellent!)

"Everyone has the will to win, the difference is in the will to prepare to win." (Superb!)

"If you prepare and execute, those things take care of themselves." (Beautiful!)