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When Brian Baptiste graduated from New Bedford High as one of the school’s all-time best basketball players, he wanted to take his love for the sport as far as he could go.
More than 50 years later, he’s still going.
And he’s still got the love — evident as he sits in his office on the third floor of UMass Dartmouth’s Tripp Athletic Center watching film of his team on two computer monitors.
The sounds of a women’s practice float up from the gym below, as he leans forward in his chair and breaks down a play on the screen. Rewinds it, watches it again.
He’s only got a half hour before the team assembles to watch this film, and he wants to be prepared. Then it’s practice, and tomorrow, game day.
This is Baptiste’s 43rd season as the head men’s basketball coach for UMass Dartmouth, where he’s earned a reputation as one of the country’s most respected program leaders at the Division III level.
There are more than 400 active Division III coaches scattered across the country trying to build something special at their schools — and none of them have won more games than Baptiste, who has 741 as of Sunday, all at UMass Dartmouth.
Now in his early 70s, he’s trim and athletic and still looks and moves like a younger man. When you see him in the coaching box for games, his command and intensity are the same as they ever were, his distinctively local version of the classic Boston accent cutting through the noise as he shouts instruction.
But the walls of his office display the evidence of his longevity and success — photos and clippings and plaques in every corner reminding him of what he’s achieved and the people whose lives he’s touched. He grew up in New Bedford, lives in New Bedford and has happily spent his life here.
He may be surrounded by history, but he’s not a prisoner of it. Collecting all those victories is nice, but it doesn’t ensure the next one — or the one after that. So he leans in a little closer to the computer for one more look at the play he’s breaking down, with a quick glance to the clock to make sure he’s on schedule.
“I really just enjoy what I do,” he said. “And that keeps me coming back.”
New Bedford Light: What’s your origin story at UMass Dartmouth?
Brian Baptiste: Well, I started out as a coach back at New Bedford High School as an assistant coach. Bruce Wheeler was the head coach here at the time, and Bruce had recruited me out of high school. He was looking for an assistant and asked me if I’d be interested, so I left New Bedford High and came here.
After two years as an assistant, Bruce wanted to just be the head coach of baseball, so he recommended me for the job, and I got it. I’ve been here ever since.
NBL: Have you ever had the inclination or the opportunity to go to a bigger school or a different school?
BB: Yes. In my early years — the first 10 I’d say — I had interviews with Bryant, Brown, UMass Lowell, and the University of New Hampshire. I didn’t get the job. They asked me to apply, so I applied.
We were really successful back then — I mean, really successful. After those first 10 years, I started raising a family. I had four daughters, and most of my friends who were in coaching were either getting better jobs because they were successful, or because they were coaching at a Division I program and able to move.
But coaching at a higher level, they were also getting fired because their program wasn’t doing well, going from place to place. I didn’t want that life. I didn’t want to be moving around with kids and all that stuff. I thought this would be a great spot to stay, and it has been.
NBL: Every kid who wants to play after high school dreams of playing at the highest level. What’s it like trying to get players to play for you at a Division III program over the years? Has it changed from where it started?
BB: I think the kids are maybe a little bit different, but if you give them organization and you’re straight with them, I think it’s pretty much the same over the years.
When I started coaching, everybody I recruited thought they were a Division I player … and everyone I’m recruiting still thinks they’re a Division I player.
But just like it’s always been, they’re usually not one. So you just have to let them go with their dream. If they decide to come here, that’s great. If they don’t, they’re going to go to a junior college for a year or a prep school for another year.
And I can only say, if you really have that dream, go for it. Because if you tell them otherwise, they’re not going to want to hear that, and they’re not going to be comfortable playing here. So I tell them to go for their dream. Then a year later, after they go somewhere else, we can have a conversation, and they’ll be more interested in coming back home. We get a lot of great players like that.
NBL: Once they settle here, how do they become a really good Division III player?
BB: If you really like the game and you put the time and effort into it, that’s obviously important. You also have to be willing to listen to somebody who’s trying to do what’s best for you. I just try to give them every opportunity to succeed.
NBL: What do you think it takes to be a successful coach over a long time?
BB: I’ve had a lot of guys who played for me who are now coaching, and the biggest thing I pass on is just be honest with the kids. I don’t hold back. I’m not sugarcoating anything. Some kids can handle it, some kids can’t. But to me, there’s no better advice than to just tell it straight.
NBL: Are you a coach who has hard, fast rules that everyone lives by, no exceptions?
BB: Certain things are straight by the book — you may have to tweak some things, but not when it comes to a rule. But the experience is different for each player. I have to approach kids differently at a level I think is going to get through to them.
Over the years, maybe at first it was, ‘No B.S., this is the way it is.’ After you mature as a coach and as a person, you realize some kids are just slower to get it. I’ve tried not to be harsh on the correction. If you pull them aside and explain it, that sinks in better.
As far as the rules are concerned, if you’re the best player or the worst player, it doesn’t matter. You break a rule, it’s a penalty. That’s it.
NBL: How many players do you think you’ve coached here?
BB: That’s a good question. The average roster is about 15 players a year, and probably eight or nine play all four years. Over 43 years as a head coach … jeez.
NBL: Why do players choose to play for you? What’s your pitch during recruiting season?
BB: I try to fit that specifically for each kid. You’ve got local kids who are good players but don’t want to come here because it’s too close. They want to branch out. You’ve got kids from far away where this is their chance to go away from home.
You have to find what’s valuable to them, and the only way to do that is to ask questions and find out what’s important to them.
As far as what sells the program, I think the success of the program sells itself. In years when we’ve made the NCAA tournament or won championships, I have more recruits interested than I need to go search for.
NBL: Is it overwhelming to have so many guys you care about and put your all into, and to watch them thrive?
BB: It’s awesome. It really is.
NBL: Is there a common thread among the kids who succeed here?
BB: I think if you can succeed here, you can succeed anywhere. There’s a common thread, and that’s a kid who’s willing to listen, willing to work hard, and willing to be a good teammate.
NBL: I’m sure you’ve had examples of guys who had all the talent but just couldn’t reach it. Is that frustrating?
BB: Very frustrating.
My best teams — I’ve had a series of great teams, and the last one just graduated four years ago — the difference with that group was they didn’t care who scored the points. All they cared about was each other and winning.
They were willing to sacrifice their own personal accolades for what was good for the group. That’s tough to come by. I try to foster that because I know that’s the combination. But some kids just aren’t willing to give that much. It’s more about their own personal needs than what’s good for the group.
NBL: Not looking for a scoop here, but you’re 700 wins and 40-plus years in. How do you look at the future, and when it might be time to move on?
BB: I take it one year at a time. When the year is over, I talk with the athletic director, then I take anywhere from a week to a month to let everything from the season sink in. I ask myself if I truly want to do it again.
I’ve been doing that for the past three years. I still really enjoy it, and that’s what keeps me coming back.
NBL: As you’ve hit milestones — 500, 600, 700 wins — do you ever look back?
BB: Most of the time, I just wonder where all the time went. It doesn’t seem that long ago that Kevin Kolek, Val Sender, and those guys were here. They’re in their 60s now.
But it feels like yesterday.
Jonathan Comey is a decorated newspaper editor and columnist and a contributor to The New Bedford Light. Please send emails to him at jcomey@newbedfordlight.org.
