The Wolfpacker: An Independent Magazine Covering NC State Sports
Issue link: https://comanpub.uberflip.com/i/1343401
MARCH/APRIL 2021 ■ 13 TRACKING THE PACK NC State's assistant director of men's basketball operations Chris Zupko was hired in May 2020 after spending four seasons as the coordinator of basketball operations at Drexel University. He spent nearly a decade as the director of Hoop Group Skills Camp, and before that he was an assistant for four seasons with Kevin Keatts at Har- grave Military Academy in Chatham, Va. The Wolfpacker: When you were first hired, what would your job have been like over the summer pre-pandemic? Zupko: "We would have finished up in the month of July handling the travel for assistant coaches for recruiting events and hotels, and lining up hotel rooms, restaurants and meals for official visits around home football games. And I would have been doing basketball camps, wrapping up camps, some of Coach Keatts' travel, and starting to plan for our flights and hotels for in-season. "Then assisting with the ins and outs with getting our schedule for workouts and using the different apps that we use to let our players know the calendar updates." The Wolfpacker: What are some of the things you learned from Keatts while working for him at Hargrave Military Academy? Zupko: "One thing I took with me from there is that it's important in this business to develop relationships with people and do it the right way. I learned that from Kevin, how he greeted someone and watching firsthand how he makes them feel comfortable, like they are the most important person right at that moment. "That was really one of the big takeaways for me: his coaching and passion for the game and passion for the fundamentals and teaching the game right. Those are things that stood out to me at Hargrave. That and Chatham is a really small town." The Wolfpacker: What do you enjoy about handling bas- ketball operations? Zupko: "I don't want to coach. I just want to be in opera- tions the rest of my life, and I want to do the things behind the scenes so that Kevin and our assistants can focus on two things: recruiting players and coaching our team. "I make sure that all the paperwork and behind-the- scenes stuff is buttoned up, so that they can just focus on that." The Wolfpacker: How did you get your breakthrough at Drexel with coach Zach Spiker? Zupko: "One of the things that I did for Coach Keatts at Hargrave, and my own sanity because I didn't think I could spend more than a week in Chatham without work, I would every summer pack up my car and literally go work 15 to 20 camps. "I was working Prep All Stars down at Winthrop. Zach and I literally had to clean up a mess in the bathroom at two in the morning. Some kid had missed the toilet, and Zach and I were making bad jokes while pushing the janitors cart up to the coliseum like, 'Man, this is a crappy job.' "We kept in touch over the years. When he got to Drexel, he had a position open, and I wanted to definitely get out of the basketball camp business." — Matt Carter support nc state student-athletes on the third annual day of giving! Here's How: IMPACK PROGRAM PRESERVE THE PACK Help support the day-to-day operations of the Athletic Department during challenging COVID times. Directly support NC State student-athlete scholarship costs. Visit DayOfGiving.ncsu.edu to donate today! half page WPC DOG ad.indd 1 half page WPC DOG ad.indd 1 2/17/2021 4:36:27 PM 2/17/2021 4:36:27 PM SITTING DOWN WITH: Assistant Director Of Men's Basketball Operations Chris Zupko Zupko reunited with head coach Kevin Keatts last May. He was one of Keatts' assistant coaches at Hargrave Military Academy for four years. PHOTO COURTESY NC STATE MEDIA RELATIONS