The Man Behind Calipari's Madness

While watching this video about the attacking offense that John Calipari calls "Princeton on Steroids", I was struck by the major credit that the Memphis coach was giving to the system's creator. For a Final Four contender to basically admit that he junked his previous notions about basketball after meeting a (highly successful) junior college coach was incredible to me.

So I resolved to find out who this innovative and persuasive Vance Walberg is. And here's what I learned.

Vance Walberg is a Cali guy, plain and simple. He began his coaching career in the Sunshine State in the early 80s, and he's never left there. He broke into the profession in the usual way, as a head badminton coach. That soon gave way to basketball, where his true talents lie. But who knows how he might have revolutionized the shuttlecock if given half a chance?

He spent thirteen years as a High School coach in Fresno, before making the small leap up to junior college, where he became head man at Fresno City College. That's where he really began to shine, racking up an astounding 133-11 record for a .924 winning percentage. He was JC coach of the year in 2003 and 2005, and managed a perfect 34-0 season in '05 as well.

Somewhere during that time, he made a fateful trip to Memphis, Tennessee. While he ostensibly was there to learn from the great John Calipari, coach Walberg actually ended up setting the basketball world on its ear. A casual dinner conversation about Walberg's notions of attacking offense led to Calipari junking his more conservative style, instead adapting the Fresno CC system to his own blue chip personnel.

Walberg calls the basis of the Memphis Attack more of a style than a system. The initials he prefers are AASAA, standing for Attack, Attack, Skip Pass, Attack, Attack. Guards absolutely love it, and big men have to be more Dirk Nowitzki than Shaq to make it work. Walberg compares it to the ethos of a football team that blitzes more often than not. That style extends to the defensive end as well, where the press is the weapon of choice. It's institutionalized chaos.

The Wizard of Fresno made his mark on the college hoops world, and has been rewarded with his chance at DI. Following that perfect '05 season in Fresno, Walberg was called up to the big leagues. Even better, he gets to stay in California, as the head coach of the Pepperdine Waves. Now in his second season by the sea, Walberg is still building the cast he needs to execute AASAA, starting this season 0-3 with losses at both #13 Oregon and Pacific and a head-scratching home loss to Western Michigan.

Regardless of how this turns out, just remember Walberg's smarts and Calipari's humility (I can't believe I just wrote that) combined to create a monster in Memphis. Maybe the Waves' coach can take a small bit of solace from this season if a Final Four banner hangs from the rafters at the Pyramid.