Daniel Helms Sugar Bear rebuild: coach says 'relentless effort' key to restoring program.

MATT DANIEL WEARS HIS EMOTIONS on his sleeve and his philosophy on his wrist.

Daniel, a former MVP of the Overall state high school tournament, highly successful boys basketball coach at Pulaski Academy, and respected women's assistant and recruiter at the University of Colorado and Missouri, is assuming the rebuilding effort for the University of Central Arkansas Sugar Bear basketball program.

Checola Seals-Horton, who led the Sugar Bears to the NCAA Division III semifinals three years ago, was dismissed Dec. 31 after a 2-11 start and several embarrassing and lopsided defeats in the program's second year in NCAA Division I.

With legendary coach Ron Marvel serving out the season as interim coach, UCA has experienced its first 20-loss season.

With his parents, grandparents, and brother and sister-in-law in the audience at his introductory news conference in January, Daniel teared up and his voice broke within seconds.

"We'll do everything with emotion here and it's not because I've been around women," Daniel quipped. "I'm in touch with my feminine side and I'm in touch with my masculine side and they're both very emotional."

He added, "I told the players two things are not an option: attitude and effort, relentless effort."

For several years, he has proudly worn a red plastic wrist bracelet to symbolize a core philosophy.

"Between the dash" is something he has implemented during his dash through a rising-star coaching career and life. It relates to the "dash" in an obituary or epitaph, the time between a person's birth and death.

"The key is to try to add things to your dash. What you do during the dash relates to the quality of your life," he said. "Every day, you need to add to the dash. That's why I wear the bracelet, to remind me of that."

Daniel has the prototype "gym rat" resume as a coach's son. He led Jonesboro High School to the 1994 state championship. His father, David Daniel, who began his coaching career at Weiner, is a former assistant at ASU and Jonesboro High and is currently head girls coach for the Jonesboro Golden Hurricane.

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"Matt had the best babysitter in the world--the gym," David Daniel said. "He grew up in a gym, watching games and players at practices. I knew for a long time he wanted to coach."

But coaching women came by happenstance.

Daniel began his collegiate playing career at the University of Colorado then transferred to Harding University. His first major head coaching job was as boys coach at Pulaski Academy. The Bruins ran off 34 straight victories in 2003 before being eliminated by an East Poinsett County team, led by former Razorback football standout Marcus Monk, in the Class AA semifinals. He took a job as a women's assistant on Ceal Berry's staff at Colorado the next year and later served more than three years as assistant and recruiting coordinator at Missouri.

"I never anticipated coaching women," he said. "I took the job at Colorado because I was contacted by a Hall of Fame coach [Berry]. She presented me with an opportunity that I felt like would lead to a head coaching opportunity at the college level, which was always a dream of mine. I'm so glad I took the risk because I feel I have an opportunity to put a dent in women's college basketball."

Matt Daniel actually got into women's coaching before his father, so any advice went from younger to older.

"I asked Matt when I left ASU if he thought there was any difference coaching men and women," David Daniel said. "He said he didn't think there was anything major except female athletes might have less of an ego and fit into a team concept better."

Matt Daniel expects the rebuilding of the Sugar Bears to take some time, but he's delved into the job full bore.

"This will not be an overnight, quick fix but a relentless effort to restore Sugar Bear basketball to the level it should be by its tradition," he said. "It will be a process, but we have a plan, and if we execute the plan, we can put forth a product that will have impact on this institution, the community, the state and hopefully, eventually the national level."

No quick fix--but part of the dash.

David McCollum is sports columnist for the Log Cabin Democrat in Conway.