Boyce Honea recognized very quickly Vic Schaefer had what it took to connect with players.
Even though Schaefer was right out of Texas A&M, Honea, a veteran coach at Houston Milby (Texas) High School, saw Schaefer could relate to the members of his freshman boys basketball team and the players on the school’s tennis team.
“He did a great job with the freshman team,” Honea said. “They won the state championship. They were very good at defense. Those kids when they got to be seniors and I had them they won regionals and went to state. It was our defense. He has the ability to coach them up and get the most out of the kids.”
Schaefer continues to get the most out of his players as he enters his seventh season as head coach of the Mississippi State women’s basketball team. Coming off back-to-back trips to the national title game, MSU will open practice for the 2018-19 season at 3:30 p.m. Thursday. It will be part of a busy week for Schaefer and his program. On Saturday, Schaefer will be honored during the third timeout in the first quarter of the MSU football team’s game against Florida for being named the Naismith National Coach of the Year last season. Senior center Teaira McCowan also will be recognized during the game for being the inaugural recipient of the Naismith Defensive Player of the Year.
Schaefer, McCowan, and the Bulldogs had a banner year in 2017-18, winning a program-record 37 games and advancing to their second-straight national championship game. For his efforts, Schaefer also was named National Coach of the Year by the United States Basketball Writers Association. The former assistant and associate head coach at Arkansas and Texas A&M led MSU to the program’s first Southeastern Conference regular-season championship, the first for any women’s program at MSU, and a school wins record for the fourth-straight year.
McCowan joined
Victoria Vivians on the WBCA All-America Team, and also garnered first-team accolades from ESPNW and third-team honors from The Associated Press.
The accolades aren’t surprising to Honea, a legendary coach at Milby High who had a 739-258 record with the Buffaloes from 1973-2003.
Honea said he was “shocked” when Schaefer called him and said he had received an offer to be the women’s basketball coach at Sam Houston State. He said he had no idea Schaefer was interested, and that he told him that once you cross over from coaching in the men’s game to the women’s game “there is no going back.”
Schaefer served as head coach at Sam Houston State from 1990-97 before Gary Blair hired him to be a part of his coaching staff at Arkansas.
Regardless of whether it was women’s or men’s basketball, Honea said Schaefer found a way to convince his players to give “110 percent.”
“A coach has to be a great competitor,” Honea said. “He is like all of the rest of us in that he wants to win and to get the most out of his kids. The players picked up on his competitive spirit and the fact he always did it the right way and didn’t cut corners. They picked that up early.”
Honea’s pressing style helped Schaefer develop his acumen for defense. In fact, Honea said he taught Schaefer a lot about basketball and a “whole lot” about fishing. Now, though, he said Schaefer is “a better fisherman than me and a better coach me.”
“He always has had a high energy and never has been lazy,” Honea said. “He doesn’t have a lazy bone in his body. He was just a winner. Wherever he goes he is going to win, and he is going to do it the right way.”
Barron Honea, the son of Boyce Honea, worked as an assistant coach for Schaefer at Sam Houston State at 1991-92 and 1992-93. He recalls Vic calling him after his first season at the school and telling him he needed him for two years. Barron said he told Vic no and that Vic was quiet on the other end of the telephone. He then remembers Vic saying, “If you don’t come I am going to call your dad and tell him everything.”
Even though there weren’t any stories to tell aside from ones about dancing and fishing, Barron Honea relented and agreed to join Schaefer for two years. The program only won 15 games in those two seasons, but they helped set the foundation for a program that went on to win 18 games three seasons later.
From the time he started working for my dad until now he is tireless in his work ethic,” said Barron, who has known Schaefer since they were 12 years old. “His attention to details is unbelievable. Back before there were cell phones, he would write things on his hands and his arms because we didn’t have cell phones to put notes in and he detailed everything. His attention to detail, I had ever seen anything like that.”
Barron Honea, who is the Coastal Bend are representative for the Fellowship of Christian Athletes (FCA) in Texas, said Vic “overachieved” at Sam Houston State and “owned” the town. He said Schaefer’s passion for his work is infectious and is part of the reason people throughout the country tune in to watch MSU games. In fact, he said his wife, Darla, wears Maroon and White when they watch games on the SEC Network. On Wednesday night, he said he even wore a “Praise the Lord and Go Dawgs” T-shirt at an FCA event in Corpus Christi, Texas. “Praise the Lord and Go Dawgs” is a phrase Schaefer has coined in his time as coach at MSU. It’s one Barron Honea isn’t surprised has caught on after growing up and playing basketball with Schaefer since they were 12.
“He knows talent and he knows the game,” Honea said.”He is a defensive guru.”
Follow Dispatch sports editor Adam Minichino on Twitter @ctsportseditor
Adam Minichino is the former Sports Editor for The Commercial Dispatch.
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