Erik Spoelstra knows what it takes to win championships.
The 42-year-old basketball coach has won two consecutive NBA titles with the Miami Heat and led them to a 144-50 record over that span.
He now also knows a little bit about the Tennessee football program.
On what was deemed “Championship Wednesday” – a two practice day for the Vols in the heart of fall camp last Wednesday – Spoelstra was the guest of honor, spending the day with his friend Butch Jones and his Tennessee football team.
“Anytime you can bring an individual like Erik Spoelstra to come in and spend an entire day with your football program, it means everything,” Jones said.
For the UT players, it was validation of some big talk from their coach, who shares an agent with Spoelstra.
“At first guys kind of didn’t believe him,” junior wide receiver Devrin Young said of his coach’s insistence that he maintained a relationship with Spoelstra. “But he put it in stone. The man (Spoelstra) is here.”
Spoelstra briefly addressed the team after UT’s morning practice and then received a tour of UT’s facilities from Jones.
“He’s a great friend,” Jones said, “and I’m really indebted, because he doesn’t have a lot of time off, and for him to come to Knoxville and spend an entire day with our football program, it means a lot.”
In a way, it was just the returning of a favor, although Jones certainly received the more notorious end of the deal.
This summer – for the second year in a row – he made a June trip to Miami to see Spoelstra and the Heat clinch the NBA Championship.
For Jones, who harps on “the process” of building a winning program, the Heat’s ascension from the cellar of the NBA is a reassuring example of dedication paying off.
“There’s so many similarities, and I think with the building of the Miami Heat, everyone remembers right now and the last two years,” Jones said. “But I think a lot of people forget the building process that went through. Prior to (Spoelstra’s) first year with the Miami Heat, they won 15 games.”
As for the UT players, a visit from the coach of worldwide phenomenon athletes LeBron James and Dwyane Wade did plenty to improve their view of Jones’ social status.
“To me, I see it as bragging rights,” Young said. “I feel like ‘my coach is cooler than yours.’ That’s how I see it.”
Young also saw the bigger picture of Spoelstra’s visit and expressed gratitude to Jones for bringing him in.
“It was awesome. I feel like it’s an honor and a blessing to get to hear from the best,” Young said. “I really appreciate Coach Jones for doing that. He’s doing all he can to get us prepared and show us what it takes mentally and physically to win a championship.”
Jones saw the opportunity to bring Spoelstra in as simply a perk of the job. His Cincinnati teams received no such visits.
“We want as many successful people to come in and be able to have an impact on our players,” Jones said. “That’s part of being Tennessee, is the ability to bring people that are successful to campus like Erik Spoelstra that want to come and want to be a part of Tennessee football.”
