Photos courtesy of UAB Athletics.
Rob Ehsan
Ehsan spent the last four years as an assistant at UAB and now has his chance to be the head coach.
Rob Ehsan was named the sixth men’s basketball coach in UAB history on April 4, 2016. Ehsan recently spent a few moments with Iron City Ink to discuss some important and some not-so-important topics as the new leader of the program.
Q: How different is it to have an entire program under your authority now, being a first-time head coach?
A: It’s been an awesome feeling. It still hasn’t completely sunk in yet, you know? I think as time goes on it will, especially given everything that’s happened [his wife, Lindsey, had the couple’s second child 10 days after being named head coach]. I can’t imagine there will be a crazier two weeks in my life. But it’s all a good thing. It’s awesome. I’m living the dream. I’m excited about the opportunity.
Q: You have worked for some great coaches in Gary Williams at Maryland, Seth Greenberg at Virginia Tech and Jerod Haase at UAB. How will your experiences with them influence your personal philosophies?
A: When I was younger, the foundation of my coaching was really all from Coach Williams, to be honest. I feel like that experience taught me so many things about how to coach and how to run a program. The last four years under Jerod Haase, there’s a ton, because of how successful we’ve been. A lot of his philosophy I’ve adapted as well. I’m going to continue to develop as we go along.
Q: How big of a deal is it to uphold the legacy of Gene Bartow, the Father of UAB Athletics?
A: It’s huge, and it’s something I’m going to work extremely hard to do with our fans, our boosters, our players and our recruits. UAB basketball hasn’t been around 100 years. It’s been only [38] years, and had only [four] losing seasons in that time. That could never happen today. The way he (started the program) was remarkable, and that’s what makes UAB special. That makes the job very desirable and high-level, in my opinion. It’s 100 percent the legacy of Gene Bartow. I feel like that is my responsibility to uphold it.
Q: You played four seasons at the University of California, Davis, in the early 2000s. Can you still shoot a basketball?
A: We play these shooting games with our guys during the season sometimes. I had a good streak last December, where I was winning our shooting contests. But I fell off toward the end of the season. I don’t play as much anymore, but I do like to shoot.
Q: Where did you meet your wife?
A: UC Davis, where I went to school. I had such great experiences in college and probably the best of all was meeting her.
Q: Out of the cities that you have lived in, which one is your favorite?
A: Honestly, and I’m not just saying this, I’m going to say Birmingham. It’s the size. It’s not too big, but it’s not too small. There is a great vibe. The growth right now in Birmingham is awesome. I love it because there’s not too much traffic, but you don’t feel like it’s Blacksburg (Virginia), where there are only a few places to eat.
Q: What are some of your favorite things to do that don’t involve basketball?
A: I love spending time with our whole family, doing family vacations. We love going to the beach. My daughter is a big singer and dancer, and I think she got that from me. I love to sing and dance. That trait has been on to my daughter for sure. Really, that’s been my life. My wife and I have also gotten some of our assistant coaches playing tennis.
Q: Your hair never moves. What brand of hair gel do you use?
A: (American) Crew. That’s the best kind. I tried for four years to get Coach Haase to wear hair gel. He got really close a couple times.
Q: Do you have one final story about Jerod Haase?
A: Coach Haase used to joke, “Rob likes fashion,” which is not super true. But I did buy him his first pair of skinny jeans. He’s been obsessed with them ever since.
