Mike Girardi to pull double duty as Modesto JC basketball coach

If you’re looking for Mike Girardi between November and February, you’ll find him at the Modesto Junior College gym.

If he’s not there, check other gyms in the region. He won’t have much free time.

In an unprecedented personnel move in MJC basketball, Girardi will coach the men’s and women’s teams next season. He’s served as the MJC women’s coach since 2004, and he will succeed Paul Brogan, who stepped down after a 15-year run as the men’s coach.

“I believe in the depth of our commitment,” Girardi said. “I know I can give a full commitment to both. I have the coaching experience. I think it’s good as long as the coach cares about both teams. I will.”

Athletic director Nick Stavrianoudakis opted for Girardi, an on-campus coach, over filling the men’s job with an adjunct (not full-time) men’s coach. Five teams from MJC’s 21-sport program are coached by adjunct hires.

Girardi, 51, a tenured instructor, offered to coach both teams. Stavrianoudakis has not attached a time limit to the arrangement.

“We could not replace Paul with a full-time coach. There’s no guarantee of continuity from year to year with an adjunct coach,” Stavrianoudakis said. “Mike stated that he’s confident he can do it. Time will tell.”

Girardi, the son of former Merced College coach Chuck Girardi, brings a comprehensive résumé. A Valley product, he was an All-American at Merced High School and spent one year at Oregon before he returned to play for his father at Merced College. The Blue Devils won the Central Valley Conference co-championship, and Mike was named to the all-conference team. He transferred to Rice, where he became the team captain.

Girardi traces much of his passion to visits he and his father made to the home and Westwood office of legendary UCLA coach John Wooden in the 1970s. Another family friend was former Fresno State coach Ron Adams, now the defensive assistant coach of the NBA champion Golden State Warriors.

“Coach Wooden was generous to countless people in this regard, but nonetheless we were very appreciative to learn so much about basketball and life in these individual meetings,” Girardi said.

Girardi’s head coaching experience began with a three-year term with the Napa Valley College men from 1999 to 2001 and the 2003-04 season with the Gavilan College women. Returning to the men’s coaching ranks was a personal goal.

That said, Girardi’s women’s teams at MJC have struggled. The Pirates have gone 121-212 during his tenure and have won only three Big 8 Conference games over the last three seasons. His best season was 2006, his second year in charge, when MJC went 22-11.

“We were down the last few years, but I think people who watched the games knew we were teaching the proper things,” Girardi said. “I recognize that this is a unique situation. It (the workload) seems like a lot, but if we surround ourselves with good people, good things will happen.”

The men’s and women’s schedules are autonomous until the Big 8 season begins with nightly men’s/women’s doubleheaders. Girardi believes the nonconference schedule can be adjusted so he can coach both teams as often as possible.

Coaching both teams, though rare, has been done successfully at the state community college level. Big 8 Commissioner Mike Liddell, during his time as athletic director at Butte College, tabbed Tom Powers to coach both teams in an interim agreement. Powers’ teams both won league titles in 1982, and Powers later led the men and women to success at College of the Siskiyous from 1985 to ’95.

“The hardest part is the recruiting,” Powers said. “It’s easier if you’re centrally located and in a larger population base like Modesto. I proved it can work. We won a lot of games.”

Another successful coach was Ned Mircetic, who led Ventura to women’s state titles in 2010 and ’14. But in 2009, when the school asked him to man both programs after the men’s coach was released, Mircetic delivered a women’s team that reached the State Final Four and a men’s team that reached the second round of the playoffs.

“It has to be temporary,” Mircetic said. “You can’t do justice to both for a long period of time. It’s not a matter of fatigue. It’s the energy required to push a group toward success. It’s unfair to kids who deserve the extra attention.”

Girardi said he has the energy, in recruiting and coaching, to do the job.

“I’m very excited about this chance,” he said. “If I had any doubt at all, I wouldn’t even think about it.”

This story was originally published May 4, 2016 at 5:28 PM with the headline "Mike Girardi to pull double duty as Modesto JC basketball coach."