Before practice started one day, head basketball coach John Tharp watched his assistant coach drill jump shot after jump shot.
“You’re like the famous Pistol Pete!” Tharp remembers comparing Brian McCauley to Pete Maravich.
Since that day McCauley has rarely been referred to as “Brian” on campus or in the arena of college basketball.
“Even when we’re at big schools someone like Purdue’s head coach Matt Painter will call out: ‘Hey, Pistol Pete!’ It really caught on,” Tharp smiles.
The Chargers’ final home game, senior night on Feb. 26, however, was the last time Pistol Pete would be on the sidelines coaching the Chargers. It was also the last time he would stand beside Coach Tharp— a place he’s stood for 13 years.
“He’s been a family member, I’ll really miss him,” Tharp said.
McCauley and Tharp’s partnership goes back to Lawrence University where Tharp coached for 13 years. A mutual friend introduced the two basketball enthusiasts.
“We met up for lunch and he knew his stuff, and you could tell he loved the game and that he had a great personality,” Tharp said. “He’s very friendly, he’s like that uncle everyone has and loves.”
McCauley began assistant coaching under Tharp in 2002, and during the 2005-06 season their team won 25 consecutive games and went on to win the NCAA Division III national title.
“That’s a memory,” McCauley said. “Being on CBS and ESPN for being No. 1 in the nation— it was a pretty neat thing.”
When Tharp took the head coaching job at Hillsdale in 2007, McCauley followed him to Michigan.
Since then, the two have built the program at Hillsdale, taking it from an average team to one of the top teams in the GLIAC. McCauley has played major roles in the team’s scouting, annual reverse raffle fundraiser, and daily film and practice grind.
McCauley said his favorite aspect of the job is scouting.
“Evaluating talent, going to AU tournaments and high school tournaments, I’ve always really enjoyed that.”
And he’s got a knack for it.
“Pistol has a great eye for talent,” Tharp said. “He’ll be in the gym at the tournaments all day— from 8 a.m. to 11 p.m.”
Upon arriving on campus, one of Tharp and McCauley’s goals was to win the GLIAC championship, and in 2012, their fifth year of building the program, they accomplished their goal.
Although those specific memories stand out for McCauley, the national championship year and the GLIAC championship year, what he’ll miss most after leaving Tharp and Hillsdale is the “day-to-day interactions.”
“Being with the guys, working with your best friends, spending time on the roads and in hotels with them— it’s not the most exciting stuff when you’re doing it, but it’s the stuff you’re gonna miss the most,” McCauley said. “Being at Hillsdale has introduced me to some great guys, and all of the guys have a special meaning to me.”
And it’s obvious the guys will miss his presence as well.
“He always brings an upbeat attitude into the gym,” junior guard Kyle Cooper said. “And it’s not so much talking in front of the team as a whole that he does, but talking one-on-one, encouraging on the sideline, pointing out something you could do better here or there, Pistol talks to us on a more personal level.”
Former Hillsdale basketball player Anthony Manno ‘12, now student activities director for the college, agreed.
“Mid-season, Tharp is very focused, and that’s appropriate, but it’s also good to have someone like Pistol Pete, who’s a little more relaxed who you could go to after a game and talk to,” Manno said. “And as far as preparation goes, whatever we needed, he was there for us. He was always available to get extra work in before games, rebounding for guys.”
Manno said guys are also going to miss his “reminder.”
“He’d always shout ‘Hands!’ That was his thing, defenders needed to show their hands,” Manno said.
Tharp said guys will surely miss the calmness and security he brings to the court.
McCauley said scouting or coaching may be in his future, but for now he is content just knowing he is moving back to Wisconsin.
“I always dreamed of becoming a coach growing up,” McCauley said. “I guess I got to live my dream for 13 years. A lot of days it didn’t feel like work.”
