Matt Elkin joined the Yale men’s basketball staff in Oct. 2020 as director of basketball operations after serving as an assistant coach at the Windward School in Los Angeles. Ivy Hoops Online caught up with Elkin Tuesday:
Ivy Hoops Online: Matt, why were you interested in the Yale job?
Matt Elkin: I had been working in prep school education and was helping kids get into Ivies and top D[ivision] III schools, and I was attracted to that level of university.
IHO: What do you do in your position on a daily basis?
ME: I prepare for road trips, including hotels, food and practice times. I answer recruiting emails … I also help to market the Team [James] Jones Basketball Camps.
IHO: How tough is it to get [nonconference] teams to play Yale?
ME: Eighty-five percent of my outreach results in ‘no’s. Coach Jones sometimes is able to connect with high level D[ivision] I coaches who he knows. I have reached out to UConn many times, and they are nonresponsive.
IHO: What is it like to work under James Jones?
ME: It’s amazing. He has been doing this for so long. He is great about communicating. He does not micromanage.
IHO: Can you compare this Yale team to the other ones in which you have been involved?
ME: This is the first team which is so heavily dependent on an underclassman [Danny Wolf].In addition, I have watched these juniors since they were freshmen, and this is the time we have been waiting for. This could be the best Yale team we have had.
IHO: What has your time at Yale demonstrated to you about coaching college basketball?
ME: The cohesion of having a group of guys together for a while.
IHO: Where would you like to be in the coaching profession in 10 years?
ME: I’d love to be coaching at the highest level I can possibly be. I have no aspirations of being the next Brad Stevens being the youngest to do something in coaching.