University of Montana coach Larry Krystkowiak says he learned something from all the coaches he played for in college and the NBA.
From Jerry Sloan, he learned how to choose his words.
The speeches were colorful, but they weren't idle talk.
"I just loved playing for Jerry," said Krystkowiak, who played for the Jazz in 1992-93. "Some coaches just love to hear themselves talk. Over the course of the season they start losing guys — they've heard enough b.s. over time. The thing with Jerry was when he opened his mouth, it was a very valid point; it got your attention. I really liked that."
He liked something else about Sloan, too.
"I had heard so many stories about how hard he played, I tried to emulate that — not to play (exactly) like Jerry Sloan, but to have a similar game, where we stuck our noses in places where it didn't belong."
If you've seen Sloan's nose, you know what Krystkowiak means; it has been places most prudent noses wouldn't venture. Wilt Chamberlain's face, for instance. And Bill Russell's elbow.
Sloan broke his nose so often he lost count. Like numbering a tree's rings to find its age, you can count Sloan's playing years by the bends in his nose.
"I always said when you cross the lines of the basketball court, you should leave it all out there and try to play every practice and game like it's your last one," said Krystkowiak.
"Krysko" was introduced as the Grizzlies' head coach last week after an extensive search that totaled — two. He and Wayne Tinkle, who remains in his post as a Grizzlies assistant, were the only serious candidates. Krystkowiak not only previously coached at Montana but played there, too. The Shelby native is the only Grizzly ever to have his number retired.
Coaching at Montana is as high profile as it gets in those parts. It is a place where great coaches incubate. Jud Heathcote, who led Michigan State to a national title in 1979, coached there. So did Stanford coach Mike Montgomery and Utah State's Stew Morrill.
"I mean, this is something bigger than myself," said Krystkowiak at his introductory press conference.
He was signed by the Jazz in 1992 to provide backup for Karl Malone. But by then he was playing on an injury-ravaged knee. Late in the season he tore his plantar fascia (foot) and logged only eight playoff minutes. In his nine-plus years in the NBA, he was regarded as a hard-nosed player — there's that word again — who wasn't afraid to mix it up inside.
"Tough guy. Very tough guy," is how former Jazz president Frank Layden describes him.
Krystkowiak also played in San Antonio, Milwaukee, Orlando, Chicago and Los Angeles, as well as a year in Paris. He returned to college and finished up a degree in business administration, got married and even landed a pair of 10-day contracts with the Lakers in 1996-97.
But after retirement, he wasn't certain which way to go.
"That's where the confusion came in," he said.
Over time, though, he says a "little voice" intervened. It told him to get into coaching.
In 1998 he was hired as a Montana assistant, where he stayed two seasons. He took a year off "and tried to dive into something else, but I didn't really dive into anything." Next came an assistant's job at Old Dominion, then a year as a high school coach in Virginia.
He even spent time coaching a YMCA team of 8-year-olds — which must have been a bit like coaching the Trail Blazers when they still had Rasheed Wallace.
"It was like organized keep-away," said Krystkowiak.
Recently he was head coach of the Idaho Stampede of the CBA, building the best record (37-17) in franchise history. The team lost in the championship game by three points.
When head coach Pat Kennedy resigned last week to take the top job at Towson University, Montana didn't have to look far for a replacement. Krystkowiak was right across the border in Idaho.
He had the right experience and contacts, and he had local ties.
Beyond that, he had a nose for the job.
E-mail: rock@desnews.com