Crimson Shield November 2013

After graduating in 1990, Chris attended the University of New Orleans.

As a freshman, he became a member of the Student Orientation Staff, which put him in contact with administrators. The next year, one of those administrators, knowing his interest in basketball, called him out of class to tell him to get over to the basketball office fast to apply for a student assistant position on Coach Tim Floyd's staff as a student manager.
Although "petrified" of Coach Floyd, Chris did well enough in his interview to be offered the job. He's been involved with basketball ever since.
New NCAA rules his senior year changed his role to behind-the-scenes: film work, film exchange with opponents, hotels, etc. By that time, Tic Price had replaced Floyd. I really learned the game from Coach Floyd and Coach Price.
After Chris's senior season, Price accepted the head coaching job at Memphis.

I almost went to Memphis with him. We had going away parties and everything. But something didn't seem right for me personally. Everything was too perfect. So I decided to stay on a hunch. Things didn't turn out well for Coach Price in Memphis. A scandal during his first year forced him to step down.

So Chris started his coaching career in the New Orleans area.

He took a position as an assistant basketball coach at Country Day for one year. Then he went to Pope John Paul II as head coach at age 23.

The first year we won three games. The second year, six. I remember going home one night near the end of the second year. I told my wife, "This is not for me." I couldn't handle not winning. I took it personally. I thought I was the worse coach on the face of the earth. She suggested I look elsewhere. "Who's going to hire a coach who's 9-and-45?" But I got lucky.
Chris interviewed at Archbishop Hannan. The principal told him that he had another candidate, one of the biggest names in the area. Would Chris be willing to be his assistant?

That's when I was ready to step away. Call it God's work. The other gentleman chose not to take the job. So they offered me the position.
His team went 5-21 the first year. But, as has happened every year he's coached except one, the team improved the second year. One problem was that Hannan was a AA school by enrollment but was playing up to AAAA.
However, the LHSAA changed the rule to prohibit schools from player higher than their classification. So he looked forward to the 2005-6 season, especially with Bill Gallagher ('71) becoming the new Athletic Director.
Of course, that basketball season never materialized as Katrina did extensive damage to St. Bernard Parish, including Hannan High.

Chris had to adjust personally and professionally.

He and his wife and their two infants lived with his parents on the south shore after the storm destroyed their home in Slidell.
While on his way to an interview for an assistant's position at John Curtis, he received a call from his former school, Pope John Paul II. They offered him a job as the head coach of both the boys' and girls' basketball teams.
He also became Science Department Chair, teaching five classes, including Biology AP.

That year was the most gratifying I ever had. The girls' team had won one game the year before. We won 16. The boys won two or three the year before but we improved tremendously.
Was it a big adjustment coaching girls?

Yes! I'm really intense on the basketball court. We don't play around. I learned five minutes into the first practice that that doesn't work with girls. But I loved those girls. They were awesome. They did everything I asked them to do. It's almost a different sport.
The hardest part was that we played doubleheaders. When the girls' game ends, you're excited. But you give a quick postgame speech and go to another locker room. I'm a big prep guy - huge on films, scouting reports. I love the chess match involved in basketball. So I had two game films to break down. Sleep and I didn't get along real well that year. But I learned that, no matter how much adversity one faces, there's nothing you really can't do.
Chris told Pope John Paul up front that, if Hannan reopened, he would go back. So the following year, when Hannan held classes at St. Joseph's Abbey, he became the boys' basketball coach.
That proved to be a much rougher year than the Katrina year. To start, he had no gym in which to practice.

I held tryouts at Kehoe-France Northshore. Seven kids showed up, four of whom I had cut in Meraux (Hannan's original location). Two kids didn't even have a pair of sneakers. One kid showed up out of the blue, DeAndre Daniels from California. How that happened, I will never know. He was a 6'6" shooting guard as a freshman. He played eight games. I met with him and his father and told them he needed to go somewhere else. It was the hardest conversation I've ever had. He did leave, and now he starts for the University of Connecticut.
Chris moved to Newman the following year as an assistant coach. Then the next year there, he was out of basketball.

I couldn't sleep. My wife told me she wanted me to get back to coaching. I missed basketball.
So he took a job as head coach at Hancock High School in Mississippi.

We started 1-9. One night, we lost a game in overtime. We got back to the gym about midnight. I told the players they had a choice. 15 minutes from now, we're having practice. This 1-9 stuff is coming to an end. Let your parents know whether you're staying or leaving. Not a single parent complained, and not one kid left. It was the best practice we'd ever had. It ended at 2 a.m. We ended up going 12-16 and beat Gulfport for the first time since 1969. The next year, we hosted a playoff game.
But the daily commute from New Orleans with high gas prices couldn't continue. So he became head coach at De La Salle for the 2011-12 school year.

We had a really good year. The boys gave me everything they had.
Chris left that head coaching position to become an assistant at Brother Martin. Why?

About ten years ago, someone asked me, "What is your dream job? Duke? North Carolina?" My answer was, "Brother Martin." When I came here in high school for academic games or for basketball tournaments, I always felt there was something different about Brother Martin. There was an allure that has always drawn me. Also, Coach Gallagher was instrumental in my being here. He was forthright and honest with me. "I'm no spring chicken. I won't be here twenty years. I think this would be in your best interest." He's someone I have total faith in. When he tells me something, I listen. If it were not for Coach Gallagher, I'm not sure it would have worked out. As much as I wanted to be here, I wanted to be a head coach even more.
Chris's JV team went 19-1 last year. Did they get revenge for the one defeat?

Absolutely. The one game we lost was to the same coach that cut me [in high school]. We beat 'em by 25-30.

What will be the hallmarks of his Crusader teams?

I have a tendency to get the most out of every kid. I'm never happy in terms of effort. When you see a Coach Biehl-coached team, you'll see kids diving on the floor.
I'm huge on chemistry. I firmly believe that teams that care about one another win together.
We'll have a defense first mentality. Offensively, we'll be just as aggressive as every Brother Martin team you've seen. But we'll have a sense of spacing, and shot selection is something we'll stress.
The staple of any team is aggressive on-ball man defense. You'll see us play some full court man as a result of the fact that we're so small. Speed and quickness is our advantage. I like to disguise our looks. Trapping half-court and full. Show a man look and really be in a zone or half court. One of the greatest compliments I ever got was a few years ago after we played a reputably coached team. After 32 minutes, the coach said, "That was the best zone defense I've ever seen anybody play." I looked at my assistant and laughed. We hadn't played zone the entire game.
I like to make the opponent uncomfortable. Let's get them to do something they don't like to do. I like to really study another team and take away their strengths.
I believe in developing the whole kid. We had a team goal: 3.0 GPA the first quarter. They achieved 3.24. So we want to do better the second quarter. That's the mentality of everything we do. Build on it.

How have the players responded?

Really well. The seniors were apprehensive. The biggest struggle a first year coach faces is his seniors. They're set in their ways. Our seniors have their third coach. It's almost not fair. But they're all in.

Do you change your approach to fit the talent?

No doubt. I love 1-4 pro sets because all five kids are involved. We don't run plays. You take what the defense gives you. You play to your strengths. We're shorter and less experienced than last year. But we have a high basketball I.Q.

Chris has a good staff to work with him.

Trevor Caulkins - Varsity assistant and Junior Varsity head coach.
Will David - 9th grade.
Justin Franks - 8th grade
Aaron Paladino - 7th grade
Evan Turkish - volunteer coach