SAN ANGELO, Texas — Angelo State's basketball program welcomed a new leader this past season with head coach Vinay Patel. Patel had 17 years of coaching experience prior to arriving to the 3-2-5, when he accepted the position to be the head basketball coach of the Rams.
"I've worked 18 years to get to this stage of my career. This is exactly the type of job I've wanted for my entire career," Patel said.
"So to be able to come in, in year one, you work your whole life to get something like this, you know, for me that's been the goal."
His first year went as well as one can expect, as Patel was asked to recruit quickly and build a new culture that was not available prior to his arrival.
Despite initial speed bumps in implementing his vision going forward, Patel's group rallied around the first-year coach en route to a Lone Star Conference championship game.
"I think that process of just building trust when they got here, as we earned it from them and they earned it from us, really flourished our culture because they really bought in at that stage to what we were trying to do. I do equate us finding some early success in wins and losses to the buy-in." Patel said.
The future is unclear in terms of wins and losses, but one thing is for certain under Patel: the team will prioritize culture and a family environment over everything, taking steps everyday to maximize success both on and off the floor.
"We said, 'Hey, we need character.' That was something we were really looking for in the recruiting aspect of things as well. We had such a great group of returners as well and I think they set the bar high with their expectations of what they wanted the year to be." Patel said.
ASU's men's program is currently in offseason mode with a focus on improving their games on the court. After an undefeated record at home in 2022-23 and losing less than double-digit games in his first year, Patel believes the sky is the limit.
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