Basketball Brotherhood: Get to know the Wallace brothers from LeTourneau Men's Basketball
Three years ago, James Wallace was in the running for the LeTourneau head men’s basketball coaching job. And as he went through the interview process, he began putting together a list of potential assistant coaches, should he, a LeTourneau assistant for six seasons by that point, be promoted to head coach.
One name stuck out. After all, they shared a last name.
Joel Wallace, his younger brother by five years, was coming off his second year as a graduate assistant at North Dakota’s Minot State and like James, had established himself as a tireless worker whose passion for the sport was clearly evident.
“When you’re going through the interview process, you obviously have to start thinking about, ‘If I get this job, who am I going to bring in to be my assistant?’,” James said, looking back. “I had a list of names, but my brother was definitely at the top of it.”
The reasons behind that were far more than just the fact that they were brothers. But many of those reasons still stemmed from that close relationship, having grown up together, understanding each other’s personalities and strengths. Looking into the future, James saw what bringing Joel onto the staff could do for him as a first-year head coach, along with the impact it would make for the Yellowjacket program itself.
But before he did so, he made a call to the upper midwest. Southwest Minnesota State head coach Brad Bigler had a unique perspective, having worked with both of the Wallace brothers during their separate stints as student assistants–and in James’ case, a graduate assistant as well—at SMSU.
“I reached out to Coach Bigler first, since he knows both of us and has worked with both of us,” James added. “I said, ‘Am I crazy to think this would work? Would I be making a mistake here?’ His response was, ‘You’d be stupid not to.’ That was all I needed to hear. I wanted to hear somebody outside of the family say, ‘Hey, this will work.’”
And it has. Together, the duo led LeTourneau to the No. 3 seed in this year’s ASC Tournament, which opened on Wednesday night with an 89-76 quarterfinal victory over Concordia. In fact, in two of the last three years, the Yellowjackets have advanced to the semifinal round, and in 2021-22, LETU put together a 22-5 record, reaching the ASC title game.
James officially became LeTourneau’s head coach on April 27, 2021, succeeding longtime leader of the program, Dan Miller. And in July, Joel was hired as the top assistant, allowing two brothers from Bellevue, Nebraska to reunite in Longview, Texas. For his part, Joel accepted the offer almost immediately,
“I think my wife said yes before I did,” Joel said with a laugh. “It’s been a crazy journey, being in Minnesota for a while, and then North Dakota. Then James gets the job down here at LeTourneau and offers me the job.”
One might be tempted to think that the shared last name means the same personality and style in coaching. But in actuality, the opposite holds true, which both agreed is a factor in the Yellowjackets’ success.
“I am very energetic, talk quick, and I’m going to be the guy that beats the chest like, ‘Let’s get this thing done.’” Joel said. “James is very stoic, and methodical. You can’t be quiet as a head coach, but when he speaks, it’s a little bit deeper, a little bit slower, and just demands attention in its own way.”
As such, they complement each other, forming a strong head coach-assistant coach bond. It was certainly something James was conscious of as he made the decision to hire Joel to the staff, and the move paid off well.
“That’s another reason why it made so much sense to me,” James noted. “I know who he is and I know exactly what I’m getting with him. I knew that our personalities would complement each other so well. Naturally, I’m more laid back and a little more even-keeled. My tone is definitely a lot quieter than his. He’s definitely loud, he’s always been that way as a kid, as a player, and as a coach.”
“You get one guy that can fire them up, and then you have a guy who can settle them down,” Joel added. “It’s also why we knew it could work.”
Growing up in Nebraska as the sons of a high school coach, basketball was, as Joel puts it, “in the Wallace blood.” Early memories of trips to their father’s hometown of Detroit included stops at the homes of his former players, each of whom spoke highly of the impact their father made on their lives, both on and off the court.
“We’d go on vacations and driving through, say, Chicago, and he’d be like, ‘Hey, we have to stop and see this former player of mine,’” Joel remembers. “Christmas-time would come and players would come back into town and stop by our house. We would get to meet their wives and kids, and it always brought a tear to my dad’s face.
“[As a coach’s kid] you get to see it up close and personal, and it’s not just the Xs and Os and what happens on the floor. It’s everything that happens off the floor when you see the impact that a coach can have.”
Those experiences were impactful in both of their lives, but coaching did not enter the picture in the way that neither would have anticipated. Both had their playing careers cut short—James in his junior year at Southwest Minnesota State and Joel as a high school senior—resulting in an early start to their careers on the sidelines. Incredibly, in both cases, it was Bigler, at Southwest Minnesota State, who played a profound role in their development as coaches.
“It was again one of those times when it felt like God was moving in my life,” James recalls. “You could look at that injury as a negative, and I definitely did in the moment. It was hard to accept that, losing the ability to play the game that I love. But I opened the door to coaching.”
He says he always knew he would’ve eventually found his way into coaching, whether it be in a volunteer role coaching his kids’ teams or doing it, as he has, on a larger stage. Through Bigler’s mentorship, James dove headfirst into the day-to-day responsibilities of a student assistant, and followed that season with two years as a grad assistant for the program at SMSU.
“Coach Bigler told me, ‘If you’re up here, I’m going to give you stuff to do, and the more I trust you’re doing well, I’ll keep giving you more until you tell me that this isn’t for you or this is what you want to do,’” James said, adding that it gave him an opportunity to stay involved with the game and around his teammates. “I lived at the office, learning how to break down film and practice plans, and all those things you have to learn.”
Joel had a similar experience, and spent a full four years learning the ropes as a student assistant under Bigler’s guidance.
“[Coach Bigler] was like, ‘If you’re not going to play somewhere, why don’t you come up here and be part of something bigger than yourself,’” Joel said. “Being able to work for him and see how he runs his program [was valuable]. It’s about being part of something bigger than yourself. Coaching is exactly that.”
The same mentality is present within the LeTourneau program. Selflessness is preached, and through the intensity and competitive goals on the court, there is a focus on a bigger picture within the process.
“Our true wins and losses won’t be measured for 20 years,” Joel noted. “When [our players] are husbands, fathers, uncles, employees, and everything else, and they’re winning at that, that’s when we start to keep score on our win-loss column.”
They did not necessarily plan on joining forces within college basketball, but both James and Joel Wallace trusted the Lord through their journeys as college coaches. It has brought them to LeTourneau, and both continually speak highly of the unique opportunity they’ve had over the last three seasons.
“Being able to celebrate success together, being able to go through hard times and adversity together,” James said. “When it’s your sibling, and somebody that you’re tied to, I feel like it makes it easier just because you know where they’re at and that they’re always going to have your back and be there for you. That’s so comforting. In both of the tough times and the good times.”
The Wallace brothers and their team head to Abilene hoping for more of those good times within this 2023-24 season, as the ASC Tournament semifinals await. The Yellowjackets took down Concordia in Longview on Tuesday, 89-76, setting up a rematch with the Comets, who came out of a Longview with a 102-98 overtime win exactly a week ago.
“It’s been a good year, but it’s been a struggle at times,” Joel noted. “We’ve had a lot of injuries. It’s been a blessing in disguise in a way now that we’ve gotten towards the end. Some guys who maybe weren’t going to get those minutes [in games] have gotten them and now we have a vet team. Guys have had to step into bigger roles and when other guys were out or down. We’re excited to get the first one in front of the home crowd and then head to Abilene to finish it out.”
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