Eastern took one step toward hiring a new men’s basketball coach Wednesday, as members of the athletic department, coach search committee and team met with Wisconsin assistant coach Gary Close.

Interviews continue with Creighton associate head coach Greg Grensing coming to Charleston today and Kansas State associate head coach Mike Miller finishing up interviews Friday.

Close, who has spent the past two seasons assisting Badger head coach Bo Ryan, said as soon as the Eastern head-coaching job became vacant, he was interested.

“This is a position that’s intrigued me since it became open,” Close said. “I’ve enjoyed my stay down here so far.”

Eastern Director of Athletics Rich McDuffie said he liked Close’s candid approach to the interview.

“He’s a no-nonsense type of person,” McDuffie said. “I like his idea of practicing hard and playing hard while still going to the classroom.”

Close said Eastern’s academic reputation, the Ohio Valley Conference’s basketball reputation and Eastern’s surroundings were factors that immediately caught his eye.

“I think it’s a really good fit for my family and myself, in terms of a nice community for me to live in and raise kids,” Close said. “And, I think there’s a great opportunity for success here, and of course, that’s the bottom line.”

McDuffie said success could make Lantz Arena a tougher place to play.

“The wild card in it is winning,” he said. ” Because if we have success, people will be in the seats.”

Close has had successful stops as an assistant at three major Division I universities – assisting Tom Davis at Stanford (1984-86) and at Iowa (1987-99) in addition to his two years under Ryan.

Those 16 years in the Big Ten have helped him develop a network of contacts for recruiting and possibly bringing in transfer players.

Close’s experiences have prepared him to be a head coach, and he said he’s been ready to make the leap. He’s just been waiting for the right opportunity.

“Fortunately, I’ve been in some very good positions,” Close said. “So, I’ve been able to be very selective where I look at.”

And, he said, he’s supremely confident at the prospects to win at Eastern.

“If I didn’t think I could be successful here, I wouldn’t be here,” Close said. “I have too good of a job at Wisconsin to leave for nothing.”

At Wisconsin, Close said the entire coaching staff collaborated on recruiting the Midwest, particularly Wisconsin and Illinois. He said the whole staff would recruit together at Eastern as well.

“We all got involved with every kid,” he said. “We’re in this together and we have to make the right decisions.”

Some of the recruits may come from places not just across state lines, but from across the U.S. border.

Close said he would definitely explore using international contacts he made while traveling with teams overseas to recruit foreign-born players.

“Kids over there are just dying to play Division I basketball in the United States,” he said. “And, you can get some really good players doing that.”

The bottom line for Close is that wherever he is coaching, he’s constantly trying to raise the bar and move things forward. And, it’s a philosophy that he said needs to be shared program-wide.

“In everything, we’ve all got to be involved; we’ve all got to give input,” Close said. “The more we all have ownership for what we’re doing, the better off we’re going to be.”