Nov. 28, 2002

By Robert Gagliardi
Published in the Wyoming Tribune-Eagle

ANCHORAGE, Alaska - Steve Aggers knew he wanted to be a coach when he was a kid attending Laramie Junior High School.

Today, Aggers is in his 29th season as a men's college basketball coach. Aggers, who is a Laramie native, is in his third season as the coach at Loyola Marymount University in Los Angeles.

LMU is one of eight teams here this week for the Great Alaska Shootout.

Aggers wanted to be a coach because he was around them growing up. His father, Jack Aggers, was the head trainer at the University of Wyoming from 1958-84.

As a kid, Steve would carry his father's medicine bag to games and sit behind the opposing team's bench during football and basketball games in Laramie. It was there where he watched some of the best in the coaching profession, such as Texas-El Paso basketball coach Don Haskins and Brigham Young football coach LaVell Edwards.

"It was like a laboratory for me," said Aggers, whose LMU team plays Villanova today in the quarterfinals of the Great Alaska Shootout. "I gathered philosophical thoughts from a variety of coaches. Even football coaches like Fritz Shurmur, Bob Devaney and Lloyd Eaton."

Aggers' coaching journey has... for more on this article by Robert Gagliardi, go to the story on the Wyoming Tribune-Eagle website.