Coach Scott Buckley has just completed his 18th season at Roland Park Country School. He talked to 695Hoops about last season and what's in store for this coming season.

695: Where did you grow up?

Coach:  I grew up in Towson and attended Towson High School.

695: Did you play any sports growing up?

Coach:   I tried them all when I was younger. Ended up playing soccer, basketball and baseball the most.

695: Tell me about your coaching career...

Coach:   I got started coaching the boys at Towson Rec when I was still in high school. I then ran the boys program ages 11 and up for a while. At the same time I coached the 13-14 travel team. From there I was asked by Chris Ramer to move to the girls side. I started coaching their travel team. Chris and I then started the MD Tornados AAU program. That led to me getting the Roland Park job. I just completed my 18th season at Roland Park.  Along the way I have coached in the Hurricane organization and other AAU programs.

695: Who has been the biggest influence on your coaching style and philosophy?

 Coach:   Chris Ramer was a huge influence on my coaching. Chris started the MD Tornados as well as starting the women’s program at Villa Julie(which is now Stevenson University). His stressing of fundamentals, fundamentals, fundamentals has stuck with me to this day. Also my High School coaches. Randy Walker and Rand Dase from Towson High..

695: What do you do to stay sharp and improve as a coach?

Coach:  I do clinics and have a good relationship with some great college coaches that are accessible for me to ask questions of. One of my favorite things to do is attend college practices. You can learn so much from a practice. Much more than a game!

695: What else do you do besides coach?

Coach:  At Roland Park I am also Assistant AD and handle a variety of other duties besides coaching. Personally.. I enjoy golfing and spending as much time with my daughter as possible.

695: What type of challenges do you face with the program?

Coach:   I think our biggest challenge is finding the right student-athlete fit. Academics is the priority at RPCS. If you are not willing to compete in the classroom like you do on the court. We aren’t for you.

695: What do you think of the overall direction of the girls game in this area?

Coach: Overall I like the direction the game is going. There is so much talent in this area. The girls are bigger, faster and stronger. It’s exciting to watch how athletic the game has become! I would say one drawback I have seen lately is the lack of fundamentals on some of our younger players. They play so many games now it hardly leaves any time for practice.

695: What was it like hosting an event like the Beast of the East?

Coach:   It’s great that we are now hosting the Beast of the East. Our facility is a perfect fit for what they needed. I have always been a supporter of the tournament and when the opportunity came to host. We jumped at the chance!

695: Talk about your run to the championship game...

Coach:  Even though the season didn’t end as we had hoped. It was a great run. We played a really tough schedule and learned from some tough losses along the way. We put ourselves in the position we wanted but just couldn’t close the deal. Hopefully we have learned from that and can improve on things next year.

695: Talk about next year's team...what's in store?

 Coach:   Next year’s team is returning 11 players. Only Ty Carter is graduating. I expect us to be right in the thick of things next season also. Once again we will be playing a really tough schedule.. two games in the Beast of the East, a trip to the Hoops Queens tournament in New York, a two day tournament at the Peddie School in New Jersey and we are traveling to the Carolina Invitational in Charleston SC. We are also in the 695 Hoops Public/Private Challenge.. Then Locally we have games at Aberdeen and Milford Mill.

695: Thanks for your time coach.

Coach: Thank you.