Jabir coached Dayton for 13 seasons and has spent his entire career on the women’s side. In an interview posted to YouTube on Jan. 7, he was asked about coaching men for the first time.
“I don’t think it’s very different,” Jabir said. “Basketball is basketball. You see things on the floor. You make adjustments. You teach. You learn. And you grow. The temperaments are a little different, but I treat everybody the same.”
Jabir resigned Sept. 7 from Dayton weeks before the start of practice and said at the time he hoped to return to coaching. He said the expectations and pressures that came with advancing to the Elite Eight in 2015 had contributed to his health issues and he hadn't felt himself for the last two seasons.
“I’ve had heart problems in the past I have had a pacemaker and defibrillator for 11 or 12 years. I almost died. It was 2001 or 2003. I’m fine. My cardiologist says I’m fine. I’ve just had some scares. It’s just time to regroup and re-energize.”
Jabir gave an interview to CollegeInsider.com in November and talked more about his decision to resign.
“Since leaving the best job I ever had, I have been resting, reading, traveling, and talking to a lot of college and professional coaches,” Jabir said. “I needed to reassess the pressure I was putting on myself and why I was coaching. The concept of being ‘process driven’ has become central to me. Reading about people like Brad Stevens has been good for me. I was emotionally exhausted and I'm finding that putting all that pressure on myself to better ‘your Elite Eight run’ isn't the way to get to the Final Four. What I'm learning is that if I just concentrate on today and that one play in front of me, I will have a better chance of getting where I want to be as opposed to worrying so much about how that one play in front of me may shape my entire future. I put so much pressure on myself and I'm now taking time to re-evaluate my philosophies and it's been very healthy and productive.”
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