Former Butler aide Glen Korobov was college basketball's pastor to coaches
INDIANAPOLIS – He was one of the most influential figures in college basketball.
He was not a power broker, executive, administrator or agent. He was Coach K.
Not that Coach K.
Glen Korobov.
“Dad is our Coach K,” said his daughter, Kelly Davidson.
Korobov was a fixture at the Final Four, leading the Fellowship of Christian Athletes ministry team to the National Association of Basketball Coaches. After more than 30 Final Fours, he was not at the most recent one, held last weekend in New Orleans.
Coaches kept stopping by the booth he always occupied. They asked for their pastor, friend and confidante.
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Korobov, an Indianapolis resident whose coaching stops included a stint on the Butler staff, died March 8. He was 79.
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After his own coaching career ended, Korobov devoted his life to other basketball coaches. It was a unique ministry, touching lives of some of the sport’s most prominent figures.
He learned from Lefty Driesell and Morgan Wootten. He attended Adolph Rupp’s practices. He is in photographs with John Wooden and Bob Knight. He was close to Kansas’ Bill Self, who won his second NCAA championship on Monday. (Self and Korobov once served on the Oklahoma State staff together.)
All six other coaches are in the Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame.
Korobov’s cellphone was delivered to Todd Townsend, Central Indiana area director for FCA. There were numbers for more than 400 coaches.
“I thought I was touching the Holy Grail,” said Townsend, a former pastor. “Thinking of all the coaches that he impacted on a daily basis was just phenomenal.”
Each morning, Korobov texted Bible verses to coaches and others. He was no techie, so it was not a group text. Each coach was texted separately, and not all the same scripture. It took hours.
“His cellphone is like an A-list for celebrities in college basketball,” his daughter said.
Townsend said coaches felt safe discussing sensitive issues with Korobov, who was not trying to climb the coaching ladder any more. And he knew the business from the inside.
“They could identify with him,” Townsend said. “They also knew they could share stuff with him and not spread it around. He just had that wisdom.”
Korobov was honored posthumously by the NABC with a plaque engraved with words from James 5:16:
The prayer of a righteous person is powerful and effective.
Virginia coach Tony Bennett said Korobov lived out Galatians 6:9:
Let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up.
“He was so faithful in sharing,” Bennett said. “Not in a way that was over the top, but a way that was impactful. There’s such a great harvest of his influence.”
Korobov had lived the coach’s life. He knew the pressure to win, the difficulty of balancing work and home, the disruptions caused in uprooting a family and moving to the next job.
“He just wanted coaches to be more grounded in their family life and their spiritual life,” said Paulette, his wife of 51 years.
She recalled how delighted their children were when he once brought home a DVD player, a rarity at the time. The kids thought they would get to watch movies.
“Oh, this is for recruiting,” their father responded. “I’ve got to watch film.”
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Korobov was close to LaVall Jordan, whose final Butler season included injury outbreaks, virulent criticism, job insecurity and 19 losses. Jordan was fired Friday as coach.
Korobov was a regular at practices and games in Hinkle Fieldhouse.
“We met when I was a young player and stayed in touch as I moved into coaching,” Jordan said in a statement. “He was always around and available just to check in and see if he could help in any way. Our personal relationship went to another level over the past five years as he became a strong spiritual mentor in my life and helped grow me immensely in my faith-walk.
“He constantly reminded me to ‘trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding’ (Proverbs 3:5.). I am so thankful for his wife, Paulette, for sharing him to spend time meeting for coffee or FaceTiming me. I’ll love Glen forever for what he meant to my family.”
History and rise to college basketball prominence
Korobov was born in Washington, D.C., and raised in northern Virginia. He ran track and field and came to love basketball. He graduated from East Tennessee State in 1969.
His lone head coaching job in college was at University of Charleston (W.Va.), where he was 41-43 from 1979-82. He was on staffs at Stetson, Morris Harvey, Saint Louis, Kentucky, Oklahoma State, Tulane, East Tennessee State, SMU and Butler.
Korobov was administrative assistant at Butler from 1997-2000 -- Barry Collier’s final three seasons as coach. Collier is now the Bulldogs’ athletic director.
“Glen was a one-of-a-kind man who lived his life as a faithful follower of Jesus Christ and a servant to many people. He was especially drawn to disciple coaches, thereby reaching thousands of athletes,” Collier said in a statement.
Coincidentally, Brad Stevens succeeded Korobov in an administrative assistant role under Thad Matta, who has become Butler’s coach again. Paulette Korobov said her husband “always had an affection for Butler,” made himself available to all the coaches there and knew some of the players.
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As Korobov’s health declined and he could not read IndyStar, his wife read the Butler stories to him.
He wanted Butler to win, of course. But he wanted that for all the coaches.
When his daughter watched games, she asked her father which team he was cheering. He would always respond with how much he liked coaches on both sides.
“ ‘So basically, you just love everyone on the court. You don’t care who wins,’ “ Davidson would tell her father. “He loved the people.
“He didn’t have any enemies. Everybody loved him and how genuine he was.”
Korobov ministered not only to coaches of men’s teams, but to those of women’s.
Kristin Wodrich, women’s coach at University of Indianapolis, said Korobov was a mentor to her and husband Andrew Wodrich, a Diversity Church pastor and former coach.
And Korobov didn’t merely text or call.
“If it was a rough time, he would just show up at my office. He was bold about everything,” Wodrich said. “ ‘All right, sister, what do we need to talk about?’
“At the end of the day, he told me to get back to the fundamentals. Whether it was the fundamentals of basketball or the fundamentals of Christ. He was just always there, and always available.”
New ButlerAustin Parkinson, who led IUPUI to its first women’s NCAA tournament this year, said Korobov would also stop by his office. Parkinson and his wife, Whittney, went through pre-marital counseling with Korobov, a deacon of compassion ministries at One Fellowship Church.
Whether the issue was about basketball or about life, Parkinson could take it to Korobov. If the situation warranted it, they would pray together over the phone.
“He was always measured. He always had a great perspective on things,” Parkinson said.
Korobov’s funeral service was March 19 at College Park Church. He is survived by Paulette; his children Kristina Korobov, Neill Korobov, Karen Villarrubia, and Davidson, and nine grandchildren.
Contact IndyStar reporter David Woods at david.woods@indystar.com. Follow him on Twitter: @DavidWoods007.
This article originally appeared on Indianapolis Star: Glen Korobov, ex-Butler aide, texted Bible verses to coaches every day
