Paul Russo often begins his mornings with a dose of inspiration

The 26-year-old doesn’t seek out any self-help guides or motivational tapes. He just turns to former coach and current mentor, Bob Johnson.

"We meet around 8 a.m. along with my assistant coach [Mike Abrahamson]," Russo said. "People pay a lot of money to hear some of the things that Coach Johnson talks about. He’s just amazing."

Those morning sessions helped convince Russo that he was in the right place in his life and career.

Russo has now been appointed as Emory & Henry head men’s basketball coach on a permanent basis after serving since November as the interim coach.

"Not a lot of people can say they found a dream job at age 26, but I’ve managed to do it," Russo said. "I’ve spoken to Coach Johnson a lot about where I wanted to be and what level I wanted to coach at."

An assistant basketball coach at E&H since 2005, Russo took over the program on an interim basis after Johnson retired from coaching due to health reasons.

"After spending a brief amount of time at the NCAA Division I level [Nichols State], I realized that Division III is where I want to be," Russo said. "And what better school to work at than a place that you feel so strongly about."

Russo was three-year starting point guard for Johnson’s Wasps. He led the Old Dominion Athletic Conference and ranked fifth nationally in assists during his senior year.

The Wasps finished this past season with 7-18 record as Russo attempted to implement his own style of play. In recent years, E&H earned national attention and set records under Johnson with a manic attack dubbed "Fun and Gun."

"It was an unusual season," Russo said. "I inherited this job with the system we were running. We tried to make some adjustments, but those changes left our lineup very small.

"Our guys responded well and gave tremendous effort all year. The makeup for the season was just so unusual, and we’re recruiting to fix that through recruiting."

Russo has already signed Mountain Empire standouts Jamie Hackney (Gate City), Gary Stafford (Lee) and Isaac Snapp (Sullivan East) along with 6-foot-4 shooting guard Terrance Grigg from Charlotte, N.C. Grigg formerly played at Pfeiffer University in North Carolina.

"We want to have kids that are used to winning. Hackney hit a lot of big shots and won a ton of games," Russo said. "We need to get bigger, and we’re still in the mix for some taller kids."

The new E&H coach stressed that the basics of Wasps’ basketball haven’t changed.

"The foundation is still the same, we’re just taking a new approach to the way we play," Russo said. "I feel very fortunate to have coached under our old system because a lot the elements, such as how to fast break and how to get kids to play very fast are good.

"I’ll keep that with me as long as I coach, but we’re going to slow the game down and play more traditional defense."

Russo met with his current players last week, and outlined his goals.

"We talked about the previous season and areas we wanted to improve on," Russo said. "We just needed a fresh start. Our foundation and expectations are still the same. We’ll just have a different approach."

As is a custom under Johnson, Russo swapped ideas with a group of former E&H players who are current college coaches at the recent NCAA Final Four.

Those dinner sessions, along with his morning chats with Johnson, reinforced Russo’s passion for coaching the Wasps.

"Those long-lasting family connections are what make Emory & Henry such a special place," Russo said.

Russo has also learned from Johnson’s favorite book. The Art of War by Sun Tzu, which stresses leadership, strategy and discipline techniques, has become increasingly popular in the sports and business worlds.

"Coach Johnson and I don’t really talk about X’s and O’s that much," Russo said. "He focuses more on leadership and how to run a program based on a core system of values.

"I’ve heard those messages from Coach since I was a freshman, but it’s always good to have reminders."

Johnson, who took a vacation to Miami this week, has undergone experimental treatment for kidney cancer the past eight weeks. According to Russo, Johnson is scheduled to undergo a scan in the next few days to determine if those treatments have been successful.

"I know a lot of people have been concerned about Coach Johnson, but he has been doing much better and looks great," Russo said. "He’s certainly been challenging me."

agregory@bristolnews.com | (276) 645-2544