The room is silent as Charlie Coles diligently takes notes. Hanging on the wall of his office, a large flat screen television is playing a past Miami University RedHawks basketball game, muted. Outfitted in black athletic pants and a red mesh Miami shirt, Coach Coles sits at a workspace at the far end of his office facing a wall. Coles acknowledges my presence by saying, "Come on in, take a seat," as he continues to jot down notes on a notepad.

His voice is hoarse and raspy, symbolic of his age and countless hours of practice and games he's coached. A former two-time MAC Coach of the Year, Coles is entering his 20th season coaching collegially for division one basketball, his 14th at Miami. Compiling a .557 winning percentage from a total of 542 games coached in his career, Coles has coached NBA professionals such as Dan Majerle, Ira Newble and Wally Szczerbiak.

"I've coached (the) pros before they were pros," Coles said.

In his earlier years, Coles' aspirations as a coach were to have teams that were hard to play against as well as teams that enjoyed playing the game. Encouraging them to

graduate, making his players better people and providing them with challenges are cornerstones to his ability to connect with his players and develop trust with one another.

"I don't see this as a job," Coles said. "I see it as fun. I get to coach a fun game - it's almost like cheating!"

Coles' knack for picking out talent has always been a gem on his resume.

"I knew all along he had it," Coles said, referring to NBA great Dan Majerle, who he coached for three years while at Central Michigan. "I knew Dan's high school coach. Prior to his senior year in high school, Dan's coached called me and told me he had a pretty good player."

An assassin from long range in the NBA, ironically, the knock on Majerle's game in college was that he couldn't hit consistently from the outside. Scouts everywhere doubted him, including former NBA Coach Hubie Brown, who was a friend and mentor to Coles. Prior to Majerle's senior season at Central Michigan Brown told Coles that Majerle "maybe had a shot at playing in Europe." That summer prior to Majerle's senior season, Coles, as he has done with countless former players, challenged Majerle, having him work on his outside shot every day.

"His senior season, he became an outside threat," Coles said. "And when he went 14th overall to the Phoenix Suns in the NBA Draft, I thought he should have went higher."

To define Charlie Coles as a coach, look no further than his 2006-07 team. A hard-nosed and gritty team who had lost 15 games, in a season when "nobody in the nation believed in us," Coles recalled.

Lacking a true offensive star, Coles had to formulate a playbook of success based on the abilities of his players. Coles would tell his players that he was going to make them "try to do things that aren't necessarily easy."

"The best thing I can give them as their coach," Coles said, "is challenging situations, because that's what they're going to face in their life."

Beating a more talented Akron opponent in the MAC tournament finals by a last second heart-attack three pointer by Doug Penno, the RedHawks clinched an NCAA tournament berth, and nearly upset a strong and highly ranked Oregon team in the first round. On that team was a burly 6-foot-4-inch power forward named Tim Pollitz, who Coles admits is, "probably is one of the top five players I ever coached."

Miami senior Mark Paruch remembers the RedHawks' tournament run when he was a freshman.

"I remember going to a number of games that year," Paruch said. "It seemed like nearly every game I went to, I noticed Coles doing something. It would be a coaching change here or something Coles would do on the sidelines that fired the team up. After experiencing that kind of hard-nosed play from a team, you really have to hand it to Coach Coles, who's shown he knows what's necessary to win."

Pollitz, who finished his career on Miami's top 10 for most points scored in a career wasn't known as much for his scoring as he was for making smart, heads-up plays that benefited the team, something that Coles always looks for in a player.

"He'd do things I never seen him do before," Coles said. "He'd always do something new. One instance he got trapped and I see him throw a pass across the court in the corner to Doug Penno, who nailed a three - I thought to myself, 'Wow, I didn't see Doug open, but Tim did.'"

Perhaps Coles' proudest moment as coach at Miami, and one that also illustrates his versatility as coach was his 1998-99 team. Again, his knack for foreseeing success was apparent on this team. Competing as a unit, knowing exactly what coach wanted, Coles was able to tell early on that these players were a special group.

"I've always said when your best players are your leaders and hardest workers, you're going to have a phenomenal team," Coles said.

Coles remembers every day being a great day. On a team where Coles' team leaders on the court and off the court were NBA lottery pick Wally Szczerbiak and Damon Frierson, Coles feels he "did more managing than I did coaching."

Coles recognized his energetic and mouthy nature that he described about himself early on as a player and coach. Coles acknowledges that he is a excitable person. As he's matured, Coles talked about finding ways to adjust to having a calmer approach to better both himself and his team. However, his new escape may come as a surprise - the National Geographic Channel's program the Dog Whisperer.

"I'm almost addicted to that program," Coles said. "I like his reserved attitude. I have watched that program to get it to help me calm down. As I'm coaching, I think as a calmer coach, players become calmer."

However, his calmness seems to have no effect on his sense of humor and interaction with players. Senior guard Kenny Hayes recalls a time recently in practice when he made a flashy move.

"Coach stopped practice and announced to the rest of the team 'Hey, Kenny thinks he's playing at the Staples Center,'" Hayes said.

Coles' influence on his players and the respect they show him hasn't changed.

"Coach is a funny guy, who cares a lot for his players, not just about basketball but off the court," Hayes said.

Yet what is most admirable about Coles is his modesty. When asked about his 217th victory that made him the winningest Miami coach of all time, Coles attributes it strictly to timing.

Reflecting on former RedHawk head coaches with such enthusiasm, the humble Coles said, "Darrell Hedric probably had he wanted to coach longer, would have had a tremendous win total."

Coles brought up the fact former Miami basketball Coach Darrell Hedric retired at the end of Ron Harper's sophomore year.

"Had he stuck around for Ron's junior and senior year I wouldn't be near that record … by the grace of Darrell Hedric, I was able to break his record ... it was purely longevity, that's all," Coles said.

Coles' health has been a popular topic of conversation, ever since his heart attack. However, at 67 years old, he has left no indication that he is ready to leave.

"When the time does come, I want to be able to leave on my own terms and not because of my health," Coles said.

Coles' effect on his players has transformed them as individuals.

"I became more mature because of him," Hayes said. "When I first got here, I was a little silly, I had no discipline."

Starting out at Miami as a player from 1962-65, the decades of his playing and coaching experience are apparent through his unhurried and well thought out responses. However, his excitement and animation toward this upcoming season is a demonstration of how much Coles still has left.

"I think you'll see a little bit more action this year." Coles said.

Always looking ahead, the ageless Charlie Coles portrays optimism about a team that will encounter a season full of challenges - most of them coming from Coles himself.