It does not matter if you live on the north side of the Ohio River in Indiana or the south side in Kentucky, one thing is for certain – basketball is king.  Purple Aces assistant men's basketball coach Terrence Commodore has built his career in the sport in Kentucky and is excited to continue his career in Indiana at the University of Evansville.

Commodore, who was a 2007 graduate of Eastern Kentucky University, spent time working at the University of Kentucky along with EKU before heading to Evansville.

"Since I was born, I have always had a basketball in my hand," Commodore said.  "I loved watching it and playing it.  Being a Kentucky guys is similar to Indiana; basketball is in our blood."

The potential for him to be a coach is something that was evident at a young age.  Being a point guard, he was already depended upon to be a leader.  He excelled in that position and made an impression on his coaches.

"Middle school was really the first time coaching seemed like a possibility, I was always a leader on my teams being the point guard," he explained.  "All of the coaches that I played for told me I was going to be a great coach someday.  I was pretty knowledgeable with the game, had a thirst for it and wanted to learn as much as possible.

Following his graduation from EKU in 2007, Commodore assumed a graduate assistant position at the University of Kentucky and made an impression on John Calipari, who was hired as the head coach following Commodore's first season with the Wildcats.

He finished his GA position while earning a Master's degree in Sports Leadership.  Calipari gave him the opportunity to stay on staff working as a program assistant along with operations.

"I did a little bit of everything at UK, it was a great experience."

Staying with the program until 2011, Commodore was on staff for a trip to the Elite Eight in 2010 followed by a Final Four appearance the next season.  In his time at UK, Commodore estimated that he worked with at least 15 student-athletes who went on to have careers in the NBA.

"I was really close to all of our players, including the NBA guys," Commodore said.  "I still talk to most of them today and spoke with a few of them after their playoff games over the last few weeks."

He joined the staff at Eastern Kentucky as the Video Coordinator/Director of Player Personnel before the 2015-16 season and was promoted to an assistant coach a year later.  Commodore's duties included scouting, recruiting, on-court work, off-court development and community outreach.  He spent two seasons in that role before coming to Evansville. 

Commodore is excited for the opportunity that head coach Walter McCarty gave him to join the Aces coaching staff.

"The opportunity to work with Walter was a big reason that I wanted to be here," he exclaimed.  "I want to help him build the program back up to where people want it to be.  I could see the excitement when I first visited campus."

In his time working with the Wildcats, he had a few interactions with Coach McCarty, which led to a friendship that is as strong as ever today.

Since his arrival in the Tri-State, Commodore has enjoyed the town and its people.

"I have been pleasantly surprised, it is a great place and environment," he said.  "Everyone has been very nice.  There is a lot of excitement for the basketball team; it drives you to succeed even more."