BUTLER TWP — How long has Jim “Duck” Gallagher been coaching basketball?

“He coached me when I was a freshman,” current Butler boys basketball coach Matt Clement said.

How far does Gallagher travel to coach basketball at Butler?

Farther than just about any coach anywhere.

Gallagher, 61, a 1973 Butler graduate, has been working in Detroit for the past three years. He accepted a job promotion to Administrative Assistant to the President of the United Auto Workers.

His family never left Butler. His heart never left Butler basketball.

He makes the drive from Detroit after work each Friday, often times straight to whatever gym the Golden Tornado are playing in.

He had two weeks off over Christmas, driving back to Detroit right after Butler's game at Pine-Richland on a Tuesday night.

“I love working with kids,” said Gallagher, an assistant hoop coach since the 1970s. “I was barely out of high school when Harry Leyland asked me to coach the seventh grade team at Butler Catholic.

“Everybody respects Harry so much ... When he asks you to do something, you just do it.”

Gallagher has been coaching the sport ever since. He was an assistant coach under the late Dave Barnes at Butler. He was the freshman coach for Mark Jula. He was the varsity assistant for George Abraham and Gene Rodgers.

When Clement was named head coach, Gallagher was one of the first coaches he reached to for help.

“One thing I lacked was experience at the high school level,” Clement said. “I wanted to surround myself with people who were strong in that area and who I knew would be all about the kids.

“Duck Gallagher and Pat McClellan coached me. I knew what they were about. Those guys and (assistant and JV coach) Don Hilliard, we're all on the same page.”

Despite taking the job in Detroit, Gallagher knew his days of coaching basketball in Butler weren't over.

He wasn't about to move his family. His daughter, Courtney, graduated from Slippery Rock University in December and played on the tennis team for four years there. She is an assistant tennis coach at Butler now.

“My whole family has always been involved in basketball or football at Butler,” Gallagher said. “We all played. Basketball is in my blood, my family's blood.

“I knew I could still help out the team in some way. Years ago, we used to videotape upcoming opponent's games and break them down for scouting. Now everything is on computer.”

So even when Gallagher can't physically make it to a Butler game, he is back in Detroit, watching footage of other teams on his computer and formulating advanced reports for Clement.

“Matt and I talk on the phone regularly,” he said. “I watch film and offer my suggestions. Sometimes he uses it, sometimes he doesn't. There's never any hard feelings between us.”

Clement said basketball knowledge and trust are a prerequisite between himself and the other coaches.

“One is no good if you don't have the other,” Clement said. “I'm a big trust guy. All of the coaches offer suggestions. Whether I take it or not, there's never any resentment.

“If Duck wasn't coaching for the right reasons, there's no way he'd be able to do what he's doing. He's making it work. Modern technology enables him to help our program from a long distance away.”

Gallagher credits the support of his family — particularly Brenda, his wife of 31 years — as a major reason why he's been able to coach Butler from a long distance.

“I'm only home on weekends or for short breaks,” he said. “They still allow me to spend time with the team. They still go to the games.

“I'll be retiring in another year and a half and I'll be back in Butler full-time. And I'll be back to coaching Butler basketball fulltime.”

Gallagher said he plans on coaching “until I physically can't do it anymore. I can't imagine my life without it.”

Clement said the long distance coaching works because Gallagher makes the effort to get to as many games as possible.

“He's around the kids enough that he's still got that positive relationship with them,” the coach said. “He still coaches because he wants to see Butler win, he wants to help the kids achieve something and he wants to continue building a positive thing in the community.

“Duck loves to see the big crowds and the support we get. It's all about community coming together. That's why Duck, Pat, Don, myself ... That's why we all do this.”