A Pen And A Napkin

Longtime Division I AC and HC Randy Brown of Fort Dodge, Iowa comes on the pod this week! Coach Brown has been a life long learner and looks to impart wisdom from both his own experiences, positive and negative, and the experiences of others. We discuss networking, his influences, helping with the IBCA, "Elite Coach Mentoring", the skill of resilience and much more!! Great conversation with Coach Brown!

While most of us understand the analytics of "new basketball", we've also all discussed "the lost art of the mid-range game". In this episode, Tony and I break down ways that you can have your players work on their mid-range game, and we also discuss the importance of sharing the ball and how to get your team to buy into this concept. Along with that, we have our usual trivia, TWIB and a guest appearance by one of my favorite movie characters of all time!

Episode #223 features Jim Simons, the head boys basketball coach at Omaha Westside (NE) High School. Coach Simons has built a consistent winner at Westside step by step, and Coach Simon's rise up the ranks was literally step by step. Jim tells us about his journey, how his coaching philosophy has changed, the influence of other coaches and coaching baseball on his philosophy, coaching AAU and much more. A really fun conversation with one of Nebraska's best!

What's the most important skill in basketball? SHOOTING! So, how do you teach shooting? Tony and I discuss some of our basic fundamentals that we use to teach shooting, and then we each throw out five of our favorite drills that we use in our practices. Along with that, we have trivia, a discussion about the NBA playoffs and our (very) amateur WNBA predications for the upcoming season!

We're really excited to have on for Episode #222 Brad Fischer, the Head Women's Basketball Coach at the University of Wisconsin-Oshkosh! Coach and I start the pod discussing the Milwaukee Bucks and what they need to do this offseason, then we dive into his high retention rate in his program, building a once proud program back up, pack line defense, practice planning, scouting and much more. Terrific conversation with one of DIII's best HC's!

We, as coaches, are supposed to evaluate our players and our AC's, but how much time do we spend evaluating our own performance as a head coach? This week, Tony and I break down different things that we can evaluate ourselves on, and how to do it, from the people you should talk to other evaluation methods. Along with that, we have trivia and a deep dive on the NBA playoffs. Enjoy!

Really excited to have Matt Ducharme, the WBB HC at UMass-Dartmouth, on the podcast this week! Coach Ducharme has done a great job building his program into a consistent winner, and he talks about recruiting, being at an institution for an extended period of time, offensive philosophy, scouting, influences and much more. Really fun conversation with a very good young coach!

After the season, we know that we, as coaches, need some time to recharge and get your feet back underneath you. At the same time, we sometimes lose sight of that for our players and what is good for them, so how do we help our players recharge? Tony and I dive deep into this topic, along with other topics, including trivia and our TWIB segment, where we discuss NBA playoffs and the transfer portal. Enjoy!!

We're really excited to have Sharman White, the Boys HC at Pace Academy (GA) who moonlights as the HC of USA Basketballs U17 team. Coach White is also just coming off of coaching the McDonald's All-American game and the Nike Hoops Summit, so we chat about that entire process, building a program from scratch, coming back to high school ball after coaching collegiately, X's and O's and much more! Great chat with one of the best in the country!

Our lives as coaches are becoming more and more demanding and busier than ever, so how do you balance all of the responsibilities that you need to perform and stay on top of it all? This week, Tony and I discuss methods and philosophies of what you can do to make sure that you are organized and on top of everything that needs to be done within your program. Along with that, we have trivia, and in our TWIB segment, we discuss the WNBA draft, Kentucky's hire of Mark Pope and a small preview of the NBA playoffs.

Really excited to have one of Nebraska's best, Johnson-Brock's Boys HC Lucus Dalinghaus, on the podcast this week! Coach talks about his background, running the table and repeating this past season, how his educational background has helped with his coaching, some of his favorite drills, and much more!! Really good conversation with a terrific small school coach from Nebraska!

What a great month March was!! So many story lines, alot of great basketball, the growth of the women's game and two great champions . . . Tony and I break down the tournaments and what we learned from watching the tournament and how it can affect your program. We also have a special trivia section right before we discuss the Kentucky job, Tara VanDerveer retiring and more!

Episode #218 is a great episode with Franqua "Coach Q" Bedell, the WBB HC at Odessa (TX) Junior College. Coach Bedell tells about his basketball journey, including his penning of four books, keys to a great interview, his dissertation on the effects of NIL and much more! We also go through SLOB philosophy, an outline for player development and many other things. Really great conversation with one of the best at the JUCO level!!

One of the most important things that you can do as a program is to get your local community involved with your program. This week, Tony and I go through a variety of methods that you can do to attract people to your program, some of which are pretty labor intensive while others are really, really simple. We also dive into some of the latest controversies in the women's college game, including the Washington Post story on Kim Mulkey, Angel Reese's presser and our Final Four predictions!

I'm really excited to have on Matt Hackenberg, one of the greatest sharer's of todays game. Coach Hack and I discuss alot of things, including building a complete program, how he got into the "sharing" business, his new "Encyclopedia of Zone Offense", post player development and much, much more! Sit back and relax a great conversation with one of the smartest basketball guys on social media!!

Basketball is a game where things usually start out at the top and then slide down to the lower levels. A new thing that we are now dealing with at a high level at the high school game is the "Transfer Portal". This week, Tony and I discuss what to do to try to retain your own players, what to do when a player knocks on your door and an overall look at how to handle the process. We of course have trivia, along with our Final Four picks and a discussion on the impending Kim Mulkey Washington Post story. Enjoy!

One of the greatest challenges that we face as coaches is the fine line between under coaching and over coaching. This week, Tony and I break down some doe's and don'ts when managing your team and how to coach them as the season goes on. Along with that, Tony and I give our Sweet 16 predictions for both the men's and women's brackets, and we also discuss turning down postseason bids. Enjoy!

It's hard to take over any position as a head coach, but it's even harder to take over a job when you're stepping into the shoes of one of the most successful head coaches in the history of Nebraska. Steve Klein did that and more, going 27-1 and winning a state championship this past season for Bellevue West. Coach Klein and I discuss moving into his job, the things that he learned, the journey of his team this season, transition offense and defense and much more!!

As we get around to the spring time, it is a time of renewal. For some folks, they are going to be looking on to other jobs, which is a complicated process. In this episode, Tony and I break down what you should be looking for in a job, the red flags that may crop up and how you should attack going after a job. We also have our trivia segment and our TWIB discussion, including "March Madness" and other topics.

Scott Guzinski, the highly successful head coach at Oakland-Craig (NE) High School, jumps on the podcast this week to talk about a variety of topics. We chat about coaching in small towns, the opportunity to have "trial and error" in your coaching development, the chance to take over a successful program, transition offense and ALOT of defensive principles. Really fun chat!