The Rising Coaches Podcast

Paul Biancardi a former Division 1 coach and current National Recruiting Director of High School Basketball and Sports Analyst for ESPN. Coach Bicardi has made various coaching stops along his way including Salem State, Stoneham HS, Suffolk, Boston University, Boston College, Ohio State, and Saint Louis all in the assistant coach positions and was named the #1 assistant coach in the country by Hoop Scoop in 2002, while also holding a head coaching stint for 3 years at Wright State where he earned the Horizon League coach of the year award in 2004. We look forward to learning more about the recruiting process and getting some advice from one of the best in the business.

We sit down at the Final Four in Phoenix with the current NBA scout for the Chicago Bulls, Coach Dave Bollwinkel. Coach Bollwinkel provides a ton of knowledge on the game with his extensive resume including assistant coaching positions at Cal University, Oregon, Colorado State, San Jose State, University of Dayton, Wisconsin, St. Marys and having a head coaching stint at Cal Poly Pomona and St. Mary’s. Bollwinkel also held NBA positions with the Washington Bullets, Philadelphia 76ers and currently the Chicago Bulls. We talk about some advanced scouting tactics that NBA scouts use and what to look for when recruiting a player.

We sit down at the Final Four in Phoenix with the former Grand Canyon University and recently appointed assistant Coach at Ohio State University, Coach Jamall Walker. Coach Walker has nearly 25 years of coaching experience at a wide range of stops. Following his playing career at Saint Louis University, coach Walker took a position as an assistant at Alton High School, which helped lead into spots at F. L. Schlagle High School, Redlands Community College, Ball State, Saint Louis, Murray State, Ohio University, Illinois University and Grand Canyon University, where he helped GCU win their first ever NCAA tournament game this past season. Congratulations to Coach Walker who was recently appointed the assistant coaching position at Ohio State University following our conversation.

We sit down at the Final Four in Phoenix with two coaches on the Buffalo Women’s basketball staff, including a pivotal member in the Rising Coaches community, Erin Sinnott. Coach Sinnott and her story are familiar with the Rising Coaches podcast as we have had the opportunity to learn from her individually in a previous episode. Alongside Erin is the current Associate Head Coach at Buffalo, Coach Jacey Brooks. Coach Brooks has a great coaching history helping programs excel such as Canisius College, Bowling Green, SUNY Cortland and currently Buffalo, where they both helped lead the program to the conference championship this past year.

David Richards is the current head coach at Chatham University. Richards comes from a strong background in the basketball industry as he has held a variety of positions at schools such as Robert Morris University, West Virginia Wesleyan, Merrimack College and where he now stands as the head coach at Chatham University. Coach Richards just finished his 6th season at Chatham and holds the conference's highest win percentage with an overall record of 79-42 with 2 NCAA appearances, 2 Conference Championships and a conference coach of the year award.

We sit down at the Final Four in Phoenix, with a father-son duo in Pat and Matt Ambrose. Matt Ambrose is a recent graduate from Calvin University and was a pivotal player for the men's basketball team's successes with a 25-5 record this past season. Pat Ambrose is a former head coach of Stevenson High School and Hall of Fame coach who has excelled the Stevenson program for the past 24 years while holding an overall record of 505-191 with 4 state trophies and coaching former and current NBA players and a wide range of kids into various colleges, including current NBA All Star, Jalen Brunson. We are excited to get to learn from a current Hall of Fame coach and another one on the rise.

Bruce Weber is a former stand out Head Coach at Kansas State. Coach Weber started his coaching career as a GA at Western Kentucky, leading him into an assistant role with Purdue and starting his head coaching career at Southern Illinois, Illinois, and then most recently Kansas State. Coach Weber has posted a 497-302 record in his stint as a head coach winning 2 championships in the MVC, Big Ten and Big 12 conferences each, on top of his extensive collection of Coach of the Year awards. Weber is now working with the Big 10 network as an analyst.

We sit down at the Final Four in Phoenix, with the current Senior Director of Wasserman Basketball, Coach Tony Ronzone. Coach Ronzone has a ton of experience including his professional playing career overseas while beginning his coaching career as the youngest Head Coach in New Zealand history, while also leading the Saudi Arabian, Chinese and United Arab Emirates national teams. Ronzone held a variety of positions in the NBA including stints with the Detroit Pistons, Minnesota Timberwolves and Dallas Mavericks. Ronzone was the General Manager of the Timberwolves and most recently was responsible for the preparation and organization of the NBA draft for the Dallas Mavericks.

We sit down at the Final Four in Phoenix with TJ Rosene and Mano Watsa. Coach Rosene is the current Head Coach at Emmanuel College, Director of Coach Development at PGC Basketball, and host of the Hardwood Hustle Podcast. Alongside Coach Rosene we get to speak with a former Head Coach at the University of Waterloo, President and Founder of More Than Hoops Inc, and the President and Owner of PGC Basketball, Coach Mano Watsa. Tj and Mano both have tremendous knowledge on the basketball industry, not only in how to grow as a coach but also as a player.

Adam Gordon is the former CEO and Co-Founder of Rising Coaches and a former college basketball coach. Coach Gordon has been in coaching positions at a variety of places including the University of Tampa, College of Central Florida, Clemson, Northern Colorado, Mississippi State and Southeast Missouri State. Coach Gordon was the Co-Founder of Rising Coaches where he recently passed the torch and moved on to where he currently stands, the VP of Athletics at Renaissance Search and Consulting.

Matt Mayberg is a current member of the Rising Coaches community and the assistant at Lewis and Clark College. Coach Mayberg is a young coach and still on the rise as he has learned in a variety of positions including an intern,Graduate Manager and Head Grad assistant all at Seattle University. Following Seattle, he moved on to Peninsula College and helped them lead to a 36-18 overall record in two seasons while being in the top four of the conference every year. Mayberg now stands at Lewis and Clark where they have recently recorded the best offensive point production in over 20 years.

Andy Farrell one of the founding fathers of Rising Coaches, while also being a member and the current Assistant Coach at Siena College. Coach Farrell has a ton of basketball knowledge for us as he has been at various positions including Virginia Commonwealth University, where he started his coaching career also including Clemson Depaul University, Longwood University, Southwest Mississippi Community College, Dayton Flyers, and where he currently stands, Siena College.

Adam Bauman is the current Director of Scouting and Analytics at Alabama and Rising Coaches Member. Prior to Bauman’s years at Alabama he served in various roles at the University of Buffalo, Mississippi State University, Santa Clara University, Arizona State and Southern Illinois. On top of Bauman’s role at Alabama, he is also the Head Coach for Blue Collar U which is a team in the TBT or known as The Basketball Tournament.

Brad Stevens is one of the best coaches in the basketball busines. Coach Stevens has a short road of stops but an incredible background nonetheless, as he grew from an assistant role at Butler to being the Head Coach and ultimately one of the best Butler has seen during his 6 year head coaching stint, including 2 Horizon Coach of the Year awards, 2 Final Cour appearances and 7 regular and tournament Horizon League championships in total. Following Butler, Stevens stepped into a role with the Boston Celtics as a head coach for 8 years and now serves as the current President of Basketball Operations for the Boston Celtics.

Amit Tailor is the current Manager of Basketball Operations at Grand Rapids Gold in the NBA G League. Coach Tailor has a wide range of knowledge expanding from a Game Day Statistician with the Chicago Bulls, a Scout for the Knicks and NetScouts Basketball as well as an assistant for the University of Florida, Santa Clara University, Clemson as well as assisting with USA Basketball. Most recently Coach Tailor was a Video/Player Development Associate with the Houston Rockets and is now currently with the Denver Nuggets G League team, the Grand Rapids Gold.

Kendall Aldridge is a Rising Coaches Member and current Assistant Men’s Basketball Coach at Purdue University Northwest, Coach Kendall Aldridge. Coach Aldridge has a great career path for young Coaches as he started in the high school ranks at Decatur Central High School, as well as various other High school positions and ultimately landed his first NCAA Division 3 coaching gig with Houghton College. Following Houghton, Kendall gets a position where he currently stands at Division 2 Purdue University Northwest. Kendall is definitely a coaching name on the rise!

Ben Sanders is the current head coach of Guaymas in Mexico and current Rising Coaches Member. Coach Sanders brings a wealth of knowledge to the podcast working in various roles in the G league with the Windy City Bulls, Long Island Nets, and Wisconsin Heard as well as a stint in the NBA with the Chicago Bulls. Prior to these roles, Coach Sanders held positions in the NCAA with New Mexico, Rice and Alfred University all playing a pivotal role in his new found head coaching gig.

Kevin Noon is a former Division 1 assistant coach, Rising Coaches Member and current Financial Advisor with Northwestern Mutual. Noon has made various coaching stops ranging from being a walk- on then manager at Rider University, Graduate Assistant at the University of Miami, Director of Basketball Operations at the University of Maryland, back to Rider as the DOBO and most formerly Bowling Green University as an assistant for 8 years. Coach Noon now works as a Financial Advisor looking to assist everyone but looks to assist basketball coaches in the industry with their financial planning. Learn more: https://www.northwesternmutual.com/financial/advisor/kevin-r-noon/

Alan Stein, Jr. is a very influential person as he is a coach, trainer, author and motivational speaker. Coach Stein was a Director of performance for Pure Sweat Basketball, Founder of Stronger Team, Author, and Motivational speaker who has worked with the biggest names in basketball today including, Lebron James, Kevin Durant and Steph Curry. Coach Stein brings us a wealth of knowledge as we will get to learn more about his techniques for coaches and players to improve their mindset in game as well as on a day to day basis.

Luka Voncina is a former professional basketball player and current Founder of LV prospects. Luka is a current owner and operator of a company in Slovenia to help assist players to pursue their collegiate careers in other countries. Luka helps give us some insight on how coaches can use International agencies to their advantage in the recruiting processes.