The Rising Coaches Podcast

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.

Nate McMillan is a very well known name in the basketball industry as a coach and player. Coach McMillan was a draft pick to the Seattle Supersonics in 1986 and then went on to start his coaching career for Seattle following his 12 year playing career in the NBA. He coached in the NBA at various places such as Seattle, Portland, Indiana and Atlanta all in the assistant role while also holding the head coaching title in Indiana and most formerly with the Atlanta Hawks.This conversation was so insightful, we just kept going, so we decided to split it into two parts.

Nate McMillan is a very well known name in the basketball industry as a coach and player. Coach McMillan was a draft pick to the Seattle Supersonics in 1986 and then went on to start his coaching career for Seattle following his 12 year playing career in the NBA. He coached in the NBA at various places such as Seattle, Portland, Indiana and Atlanta all in the assistant role while also holding the head coaching title in Indiana and most formerly with the Atlanta Hawks.This conversation was so insightful, we just kept going, so we decided to split it into two parts.

Coach Major is a man of many talents as he is the current President of Basketball Operations with Rising Coaches and Co Host of the Rising Coaches Podcast. Coach Major also has a strong coaching background including Cal Lutheran, Pacific, Southern Illinois, Xavier, Ohio State, Texas and the Nigerian National team all in the assistant role, as well as, Charlotte and the Rwanda National Teams as a head coach. We are very excited to get to do this one.

Gary Waters a former NCAA Division 1 Coach. Waters brings 40+ years of coaching experience to the podcast today, while making various stops at Ferris State and Eastern Michigan in the assistant positions, including Kent State, Rutgers and Cleveland State as a Head Coach while also crowning multiple regular season and tournament titles in the MAC and Horizon League Coach Waters even won a variety of MAC and Horizon League coach of the year awards.