The Rising Coaches Podcast

On this episode of the Rising Coaches Podcast, we’re joined by Charles Allen, Assistant Coach with the New York Knicks. Allen’s journey includes playing at Dallas Baptist before working his way through coaching roles with Houston, Phoenix, Houston again, Utah, Sacramento, and now New York. In this episode we discuss what his one-week tryout as a student manager for Kelvin Sampson at Houston was really like, how working with different coaching minds shaped the coach he is today, what makes an assistant truly valuable beyond simply knowing basketball, and some of his biggest “welcome to the NBA” moments along the way.

On this episode of the Rising Coaches Podcast, we’re joined by Billy Donlon, Head Coach at Eastern Michigan University. Donlon held various assistant coaching titles at American, Saint Peter’s, UNC Wilmington, Wright State, Michigan, Northwestern, and Clemson, with head coaching stops at Wright State, Kansas City, and now Eastern Michigan. In this episode we discuss his unique childhood connection to the legendary Chicago Bulls, why communication may be one of the most important skills a coach can master and tips on how to utilize it and what he learned from his first head coaching opportunity that he plans to approach differently a decade later.

On this episode of the Rising Coaches Podcast, we’re back with Mike Dunlap for part two of our conversation. His career has taken him through programs like Loyola Marymount, USC, Arizona, Oregon, St. John’s, the Denver Nuggets, Milwaukee Bucks, and Charlotte Bobcats, with head coaching experience across college, international basketball, and the NBA. In this episode we discuss one thing he believes today’s coaches should avoid, the biggest misconception about coaching in the NBA, and the lessons being fired as an NBA head coach taught him moving forward.

On this episode of the Rising Coaches Podcast, we’re joined by Mike Dunlap for part one of a two-part conversation. Dunlap’s career includes stops at Loyola Marymount, Iowa, USC, Arizona, Oregon, St. John’s, the Denver Nuggets, and Milwaukee Bucks, along with head coaching roles at Cal Lutheran, Adelaide, Metro State, the Charlotte Bobcats, Loyola Marymount, and Colorado Mesa. In this episode we discuss how his definition of great coaching has evolved, the skills that took him from young assistant to NBA head coach, and what he would change if given another opportunity to lead a team in today's era.

On this episode of the Rising Coaches Podcast, we’re joined by Patrick Corrigan, Associate Head Coach at the University of West Florida. Corrigan played at Hampden-Sydney before building his coaching career through stops at Charlotte, Ferrum, West Coast Elite, Windward School, Cal Poly Pomona, and West Florida, including a successful run as the head coach at Ferrum. In this episode we discuss why sometimes moving down a level can actually move your coaching career forward, how being a former head coach has changed the way he approaches the assistant’s chair, and what he saw in Tanner Smith and West Florida that made him willing to step away from a successful head coaching position for a new opportunity.