On this episode of the Rising Coaches Podcast, we are joined with the Director of Recruiting Operations and Assistant Women’s Coach at the University of Kentucky, Coach Ciara Gregory. Coach Gregory has a short list of schools with a rather quick incline, starting as a Graduate Manager at Charlotte and working her way up to being an Assistant Coach. Following her 5 years in Charlotte as a coach she found herself recently joining the Wildcats staff. Coach Gregory talks to us on some of her day to day duties as the Director of Recruiting Operations as well as some things that make Kentucky basketball so unique. Coach Gregory also has a strong background in working with guard play at Charlotte and she dives into some unique things she liked to work on. Please welcome to the podcast, Coach Ciara Gregory.
Brian Pauga is the Director of College Scouting and Basketball Intelligence for the Utah Jazz, Brian Pauga. Brian started as a student manager at Michigan State University and took an immediate jump into the NBA holding various roles with the San Antonio Spurs, Minnesota Timberwolves and Utah Jazz. Brian Pauga has 15+ years of scouting at the NBA level and shares with us some insight on some of the best ways to assess a players ability to fit in a system, best practices to grow in the NBA as well as his belief on what best separates a good scout from a great one.
Jeff Capel is the Head Coach of the University of Pittsburgh. Coach Capel joins us today with a wide range of coaching and basketball knowledge starting from his career as a player at Duke University and leading into his various assistant positions at Old Dominion, VCU and Duke. Coach Capel also held Head Coaching Stints with an overall record of 259-202 as a head coach at VCU as well as Oklahoma and currently the University of Pittsburgh. On this episode Coach Capel talks about some of his big takeaways he learned while playing and coaching under Coach Krzyzewski at Duke, some major takeaways he learned as a first year head coach at the age of 27 as well as promoting accountability amongst your players.
Dave Love is a long time NBA shooting coach. Coach Love joins us with 8 years of experience working in the NBA as a shooting coach, but nearly 20+ years of being a shooting coach and consultant for people of all ages. Coach Love has experience working with the Phoenix Suns, Cleveland Cavaliers, Orlando Magic, G-League Ignite and most recently the Dallas Mavericks. On this podcast we talk on Coach Love's journey in the industry as a shooting coach, proper shooting mechanics that anyone should look out for, as well as some best practices to improve jump shots of any age and some brand new research founded on periodization of skill training.
Corry Irvin is the current Head Women’s Coach at Chicago State University. Coach Irvin has 25+ years of coaching experience ranging from the High school ranks all the way to Division 1 basketball. She has held numerous positions at schools including Saint Xavier University, University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, Mississippi State University and presently Chicago State University. In this episode we cover building a culture, a program as a head coach and takeaway some great advice for helping coaches grow in the industry, just as she has.
Gabe Lazo is the Assistant Women’s Coach at the University of Tennessee. Coach Lazo has made various stops after his playing career ended at Barry University in a variety of roles including Florida International University, Stony Brook, George Washington, Mississippi State and currently Tennessee. Coach Lazo has an extensive background at a variety of levels while working his way up in the industry. This episode we talk about building your coaching philosophy, a division 1 coaches tips on recruiting and best practices to move up in the industry.
Dave Saur is the current Head Women’s Coach at Chatham University. Coach Saur has a strong coaching background starting in the Division 3 ranks and working his way up the chain, holding roles at schools including Thiel College, California University of Pennsylvania, Indiana University of Pennsylvania, Stetson University, UMass Lowell, University Louisiana at Monroe and Chatham University, where he recently led his team to a PAC championship and Head Coach of the year award. In this episode we learn about some advice on moving up in the industry, utilizing your network to its fullest and creating a culture as a head coach.
Chad Boudreau is the current Head Coach at Western Illinois University. As a head coach, Boudreau holds an overall record of 97-33 holding 3 consecutive conference regular season titles in four years as well as recently earning a spot as a finalist for the Joe B. Hall award as being one of the top first year head coaches in Division 1. Prior to his head coaching career Boudreau started out at Hannibal-LaGrange as a women’s Graduate Assistant Coach. He would soon work his way to Indian Hills, Milwaukee, Wisconsin-Whitewater and Western Illinois as an assistant. Soon to be the head coach of Highland Community College and where he stands now, Western Illinois University.
Jon Vanderwal is the current head coach at Marietta College. Coach Vanderwal has grown a strong history at Marietta college raising the program from the bottom of the conference to now being a Nationally ranked D3 powerhouse under his tenure. Vanderwal has a head coaching record of 313-126 with a 72% winning percentage over his 17 year reign at Marietta as well as being presented the Glenn Robinson Award as the top division III coach in the nation.Vanderwal has also been awarded 4 coach of the year awards in the OAC as well as 4 Region Coach of the year awards while averaging 23.3 wins and 5.5 losses from the 2011-2022 seasons.We are honored to chat with such a strong division 3 coach.
Ronnie Burrell is the current assistant coach with the Portland Trailblazers. Following an extensive 15 year professional playing career including France and Germany, Coach Burrell would step into a Graduate Assistant Role with Florida Atlantic University as his first role as a coach. Following FAU he would take on various positions at IMG Academy, Brooklyn Nets, Long Island Nets, Chicago Bulls, College Park Skyhawks, and currently the Portland Trail Blazers. Coach Burrell has a tremendous coaching background while continuously moving up the chain on top of winning the NBA G League coach of the year award in 2023 with the Long Island Nets.
Jesse Reed is the current head coach at Franklin Regional High School. Coach Reed had a stand out career at American University and was one of the top players in the state of Pennsylvania coming out of High School. Following Coach Reed’s collegiate career he played a brief stint in Europe then found himself starting his coaching career for Saint Vincent College and then to Carnegie Mellon University which would lead him to where he stands now. While at Franklin Regional, Reed has grown the program to new heights, while recently going 27-4, setting school records and winning Coach of the Year accolades, only in his 3rd season as a head coach.
God Shammgod Jr. is the current Player Development coach with the Boston Celtics, Coach God Shammgod Jr.. Coach Shammgod started his coaching career after his playing career ended at Fairmont State where he played under head coach Jerrod Calhoun. As a coach he would hold a brief stint at Youngstown State and then back to Fairmont State. Coach Shammgod would soon transition back to Indiana University of Pennsylvania, soon to make it into the G league with the 76ers at the Delaware Blue Coats and where he stands now, a player development coach with the Boston Celtics. We are excited to learn from a young coach with a tremendous basketball background.
We have a unique turn as we are celebrating our 100th episode of the Rising Coaches Podcast! It's hard to believe we've reached this incredible milestone, and we couldn’t have done it without you, our amazing listeners. Over the course of these 100 episodes, we’ve explored, learned, and connected with so many incredible coaches at all levels in the profession. Today’s episode is a special celebration where we talk about some of the best takeaways we have learned from previous guests including the best advice for coaches to move up in the industry, most unique journeys we have covered and much more! Whether you’ve been with us since the beginning or joined us recently, we’re so grateful you’re here to mark this milestone. So let's dive into this celebratory 100th episode!
Joe Gallo is the head coach at Merrimack College. Coach Gallo capped Merrimack’s final years in division II with 3 NCAA tournament appearances and snapped a 19 year championship drought, along with his 143-98 head coaching record at a nearly 60% win-loss ratio. Following Gallo’s playing career at Merrimack, he moved a few inches over to another seat allowing him to start his assistant coaching career. Following 4 years he moved on to Dartmouth and Robert Morris both in the assistant roles until he got the head job back at Merrimack. Coach Gallo has propelled his teams to 3 regular season championships and 2 tournament titles including a variety of Coach of the year awards. We are excited to speak with a young but great coach in the industry.
Chad Murray is the current head coach at Pacific Lutheran University. Coach Murray stepped into coaching after his playing career finished at Chapman University. His first coaching gig came about at North Central College then into Vassar College and Nebraska Wesleyan University in the assistant roles. Coach Murray then stepped into his first head coaching gig at Cornell College which would eventually lead him into his head role at Pacific Lutheran University. Coach Murray would help the Lutes reach their first league championship since 1986 and claiming the NWC Coach of the Year award.
David Grace is the current head coach of Campbell Hall High School. Coach Grace has a tremendous background starting in the High School ranks as an assistant at Trevor Browne HS and taking a head coaching position soon after at South Mountain HS. Following his brief head coaching stint, Coach Grace took a step into the college ranks at Sacramento State, San Francisco, Oregon State, UCLA, California, and Vanderbilt, all in the assistant roles and then back into a head role at Centennial HS and where he now stands, Campbell Hall High School. Coach Grace was ranked by ESPN as the 7th best recruiter helping get numerous players including Lonzo Ball, Scotty Pippen Jr., and many more. We are excited to learn from a tremendous coach and nationally known recruiter.
Jerrod Calhoun is the current Head Coach at Utah State University. Coach Calhoun has done a remarkable job growing programs over the years and leaving a place better than he found it. Following his playing career at Cleveland State he took a student assistant position with Cincinnati which would help him get his first assistant coaching position at Walsh University. Following 3 years at Walsh, Calhoun landed a role with West Virginia University under coach Bob Huggins which would help set himself up into his head coaching positions with Fairmont State, Youngstown State and now Utah State University. Coach Calhoun has grown each program he has taken over as a head coach and currently holds a record of 242-144 with a 63% win percentage and numerous regular season championships along with a Horizon coach of the year award. We are excited to talk with a veteran coach and first year Head Coach of Utah State.
Roy Blumenthal is the current Special Assistant to the Head Coach at Ryder University. Coach Blumenthal has five decades of coaching experience at the High School and Collegiate levels including his 25 year reign at West Chester University with experiences as the Head Coach and Founder of the Global Sports Academy Goodwill Select teams. He has been inducted into the Hall of Fame at West Chester for his commitment to the program over the years and has worked an extensive amount with international student athletes over the years. We are excited to learn from a tenured coach and current special assistant at Ryder University.
Mike Fuline is the current Head Coach of the University of Mount Union. Coach Fuline started his coaching career in the high schools ranks first as an assistant and then head coach at Massillon Jackson High School where he posted a 95-42 overall record and numerous championships here as a head coach. Following this Fuline would take a jump into the college ranks and start his long tenure as Head Coach, which will be his 13th season. Coach Fuline has had Mount Union continuously on the national rankings as well as deep runs in the NCAA tournament including their first 30 win season and a run to the NCAA Championship, while holding a variety of coach of the year awards. We are excited to speak with a strong coach in the division 3 ranks.
Alex Sarama is the Founder of Transforming Basketball. Coach Sarama has traveled all over working in basketball including England, France, Italy and even working in the NBA here in the US. Coach Sarama has held a ton of different positions including working with coaches to help them develop their own practice plans to best help coaches be prepared for their head coaching gigs. Coach Sarama has a ton of experience working with player development as well as coaching development.