

#439 Mark Gottfried, former NCAA Basketball Coach at Alabama and NC State: "The Softest Pillow in the World is a Clear Conscience"
Mark Gottfried is an American men's college basketball coach, basketball podcaster, and former player who most recently served as head coach of the Cal State Northridge Matadors. Gottfried played one season at Oral Roberts and three seasons at Alabama, advancing to the Sweet Sixteen in each of his seasons with the Crimson Tide. He was an NBA draft pick but never played professionally, soon going into coaching. He spent eight seasons as an assistant coach at UCLA, including the team's 1995 NCAA championship season, three years as head coach at Murray State, eleven years as head coach at Alabama, and six seasons at North Carolina State before finishing his career at CSU Northridge. His teams won 432 games, advanced to 11 NCAA tournaments, and won multiple conference titles.
In our conversation today, Mark shares his insights from growing up with a college coaches in his family, his lessons learned sitting on John Wooden's couch, the difference between being a head coach and an assistant, and so much more. Today he consults with coaches, leaders and organizations across the globe through his work at https://www.coachmarkgottfried.com/
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