Idaho Basketball Coaching Podcast

Josh Uhrig joins the podcast to talk about the Moscow boys basketball program. Uhrig guided Moscow to this year's 4A state title game where the Bears fell to Preston.  Uhrig has coached Moscow for five years and was previously an assistant coach at Genessee. Uhrig shares lessons he has learned during his time as a head coach and how he works with his assistant coaches. He discusses his philosophies when it comes to offense and defense. Uhrig also identifies ways his program "Respects the Game" and his feelings on the Inland Empire League using both 4A and 5A games to determine seeding in the respective district tournaments.

Matt Miller joins the podcast to talk about the Timberlake girls basketball program. Miller has been one of the most successful coaches in Idaho over the last decade, finishing third or better at the 3A state tournament nine including three state championships. Miller talks about how he got his start in coaching high school basketball and what has made the Timberlake program successful. He explains why he is not a "drills" coach and how he gets his players to execute at a high level. Miller also discusses how he gets ready for a season and the importance of on-court leadership with successful teams.

Andy Harrington joins the podcast to talk about several topics. Harrington is a rising head coach who helped guide Middleton boys program to a third place finish at this year's 4A state tournament.  As a younger coach, Harrington talks about the pros and cons of having a younger coaching staff and what it is like having his father as an assistant. He also gives his opinion on a proposal to seed the state tournament and discusses some X's and O's.  Harrington played high school basketball at Bishop Kelly and coached at College of Idaho.

Courtnie Smith joins the podcast to talk about her experience as a high school head coach. Smith was hired in May as an assistant coach at Idaho State University. Prior to that, she was the head coach at Blackfoot High School where she lead a turnaround that saw the Broncos play three days at the 4A state tournament the last two years. Smith was also a head coach Marsh Valley and Century high schools, and she also coached at an AAU team for several years. In this episode, Smith talks about her responsibilities at Idaho State but also delves deep into her experience as a high school head coach. Some of the topics include: What it takes to rebuild a program, how she taught her players offensive concepts, and ways to work with parents.

Ryan Lundgren joins the podcast to talk about his experience as a high school and college coach. Lundgren finished his first year as an assistant coach at College of Idaho. Lundgren discusses what he did to stand out in a competitive job interview and what he's learned in his first year in Twin Falls. Prior to joining CSI, Lundgren was the head coach at Vallivue High School for four years.  Besides success on the court, Lundgren was successful as a fundraiser and had team social media account that would rival a lot of colleges. Lundgren gives suggestions on how to build a program and talks a little X's and O's.

Mike McLean joins the podcast to talk about the Post Falls way. In the last 12 years, Mclean has been one of the most successful boys coaches in Idaho winning 2 state titles. Most recently, his Trojans fell to Borah in the 5A state title game.  McLean goes "behind-the-scenes" of the Post Falls program to discuss his practice philosophy, the role of assistant coaches, building toughness, and the best way to develop high school basketball players. He also discusses what drives him as a coach and what it is like to coach his sons.

The third episode of the Idaho Basketball Coaching Podcast features University of Idaho men's head coach Zac Claus. Claus was named head coach in February after serving as the interim head coach for the Vandals during the 2019-20 season. Prior to that, Claus was an assistant coach at Idaho, Nevada, Sacramento State and Portland State. In college, Claus played at Creighton, Nebraska and Eastern Washington. Topics include how the team dealt with last year, how he makes decisions as a coach, and his vision for the Idaho program now that he is head coach.

The second episode of the Idaho Basketball Coaching Podcast features John Naccarato and Kent Leiss. Naccarato is the assistant coach with the Coeur d'Alene girls basketball team. He also spent time as an assistant with the boys program. Leiss is a long-time head coach with stops at Coeur d'Alene and Sandpoint. Topics in this episode include the role of assistant coaches, teaching toughness, and the importance of communication. If you are a high school basketball coach in Idaho and would like to talk about your program, email the show at idahobasketballcoachingpodcast@gmail.com. You can also follow us on Twitter @coachingidaho.

The first episode of the Idaho Basketball Coaching Podcast includes a roundtable with Duane Ward and Kent Leiss. Ward has coached high school boys and girls in Idaho since the 1960s, while Leiss coached boys at Coeur d'Alene and Sandpoint high schools.  The discussion includes a number of topics, including ... how to filter through all the coaching information that is available, determining what to run and when to make a change, working with club programs, teaching kids the game in practice, the role of team goals vs. individual goals. If you are basketball coach in Idaho and would like to talk hoops, email the show at idahobasketballcoachingpodcast@gmail.com. You can also follow us on Twitter @coachingidaho.