The Rising Coaches Podcast

Steve Clifford is a former NBA Head Coach and current Advisor in the front office of the Charlotte Hornets, Coach Steve Clifford. Coach Clifford jumped right into coaching following his graduation and starting in a position with Woodland High School. From there he would rise in the ranks extending to places at Saint Anselm, Fairfield, Boston University, Siena, East Carolina, New York Knicks, Houston Rockets, Orlando Magic and the Los Angeles Lakers all in various assistant positions. He also held head coaching stints with Adelphi, Charlotte Bobcats, Orlando Magic and then finished his career with the Charlotte Hornets as the Hornets franchises winningest coach. In this episode we talk about his defensive minded approach to helping the Hornets being a top 5 defensive team in the NBA, some tendencies they would look to do to help with their teams defense and some things he learned as a first year head coach in the NBA.

Anthony Johnson is the current assistant coach at Youngstown State University, Coach Anthony Johnson. Coach Johnson joins us having started his coaching career at Texas Tech where they made a run into the National Championship under Head Coach Chris Beard. This would lead Coach Johnson into positions with the College of Charleston, USC Upstate, Georgia Southern, Ole Miss and now Youngstown State University. Coach Johnson talks to us about the amazing run they had at Texas Tech and what made that team so successful, some tips of recruiting as well as an in depth look at the process from meeting a recruit to eventually making them an offer.

Joe Abunassar is the Founder and Ceo of Impact Basketball, Coach Joe Abunassar. Coach Abunassar has trained nearly 307+ NBA Players in his 27 years in the business including Kawhi Leonard, Tyrese Haliburton, Chauncy Billups, Jaylen Brown and Kevin Garnett just to name a few. Coach Abunassar has always been a strong player development coach but before he started this, he was a student manager under coach Bob Knight at Indiana and secured a coaching position at Wyoming for four years which led him into the development side. In this episode we talk about how athletes can get the proper recovery needed to excel, some key concepts of his training plans and some advice for coaches looking to be a player development coach.

Travis Branham is the Recruiting Analyst for 247Sports, Travis Branham. Travis joins us with a heavy scouting and recruiting background, starting his career with Drew Hanlen and Pure Sweat basketball, being a student manager at the University of Kentucky and starting his scouting career after college with nearly 20 years of experience and almost 5 years as a recruiting analyst. Travis gives us a deep dive into the biggest mistakes coaches make in the recruiting process, how important relationship building is in the recruiting process and some red flags to be aware of when recruiting an athlete.

Ben Newman is an Entrepreneur, Investor, 2x Wall Street Journal Bestselling Author, Philanthropist, and the Nation’s Top Continual Peak Performance Coach, Ben Newman. Coach Newman has coached and worked with some of the highest performing teams in the NFL, NBA, PGA, MLB, UFC and NCAA. He has worked with players from the last 6 Super Bowl Champions, worked on the staff of the 18x National Champions in the Alabama Crimson Tide Football team for 5 years as the Mental Conditioning Coach and also served as the Performance coach for Michigan State as well as Kansas State football and Basketball programs. On this episode we talk about how to implement a culture at a new program, his definition of “Mentally Tough” and some of the biggest mistakes young coaches make when trying to inspire their athletes.

Rex Walters is a former NBA player and former NBA and College Assistant, Coach Rex Walters. Coach Walters joins having an extensive playing career with Kansas, Brooklyn Nets, 76ers, Heat and a stint in Spain. Following his playing career he took assistant coaching positions at Valparaiso, Detroit Pistons, Nevada, Wake Forest, New Orleans Pelicans and most recently the Charlotte Hornets in assistant roles. He also held head coaching titles at Florida Atlantic, the University of San Francisco and Grand Rapids Drive. In this episode we dive more into some unique things Coach Walters learned from his playing days in Spain, best ways to approach game preparation and scouting reports at the NBA level as well as some underrated coaching concepts young coaches should be studying more.

Scoonie Penn is a former NBA assistant, Coach Scoonie Penn. Coach Penn joins us with an extensive playing career having played at Ohio State University and professionally in numerous countries including, Italy, Turkey, Croatia, Greece and Serbia. Following his playing career he stepped back into a role at Ohio State as a player development coach and previously an NBA assistant coach with the Grizzlies. In this episode, Coach Penn talks about what he has learned to help him be a coach from his international playing days, some important things young coaches should develop early in their careers as well as some key tips to help develop players skills and basketball IQs.

Darris Nichols is the chance to talk with the newly appointed Head Coach at La Salle University, Coach Darris Nichols. Coach Nichols joins us as a player coach and formerly the head coach of Radford University where he was when we initially recorded this. He had a great playing career at West Virginia University which led him into a professional stint in Hungary. Following his playing career, he took various positions at West Virginia University, Northern Kentucky, Wofford College, Louisiana Tech, University of Florida, four seasons as the Head Coach at Radford University and now being the new Head Coach at La Salle University. In this episode we dive more into how he has developed his head coaching philosophy while working for some coaching greats in the industry, how he and his staff reinforce their offensive and defensive philosophies each day, as well as some advice for coaches trying to develop their own coaching identities.

DJ Irving is the current Assistant Coach at the University of Miami, Coach DJ Irving. Coach Irving is a young coach in the industry but has grown at a rapid pace following his playing career at Boston University and a Professional Stint in Spain. Following his playing career he has had opportunities to work at Penn State, Boston University, Roman Catholic Prep and the University of Miami. In this episode, coach Irving dives into a deeper look at how his first position came about, Miami’s system and what makes their successes so unique and how a coach can develop their own coaching voice as a young assistant.

James Fraschilla is the Assistant Coach at Capital City Go-Go, Coach James Fraschilla. Coach Fraschilla’s coaching career started with the Maine Red Claws as a Head Video Coordinator and Player Development coach and would later take him to places including Indiana University, USA Basketball National Team, Salt Lake City Stars, Orlando Magic, Grand Rapids Gold, Washington Wizards as well as getting the opportunity to coach the 3x3 mens Olympic games. In this episode, we dive into what Coach Fraschilla has learned as a G league assistant, some key things he looks for during film breakdown and an in depth look at the USA 3v3 Olympics play styles.