The Rising Coaches Podcast

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.

Tyler Thorton is the Assistant Coach and Player Development Coach at Howard University, Coach Tyler Thornton. Coach Thornton is a young coach in the industry, following his stellar playing career at Duke University, he would play a few years in the CBA as well as time in Nova Scotia and Finland professionally. His coaching career would start at Marquette where he would be a graduate assistant and would lead him into where he is now at Howard University. In this episode we learn about some of the unique things he has taken away while playing for Coach K at Duke, some common duties as a Player Development coach at Howard as well as some best practices to help develop the modern day bigs.

Brian Baudinet Is the assistant coach at the University of Maryland Baltimore County, Coach Brian Baudinet. Following Coach Baudinet’s playing career at Rochester, he shortly became a coach starting in a role at Trinity College and moving to American International College, the Tulsa 66ers, Duquesne University, and now UMBC. Before UMBC he held a head coaching title at Canterbury School where he held an overall record of 87-19 and won back to back NEPSAC Coach of the year awards. On this episode, Coach Baudinet talks with us about some of the ways he has grown from the High School ranks to be a D1 assistant coach, how he and his staff would plan in game strategies and match ups as well as some daily practice plans they would follow during his stint in the G League.

Dr. Richard Sander is the Athletic Director at Eastern Tennessee State University and the man behind the TopConnect Symposium, Dr Richard Sander. Dr Sander is a very active individual in the community while formally being the Athletic Director at VCU and having brought numerous NCAA Championships to the Richmond area. In this episode we talk about what Dr. Sander looks for in a coach when looking to hire for that next head coaching position, what all the Top Connect Symposium includes for assistant coaches as well as how someone such as yourself can get invited to meet and learn from more athletic directors and coaches in the industry at this event.

KT Harrell is the Director of Basketball Operations at the University of Michigan, Coach KT Harrell. Coach Harrell starts his coaching career following a stellar playing career at Auburn and a stint internationally. Following his playing career, he started his coaching career as a Graduate Assistant at Auburn which would lead him to be the Director of Basketball Operations at Florida Atlantic and then the University of Michigan. Coach Harrell is a young coach in the industry continuously on the rise but has learned from some of the best basketball minds in the industry so far. He shares what he has learned from coaches such as Bruce Pearl, Dusty May and Tony Bennett, what all his current role as a DOBO includes as well as some challenges he has faced along his journey so far.

Kyle Getter is the Associate Head Coach at the University of Notre Dame, Coach Kyle Getter. Coach Getter started his coaching career following his playing career at Centre College and got his first coaching position at Hanover College. Following Hanover he has grown to places such as Marshall, Wright State, Dayton, Walsh University, VCU, Radford, Liberty, Virginia and now Notre Dame. While in his time at Virginia he even helped the Cavaliers win the National Championship in 2019. On this episode we talk about how a coach can practice their coaching philosophy, some major takeaways he has learned from legendary coaches he has worked for along the ride as well as an in depth look on how their staff have prepared for special situations throughout the season.

Brad Kanis the Founder and CEO of EuroProBasket, Brad Kanis. Brad joins us with a ton of basketball and international experience following his playing career at Grand Canyon University and even having a stint with Houston Rockets NBA Summer League and later would bring him all around the world including, South America, Syria, Taiwan, Dubai, Japan, Uruguay, China, Africa and Europe. He now helps place athletes with international teams based on their skills and abilities. In this episode we talk about the different play styles that he has encountered while traveling to different countries, common themes agencies and coaches are looking for in a player and he even shares some details about events they run that could benefit coaches in the industry.

Katy Young Staudt is the Vice President of TurnkeyZRG. Katy joins us with heavy experience in recruiting and placement of coaches in various collegiate positions as she has worked as a director of recruiting and holding nearly 20 years of experience working in search firms. She has helped support 150+ searches for division 1 Head Coaches at places such as Yale, Texas Tech, Ole Miss, Cal and Texas A&M, just to name a few. In this episode we talk about what led her into the placement side of coaching, what a coach should be expecting if working with a placement agency and what most agencies or athletic directors are looking for when hiring for their next position.