A Pen And A Napkin

I had a great conversation with Jared Ronai, the head men's basketball coach at Mount Vernon Nazarene (OH), for episode #284. In this episode, we talk about a variety of topics, including his basketball journey, building a program through footwork and culture, "RULE", establishing standards of behavior, motion offense, pressure defense and much more! Coach Ronai is definitely one of the up and comers in the game, so enjoy this podcast!

There's a good chance that at some point in your career you're going to take over a program that is not only struggling on the floor, but it is struggling off the floor, lacking in energy and excitement. This week, Tony and i discuss a bunch of different ways to lift up a struggling program and how to make it stronger, from establishing an identity to building your youth program to attracting support throughout the community. In addition, we've got some interesting trivia for you, along with a discussion on the NBA free agent market, WNBA updates and a shout out for Red Panda!

Rebuilding a once-proud program is not as easy as it seems, but Jory Collins, the head women's basketball coach at North Dakota State University, is well on track to getting the Bison back to the elite. In this episode, Coach Collins shares with us his journey from Kansas to North Dakota. He also discusses rebuilding the culture at NDSU, winning the BLOB game, :08 scores, offensive transition, getting to the NCAA tournament and much more! A really fun episode with one of America's up and coming coaches on the women's side!

If you are going to maximize your abilities as a coach, I firmly believe that you need to be a voracious reader and to have the ability and drive to pick up on coaching tidbits through literature. This week, Tony and I break down and explain some of our favorite coaching books that we have applied to our coaching journeys, and if you haven't read some of these books, you need to get on it right now! In addition, we have our basketball history, trivia and TWIB segments to share, including our reactions to the early off-season moves by various NBA teams!

What a great morning talking with Herb Livsey and Don Showalter, the two men most responsible for Snow Valley Basketball School, which kicked off their 30th summer in Iowa this week! We take some time to discuss "Last Of The Cowboys", the history of Snow Valley, stories about the camp and much more! In addition, Wes Bruns of Cedar Rapids (IA) comes on for a short interview about working through adversity and life in semi-retirement!

Because of some travel complications, we're dropping "The Coaching Staff" a day early . . . Tony and I wanted to go through a list of things that a new coach (especially) needs to be aware of before the step onto the sideline or as they take over their new jobs. From adversity to organization to finding a higher meaning, here's a great starting point for any new coach who is wondering what to expect, especially off the court. In addition, we have trivia, a discussion of the Lakers sale, the draft this week and predictions for Game 7!

I was back at home last week visiting family and friends, and my friend Kiley Yates from South O'Brien (IA) HS helped me bring together Derek Keizer from Hull Western Christian (IA) and Loren DeJong of Siouxland Christian (IA) HS together at my buddy Chad Lang's restuarant "Langer's" in Sheldon for a great podcast! We discussed summer strategies, staying in coaching for an extended period of time, sustaining a successful program, what these coaches learned from their highly successful seasons and much more! A great podcast with three of Iowa's best boys basketball coaches!

We've got a two-parter this week! We'll kick it off with NBA draft guru (and Omaha native) Rafael Barlowe breaking down the top end of the draft, discussing players with Omaha ties, some foreign players that may sneak up the draft board and other sleepers in the draft. In the second half of the pod, up and coming coach Jordon Klein discusses his rise up the coaching ranks, including his new positoin at Fort Hays Tech in Goodland, Kansas. Enjoy!

Both teams in the NBA Finals, the Pacers and the Thunder, have really built an identity on their aggressive defensive systems. In this week's pod, Tony and I discuss various methods and philosophies to attack defenses that are really aggressive, from both a program point of view to a daily expectation. In addition, we have our weekly trivia, a discussion of the Finals to this point and did the Knicks do the right thing firing Thibs?

It's tough taking over a new job, but it can be even tougher taking over for a legend, but that is what John Gianforte, the new GBB HC at Cedar Rapids Xavier (IA) is doing this spring! Coach graciously jumped on the pod with us this week to talk about a variety of topics, including his basketball journey, "re-recruiting" his players, adapting his system to a successful system, building a program from the bottom up, working with parents, community service and "Exit Tickets". Two Italian guys had alot of fun putting this together, so enjoy!

Tony and I are excited to have our first guest EVER for "The Coaching Staff" in Greg Berge, head boys basketball coach at Lake City (MN) and "culture guru"! We go through a bunch of topics during the podcast, including building a culture, building leaders and accountability within your program, battling for players attention in the "TikTok" generation, bringing joy back to the game for our players and much, much more! We also discuss the NBA playoffs and the NBA Finals matchup between Oklahoma City and Indiana. We had alot of fun with Greg, and you're going to learn alot from Coach Berge!

We had a great time chatting with Steve Smiley, Northern Colorado University Men's HC about a variety of topics for episode #278! In this episode, we talk about coaches journey through the JC ranks to a Division I AC to now the head man. In addition, we talk about NIL and the effects of the portal on mid-major programs like his, the influence of the legendary Don Meyer and his network of coaching friends, bench organization, implementing your scouting report, turning defense into offense and much more! Had a lot of fun talking hoops with one of the best young coaches in the country!

Fremont Bergan (NE) Boys HC Ryan Mlnarik comes on the podcast this week, fresh off of an unlikely state championship run this spring, the first #8 seed to win a state championship in years! Coach Mlnarik discusses his journey as a basketball coach and his stops along the way, navigating the season with a very young team, hitting the tournament trail and the process they went through to win a title, and more! We also talk about how he sets up his practices, offensive transition and his half court philosophy, among other things! Great chat with a newly minted state champion!

We spend alot of time during the season devoted to developing the team game, but many times at the end of the season it comes down to either getting a score or a stop in an isolation situation. This week, Tony and I break down the importance of one on one and why you should be working on it in practice. In addition, Tony and I will drop over a dozen drills that you can bring back to your program to help develop your one on one abilities on both sides of the ball! We also have trivia, a discussion of the NBA playoffs and a preview of the WNBA's Western Conference with Carter Plum!

Episode #276 features state champion GBB HC Kristina Danella of Glen Ridge (NJ) High School! Coach Danella has had a well traveled career at both the collegiate and high school level, and we dive into that, along with her successful playing career at the Division I level and how that has affected her coaching style, along with some transition offense, offensive sets, communicating with parents, her state title journey and many other things. Alot of fun with a terrfic young coach from the Garden State!

Although most of the topics that are discussed on this podcast deal with current coaching issues, one thing that we rarely think about until it happens is what life is like without coaching. This week, Tony and I break down the do's and don'ts of life without coaching, including prepping for the next stop, what we should look for in our next position, how to handle the situation if it wasn't your choice to step away and much, much more! In addition, we've got a new segment at the top of the pod, trivia, NBA playoff discussion and an Eastern Conference WNBA preview with a new guest! Enjoy!

Four girls basketball coaches got together last week at Wine 121 here in Omaha to talk some hoops; Gretna East's Wade Coulter, Oakland-Craig's Scott Guzinski and APAAN's all around pinch hitter Marc Kruger got together to discuss their 2025 journey, of which each team played on the final day of the season. We talk about those journeys and look ahead to the summer of 2025 and how they plan on putting their teams together. We also talk about what our coaches want to get better at as they prepare for the summer of 2025. Enjoy our roundtable discussion!!!

One of the elements that makes life difficult for many coaches is the parents of the kids that they coach. It's easy to put all of your difficult parents into one basket, but there are different kinds of difficult parents. In this epiosde, Tony and I break down those types of parents, along with our swan song for opening numbers. In addition, we have our trivia segment and our TWIB segment, including a big thank you to Coach Pop and a discussions of the NBA playoffs. Enjoy!!

Jared Blackwell took over the legendary Sandy Creek (NE) girls basketball program four years ago and has worked hard to put the Cougars back amongst the elite in the small school spectrum of Nebraska. In this fun podcast, Coach Blackwell talks about building the program back up after some down years, the influence of Russ Ninemire, the adjustments you make going from an assistant coach to a head coach, scouting, game day superstitions and much more! A really fun conversation with one of Nebraska's up and coming coaches!

Every team needs to have players that are going to keep things together and do great things without the ball in their hand; hit their partners with a great pass, screen well, be a great help side defender, and on and on the list goes. The more that EVERY player on your roster buys into the elements of being a glue player, the better your team will be. Tony and I break down the elements that makes glue players so important, and we also discuss the NBA playoffs, St. John 's dominating the transfer portal and more!

Coach Derek Sonderland is a veteran girls basketball coach in southwest Iowa, having coached almost a quarter of a century in various stops, including his current school, Tri-Center Neola, where he's on his second run as head coach. Coach Sonderland discusses those travels, along with some influences in his career, what his team needs to do to improve for next season, the Iowa Girls High School Athletic Union, building a strong culture, some of his favorite drills and much more! A really fun conversation with a terrific coach!

Mr. Tony D. Vis is back, so "The Coaching Staff" is back! This week we talk about Don Meyer's "Five Stages of Coaching", which is a prominent topic this time of year as coaches take inventory of where they are at and what are they are looking to do in their next steps of their career. After we break that down, we've got trivia, a WNBA draft breakdown and a discussion of the NBA playoffs.. Great to be back with Tony on the pod, and I hope you enjoy it!

Kris Freeland has been the long time boys head coach at Dundy County-Stratton (NE) and has built a very solid small school program year in and year out. In this pod, we talk about Coach Freeland's position as an administrator and how he balances that out with his coaching duties, along with the influence of Greg McDermott and Tom Kropp on his career. We also talk about his "Improvement Season" plan, developing your program through it's youth, unique traditions about the DC-S program and much more! A really fun conversation this week!

Tony and I had some scheduling conflicts this weekend, so we were unable to do our usual thing . . . but I still had some stuff that I wanted to throw out there, so here's a shorter, solo pod with just me (for better or worse).I'm really excited to announce that my second book will be available on July 1st, 2025! It's called "The Last Of The Cowboys: The Story of Snow Valley Basketball School",and at the center of the story is America's oldest, continuous basketball camp. Founded in 1961 in California, then later adapted and brought to Iowa in 1994, it will be celebrating it's 30th anniversary this summer. It's a great story about the true reasons why people coach basketball, so I encourage you to pick up a copy!I also talk about the Houston-Florida game, the WNBA draft, chaos in the Nuggests front office and the NBA playoffs. We wrap up talking about our clinic this past weekend, which was a great success!Hope you enjoy this; let me know what you think!

Sidney (NE) Boys HC Austin Lewis comes on the pod this week to chat about a variety of topics, including working as an administrator and a coach to get people to work together, keeping kids invested in your program, some of his favorite drills, shell drill, breaking down practices into groups and swinging back and forth between two classifications. A really fun conversation with one of Nebraska's up and coming coaches!

March Madness is upon us, and special situations, per usual, are at the forefront of the great games. It's alot about preparation and repetition to get the execution that you want and need in these clutch moments. Tony and I break down our thoughts on BLOB's, SLOB's and EOG situations, what we like to do to prepare our teams for these situations and how we put together our playbooks. Along with that, we've got our thoughts on the great UConn run in the women's tournament while giving our predictions for what is going to happen tonight in the men's championship game. We also discuss "Who's Up?" and "Who's Down?" this week. Alot of fun in this podcast!

Bennington (NE) Boys HC Luke Olson jumps on episode #270 this week to discuss a variety of topics! We chat about his family's coaching tree, being a mental skills coach, the growth of his community and how they've tried to adjust their program to it, developing their youth program, practice culture and much more! Coach Olson has done a great job in building up the Badger program and has them on the brink of taking them to heights they haven't seen; terrific chat, so enjoy!

Tony and I are back with multiple references to The Beatles and Kip Dynamite to help explain the important qualities of what you should be looking for in an assistant coach and how you build out your staff. We go through a multitude of qualities that you should look for in your individual coaches and then how to put them all together as one unit. Along with that, we have our trivia, a discussion on March Madness and an extended "Arby's" segment about the coaching carousel! Sit back and enjoy!

A veteran of the game for over half a century, Dave Bollwinkel from the Chicago Bulls joins the pod this week! Coach Bollwinkel started out as a high school coach before moving his way up the ranks to becoming a Division I HC at St. Mary's (CA) before spending the last 25 years as an NBA scout. We also talk about the in's and out's of coaching, the draft process, changes that he's seen in the game, and much more! Enjoy this great conversation with Coach Bollwinkel!

It's the best weekend of the year! Love having so much basketball on, and I'm sure that many of you are like me in that it has been non-stop hoops the last four days! In this week's pod, Tony and I take a look at both tournaments and what are some of the things that we can learn from them, both on and off the floor. Along with that, we have trivia, and we have some new candidates to buy Tony and I some Arby's! We wrap things up with "Who's Up?" and "Who's Down?", so enjoy this week's pod!

We have a great episode with episode #268 with McCool Junction (NE) Boys HC Jabe Wurtz! Coach Wurtz has raised the level of the program at McCool, finishing with the third place trophy this year at the D1 state tournament this season! Coach Wurtz and I discuss some of his influences, making the climb to the state tournament, half court offensive principles, BLOB defense and working with your administrators. Coach Wurtz is a rising star here in Nebraska, so enjoy his podcast!

Tony and I are back after a week off, and we're here to talk about shooting. As we all know, the three point shot has never been as important to the game as it is now, and as we step into the off-season, it's imperative that we find shooters and improve them so that our offenses can be as efficient as possible. Tony and I discuss how we can help shooters develop, along with some trivia, a discussion on the dismissal of Fran McCaffery, and other topics. Enjoy the podcast!

We had alot of fun at the "Mellow Mushroom" with Coach Nate Wall, Centura GBB HC Laetheion Brown and Sidney GBB HC Tyler Shaw last Friday at the Nebraska Girls State Tournament! We talk about a variety of topics, including gardening and how that can play into developing your coaching skills. We also talk about the summer, finding the right camps for your team and looking forward into next season. A really, really fun conversation!Thanks again to Mike and his crew at the "Mellow Mushroom" in downtown Lincoln! Mike and his staff always take care of us and treat us like kings and queens, and it is greatly appreciated!!

It's time once again to sit down at the Mellow Mushroom in Lincoln, Nebraska to discuss a bunch of different topics related to the state tournament. We chat about the excitement of the state tournament, the preparation level that you need to have at the tournament, mistakes we've made, and how to bridge the downtime between your substate title game and your first round state tournament game. Along with that, we have Carter Plum's "Mellow Mushroom Review". Enjoy the pod!

We all got into coaching so we could help plan large meals, right? Well, the end of the year banquet is important to your program, as it is the last time that this edition of this team will be together, so everyone deserves a great send off. In this episode, Tony and I break down the details of putting together a good banquet and how to retain favor with parents, players and administrators. We also have trivia (or do we???), a discussion about Diana Taurasi, some of the scum of the earth and a tribute to one of Iowa's best . . . enjoy!

Kyle Courtney has built a really nice program at Rapids City Christian (SD), and he is our guest for episode #265! Coach Courtney has spent time in a variety of places, and he discusses how those travels have influenced his career. Along with that, Coach Courtney discusses his run and jump defensive philosophy, getting to the state tournament last season, the unique culture of his program and much more. Really fun conversation!

Breaking bad habits and building good ones are the key to any player's or teams success. In this episode, Tony and I discuss strategies that you can implement to help yourself, your players or your teams to break bad habit and create new habits that are going to be much more positive for you. We also have our trivia portion, alot of great #21's, a down time for Jayhawk fans, an good time for Fighting Irish fans, and our "Who's Up?" and "Down?" segment. Great discussion on creating the positive habits necessary for success!

On episode #264 we are pleased to have Mike Vuncannon, the head boys basketball coach at Columbus Scotus (NE)! Coach Vuncannon has been with the program for over 20 years and has the Shamrocks on the brink of a state tournament appearance. In this episode, we discuss Coach Vuncannon's influences, correlating being a golf pro with coaching basketball, the rigors of playing in a really tough conference, his half court offense and defensive philosophy and much more, including "The Scotus Way". Really fun conversation with Coach Vuncannon!

As we enter into tournament time, the pressure mounts on both coaches and players. How do you get your players to relax, enjoy the moment and make plays under pressure situations? That's what Tony and I take up this week! We discuss visualization, breathing, practice situations, one on one conversations and much more to help you put your players in the best situations possible. Along with that, we have some trivia, a great TWIB segment breaking down the big headlining games in both men's and women's college basketball, Tom Izzo's great week and much more!

Basketball lifer and longtime NBA player development coach Dave Severns is our guest for this week's podcast! Coach has had a long career in the game, and currently serves as a scout for the Indiana Pacers. Coach discusses his career, his "Hoop Of The Day" tweets, some of the best coaches he's seen this year, being a great assistant, networking, building trust and some of his favorite skill work drills and concepts, with much, much more! A really fun conversation with a guy that just loves basketball!

February and March are when the microscopes really come out when it comes to your team's attention to detail and ability to execute under pressure. What are some of the things that you should be working on, and how should you be working on them? That's what Tony and I break down this week on "The Coaching Staff"! Along with that, Tony and I discuss a couple of big NBA trades, the Texas-South Carolina match up, Dickie V's return to the announcer's booth and much more!

Mid-American Nazarene MBB HC Adam Hepker is our guest for episode #262! Coach Hepker, after an outstanding playing career, has taken over at his alma mater and continued to build on the legacy of Rocky Lamar. Coach Hepker discusses Coach Lamar, how playing overseas influenced his coaches career, the ability to tell players the truth, practicing with great temp and much more. A really fun conversation with one of America's best young coaches!

Late January is a time period where we are stereotypically hit with numerous disruptions, from injuries to illness to discipline issues to transfers and players who unfortunately decide to quit. When these things inevitably happen, how do you navigate through the process and still keep your team moving in the right direction? That's the topic that Tony and I are breaking down this week. We do that, along with trivia, and then an in-depth discussion on the MASSIVE Luka for AD trade. We finish up with some WNBA signings and our "Who's Up?" and "Who's Down?" segment.

Brad Vaught, the head women's basketball coach at North Iowa Area Community College (NIACC), comes on "A Pen And A Napkin" for episode #261. Coach Vaught has built a strong program over the last five years at NIACC and his team is on the brink of a national tournament birth this season. Coach Vaught discusses some of his coaching influences, the advantages of going the JUCO route, how recruiting may change with new eligibility rules, his offensive philosophy, working with parents and much more! Great conversation for episode #261

It's late January, and we are in the proverbial "Dog Days" of basketball season. You still have to have the urgency to get better, but you also can't burn out your players and make practices so intense that they don't have the proper physical and mental rest that they should have, so how do you do that? That's what Tony and I discuss this week, along with our TWIB topics, Who's up and down and much more!!

Todd Hale, the veteran boys head coach at Atkinson West Holt (NE), comes on the podcast to discuss a variety of topics. Coach Hale discusses his influences, constantly adjusting your program, bringing in outside instructors to his program, some of his favorite drills, practice set up and much more! Coach Hale has built a solid program at West Holt and it shows in this interview!

Hey, just joking on that earlier post this morning! You got a preview of this week's interview podcast, but here's Tony and I from last night discussing thoughts and strategies on how to kickstart your team in January!

We are officially in the middle of January, and by now we have some teams that are really hitting their stride, while other programs are struggling. There are a variety of reasons why teams may be struggling, but the question we ask ourselves when we are in that situation is "How do we get ourselves out of this?" This week, Tony and I go through numerous scenarios and give out our advice to help coaches and programs who may be at a place that they didn't anticipate being at right now. Along with that, we have our trivia, our TWIB segment and our "Up and. Down" segment; hope everyone enjoys our newest installment of "The Coaching Staff"!

How many times, as high school coaches, have we complained that our players and our parents really don't understand what Varsity athletics is truly all about? Well, here at "A Pen And A Napkin", we're going to do our best to help educate and change that! May 3rd and 4th, 2025 at Omaha Marian High School will be our 1st Annual "Varsity Preparation Academy" basketball event! This will help both players and parents of girls going into grades 6th-9th for the 2025-26 school year prepare themselves for the opportunity to play Varsity basketball! Taking the best from USA Basketball, Snow Valley Basketball School, Point Guard College and my own camp experiences, this hybrid approach to player and parent development both on and off the floor can help either your players or your parents prepare for the Varsity basketball experience. Get signed up today!!

Chip Daehling is the boys basketball coach at Douglas County West (NE) High School, and he has built a high competitive program the last few years, culminating in his first trip to the state tournament last season. In this week's pod, we discuss that state tournament birth, building his program, replacing a strong senior class, building an identity in his program, moving up a class and much more! A really fun podcast with one of Nebraska's up and coming coaches!!

At the heart of any defense is your defensive transition philosophy. This week, Tony and break down the importance of defensive transition, drills that you can use to help implement your philosophy and help with repping your transition, and then we wrap up our discussion with various different methods that you can transition. We have our trivia, our TWIB segment and Who's Up? and Who's Down? to cap everything off, including a discussion on Mick Cronin's "soft" comments . . . enjoy this week's podcast a day late (sorry, I was sick yesterday!)