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Coach Proph is a pillar in the New Jersey basketball community. He has been impacting lives since day one! In this episode we talk about taking over ARTS and being able to resurrect the program.  Proph is someone who kids gravitate towards and really love. I enjoyed learning from him and his journey!

This episode is long overdue. Safet is family and one of the best young coaches in the business. In this episode we dive into how he has navigated his rise as a GM in the A10 at only 27 years old.  Safet is the definition of betting on yourself and it has paid off so far. This episode is packed with value. He started out as a student manger, coached high school, moved to VA, left an A10 job, and now is back in the game.  Enjoy!

Luke and I go way back to when he was playing in college. In this episode you will hear about how he navigated his journey. What I love about Luke's path was he was not afraid to JUMP! He made moves to D2 then came back up to D1 and back to D2.  It proves that everyone has a different path in this coaching life. Thanks for Luke coming on and taking the time!

Darius Theus is one of the most humble people I've met during my time in basketball. As a player he helped lead VCU to a Final Four the played professionally afterwards. Since getting into coaching he has worked at Texas, VCU, and Siena.  Topics in this episode -Basketball journey  -Former players transition into coaching  -Taking uncomfortable risks  -Skill development  -What it means to coach where you're from  -VCU way  -Future goals

Guest: Ivan Thomas is the Associate Head Coach for Georgetown Men's Basketball. Coach Thomas started as a High School / AAU Coach where he won multiple state titles before breaking into the business at Providence College. After spending 9 years there he made the move back home to Georgetown a few months ago. His journey is different which makes this episode a great listen. Enjoy!

Guest: Sean Hoehn is a stand out basketball player who now plays  professionally  in Kosovo. He also graduated from Sacred Heart University where he earned first team all conference honors. Sean shares his journey on how he got to where he is now.  Here are some of his career highlights  College  Named to the All-NEC First TeamNamed to NABC All-District First Team185 made career three-pointers places him fifth all-time in program's Div. I historyEnded SHU career with 1,366 points, which ranks 23rd all-time in program-historyLed the Pioneers and was third in the NEC in scoring with 17.9 ppgHigh School Morris County Player of the YearFirst Team All-Conference, League, and Area as Junior and SeniorSecond Team All-State Group 3 as Junior and Senior

Guest: Danny O'Connor is the Director of Player Development for Delaware Men's Basketball. Before graduating from Indiana University, Danny worked numerous camps. One of those camps was Hoop Group where we met. After graduating he got on at UDEL and has been a part of their growth ever since.  Enjoy!

Guest: Cole Dewey is the Head Coach of the Men's Basketball program at Garden City Community College in Kansas. Cole is a young star in college basketball and has worked his way to being one of the younger head coaches in the basketball world. I look forward to following his journey as he returns to Garden City. Coach Dewey's Resume:  -Head coach Garden City  -Head Coach Otero  -Assistant Coach Indian Hills  -Assistant Coach South Plains -Assistant Coach Garden City  -GA Campbell University

Guest: Justin Delaney. If you haven't check out NJ Hoop Recruit on Instagram, you need to know. Justin has grown the brand from a small 3,000 follower account to over 100k now. I remember when I was at St. Benedict's he was grinding and going to games everywhere. Five years later he has one of the strongest brands in basketball and THE strongest in NJ.  Breakdown:  Background  3:15 - What is NJ Hoop Recruit? 12:30 - Contacting media guys  15:30 - Building a BRAND 20:50 - Creating momentum 31:45 - How would you keep NJ kids home? 40:01 - Grad Transfers

Guest: Luke St. Lifer is the Director of Basketball Operations for Bryant University Men's Basketball. Luke started his career out as a student manager before working his way to Bryant and then LeMoyne.  Breakdown:  Background 3:55 - Landing a job at Bryant  6:30 - Subject line 12:55 - What have you learned? 15:00 - Staff Dynamic 20:01 - Being on the road 22:17 - Working your way back to Bryant 25:00 - Connect with kids 30:20 - Staying organized 36:30 - DOBO life

Guest: Connor Clark works for a company called The Gazelle Group where he helps put on different types of events. A lot of those events are college basketball tournaments including the most recent one, Bubbleville. In this episode we talk about what went into setting up a bubble at Mohegan Sun and the challenges for college teams to play.  Breakdown Background 3:30 - Securing a job in sports 7:20 - Gazelle Group 9:45 - Bubbleville 13:45 - Operations of running a bubble 20:00 - Biggest challenge in the bubble 25:30 - Most organized teams 29:00 - Bench noise 35:25 - Will the NCAA tournament allow fans?

Guest: March Mitchell is the Head Women's Basketball Coach at St. Peter's University.  I met Coach Mitch at FDU Florham where we both worked together.  During his time at FDU Florham he had tremendous success including a D3 National Championship. He is the winningest coach I've ever been around and I appreciate him sharing his journey on Chop Talk.

Guest: Justin Krompier is a New Jersey based adventure and lifestyle photographer.  Justin has traveled all around the country taking photos and has a great story. I've known Justin since high school where we played lacrosse together.  Check out his photos on Instagram or his website.  https://www.justinkrompier.com/ Instagram: @just_passinthrough Breakdown:  Background 3:00 - Figuring out what he wanted to do 10:35 - In that moment 13:00 - Working at UPS 19:15 - Leaving the comfortable job 25:20 - Believe in someone 31:50 - Living in a van 36:00 - The failure is not trying 40:30 - Just try

Guest: Adam Virgile is a sports scientist who is working on his PHD at The University of Vermont. He also worked with the New York Rangers for 4 years before making the move to UVM. This conversation was not only very informative but it opened my eyes to some things coaches don't think about.  Breakdown Background 3:45 - How you got into sports science 5:45 - What data do you look to track? 11:12 - How can you track power? 18:35 - Assign them values23:40 - Load management 30:02 - Info graphics 33:45 - Psych trumps all 40:36 - Goal

Guest: Nick Hopkins is a guard for the Siena College Men's Basketball team. He started his career at Belmont University before deciding to use his grad transfer year at Siena. While at Belmont Nick earned his degree and also played in the NCAA Tournament. Nick has some great habits that younger players can learn from.  Background  1:30 - NCAA Tournament 5:25 - Consistent work ethic 8:20 - Being on time 10:00 - Graduate transfer 15:00 - Bring a teammate to the gym 19:00 - Watch film 25:35 - What makes a program successful29:30 - Advice to incoming freshman