Hoop Heads

Aaron Jacobs is entering his first season as the Men’s Basketball Head Coach at Rockford University.  Jacobs previously served as the head assistant coach and recruiting coordinator at North Park University. Prior to North Park, Jacobs served as an assistant coach at Wabash College from 2022-24.  Jacobs began his collegiate coaching career at Wisconsin Lutheran College during the 2021-22 season. A...

On this episode Mike & Jason react to the first week of the NBA season and its wave of injuries. They ask whether the cause is AAU basketball, wear and tear, or just heavier media coverage. Then they go team by team through the big injuries: Orlando losing Paolo Banchero and Jalen Suggs, Oklahoma City losing Jalen Williams and Cason Wallace, Minnesota's Anthony Edwards sidelined for two months...

Mike Grey is the co-founder of Bravara, a youth sports league management tool that streamlines evaluations, team building, scheduling, communications, and player development. On this episode Mike and Mike discuss how technology can improve the youth sports experience for coaches, players, families, and league administrators. Grey explains how digital evaluations and team-building tools can reduce...

Dr. John Wiley Bryson is the author of the new book “Billy: Coach. Leader. Legend. Friend.” which tells the story of Billy Hicks, Kentucky’s winningest high school basketball coach.  Billy is the powerful biography of a man whose impact stretched far beyond the scoreboard and into locker rooms, living rooms, and lives across the state of Kentucky. On this episode Mike & John discuss the life a...

On this episode Mike & Jason sort the league into tiers and make their wins and losses picks across the standings. They discuss why Oklahoma City and San Antonio look like top contenders, while teams such as the Knicks, Cavaliers, Celtics, and Pistons face a more uncertain path to 50 plus wins. The conversation explores roster questions and high-variance outlooks for teams including Minnesota,...

Zack Odell is the Founder XCIV.ai  A tool built for high school, middle school, and AAU coaches.  Using XCIV coaches upload film, box scores, or play diagrams. XCIV.AI builds your scouting reports, game plans, and practice schedules. On this episode Mike & Zack discuss how XCIV.ai can help basketball coaches organize stats, scouting, and player development. Zack shares how keeping box scores a...

Welcome to the 94th edition of the Coach’s Corner Round Table on the Hoop Heads Podcast. Each episode of the Coach’s Corner Round Table will feature our All-Star lineup of guests answering a single basketball question.  A new Coach’s Corner Round Table will drop around the 15th of each month. October’s Round Table question is:  What’s an idea you picked up outside of basketball that has influenced...

On this episode Mike & Jason discuss every Western Conference team’s over-under outlook, from title contenders to the bottom of the standings. They debate which teams could exceed expectations and which teams may fall short while breaking down how injuries, player development, roster depth, and team chemistry could shape the seasons of teams like Dallas, Denver, Golden State, Houston, and Minn...

Jason Mays is the Founder of Cognitecture, a mental performance coaching practice.  Mays coached at the high school level at both Ashland Blazer and Montgomery County High Schools in Kentucky and made 5 state tournaments in 6 seasons as a head coach. Mays was previously an assistant coach and interim Head Coach at Kentucky Wesleyan after spending two seasons at Valdosta State University. Prior to...

Mark McGonigal is starting his second season as a Men’s Basketball Assistant Coach at Columbia University.  In McGonigal's first season Columbia went 16-12 under Head Coach Kevin Hovde and secured the program’s first winning campaign in 10 years. Prior to Columbia McGonigal served as an assistant coach at Cornell in 2024-25, where he helped guide the Big Red to a second-place finish in the confere...

On this episode Mike & Jason discuss every Eastern Conference team’s over-under outlook, from title contenders to the bottom of the standings. Mike and Jason revisit last season’s predictions before debating which teams could exceed expectations and which may fall short. They examine roster changes, defensive upgrades, depth concerns, injuries, and the uncertainty surrounding teams such as Bos...

John Verduin is the Founder of DYSports, starting the business in 2018 while he was earning his MBA at Seattle University.  DYSports specializes in hosting basketball tournaments designed for boys’ and girls’ youth teams in grades 3 - 11 who are developing their skills. DYSports events are ideal for teams looking to compete against opponents of similar talent, providing an environment where growth...

Brandon Rhodes is the Senior Vice President and General Manger of Emerging Sports at GameChanger, a technology company that builds simple and powerful products for youth sports teams and their communities. On this episode Mike & Brandon discuss GameChanger’s growing role in youth basketball and its goal of making the experience better for coaches, parents, players, and club directors. Brandon...

On this episode Mike & Jason discuss the Guardians’ playoff hopes, the Browns’ surprising 2–1 start, and the Cavs’ upcoming season. They then unpack NBA Media Day storylines, including Kawhi Leonard’s Clippers controversy, Brandon Ingram’s injury, and LeBron James’s comments about wanting to play for the Knicks. The hosts debate whether Philadelphia can contend with LeBron, question the fit of...

Xavier Silas is the Men’s Basketball Associate Head Coach and is in his 4th season at Virginia Military Institute.  He has twice been named to the Silver Waves Media Mid Major Coaches watch list as a name to watch as a future head coach at the Division I level.  Silas came to VMI after being an analyst for the University of Missouri men’s basketball program. During the 2022-23 season, Silas served...

Ken King is the author of the new book, Pyramid Scheme - How sport became an empire, why it is collapsing, and how we rebuild the game. Ken is the Executive Director of Calgary Minor Basketball, a non-profit of over 7000 athletes, 1500 coaches, and 300 officials. He is also the Principle/Founder of Boost Innovation Inc., a Calgary-based technology company building a portfolio of sport performance...

On this episode Mike & Jason discuss Kawhi Leonard’s surprising $115 million extension with the Toronto Raptors and the fallout it leaves behind for the Clippers. They question whether Toronto can contend with Kawhi’s injury history and whether Los Angeles received enough in return for a franchise-altering star. The conversation then turns to Jalen Duren’s contract demands and whether Detroit’...

Michael Martinez is an overseas professional basketball player who currently competes  internationally in Columbia. Michael has also built a bilingual following of 275K+ across Instagram, TikTok, YouTube, and Snapchat, posting training, game day, and everyday content in English and Spanish. On this episode Mike and Michael discuss how disciplined training, careful shot tracking, and his father’s g...

Welcome to the 93rd edition of the Coach’s Corner Round Table on the Hoop Heads Podcast. Each episode of the Coach’s Corner Round Table will feature our All-Star lineup of guests answering a single basketball question.  A new Coach’s Corner Round Table will drop around the 15th of each month. September’s Round Table question is:  What’s something about winning that you understand differently now t...

On this episode Mike & Jason discuss a slow NBA news week, including potential league expansion to Seattle and Las Vegas and which Western Conference team might move east. They criticize the confusing and expensive ways fans must access local NBA games, arguing that a reasonably priced League Pass-style package would be a better solution. The hosts examine Steve Ballmer’s decision not to chall...

Bill Taylor is the author of the book, Managing Sports Conflict, and the founder of the Sports Conflict Lab which helps sports professionals navigate conflict, elevate leadership, and build cultures that win with integrity. Over a remarkable 28-year coaching career in track & field and cross country, including 22 years as a collegiate head coach and administrator,  Bill’s leadership has produc...

Nick Nichay is entering his first season at Dartmouth College as a Men’s Basketball Assistant Coach under Brett McConnell.  Nick previously served as the Head Coach at D3 Franklin & Marshall College for seven seasons where he led the Diplomats to consecutive appearances in the NCAA Tournament in 2025 and 2026. Nichay was elevated to head coach in the spring of 2020. He served as the Interim He...

On this episode Mike & Jason discuss the Clippers/Kawhi Fiasco from every angle, but Kawhi escaping any real punishment is the most shocking aspect of the entire situation. Next, they discuss Ben Simmons signing with the Kings and how far his star has fallen from his early years in the league. Following that, Mike and Jason talk Rockets and the Amen Thompson Rookie Scale Contract extension. Th...

Andre Jackson is the producer and director of the documentary Beyond Banners which follows sixty years of Gwynn Park High School basketball, a powerhouse public school program in Prince George’s County, Maryland.  The doc begins as the story of one basketball program and grows into an examination of  what is happening to high school sports on a national level. As school choice, Name, Image and Lik...

The 26th edition of “The Triple Double” with  Rob Brost, Bolingbrook (IL) High School Boys’ Basketball Head Coach . Rob, Mike, & Jason hit on three basketball topics in each episode of “The Triple Double”. What is a tradition in your program that has nothing to do with basketball on the court, but is still an important part of your culture? If you could add one rule to basketball for a single...