A Trophy Life: The Naismith Trophy Podcast

Send us Fan Mail This week on A Trophy Life we welcome UGA Men's Basketball Head Coach: Tom Crean! He and Bob talk about the evolving coaching dynamic in the college realm and more. Stay tuned for our weekly Jersey Mike's News and Notes Update for all of your college info! WANT TO SUPPORT A TROPHY LIFE? Leave a rating and review on iTunes, Spotify, or wherever you get your podcasts. Your...

Send us Fan Mail Today's episode features our Jersey Mike's News and Notes, followed by by some insight from our partnership with Invesco and Dick's Sporting Good at our court dedication event at the Carver Family YMCA. WANT TO SUPPORT A TROPHY LIFE? Leave a rating and review on iTunes, Spotify, or wherever you get your podcasts. Your feedback only helps make the show better, and we...

Send us Fan Mail This week, Bob chats with long-time NCAA and NBA referee and administrator Don Vaden. From his early days calling JV games in Virginia, to becoming a VP in charge of the NBA’s staff, Don offers great stories and insights on the game! Getting started in the business Trying out for the NBA How he currently aids players and teams with rules instruction LEARN MORE ABOUT Don Vaden at w...

Send us Fan Mail This week, Brandon Clay , the Jersey Mike’s Naismith Award national voting coordinator for our high school awards joins Bob to discuss the ever-changing high school basketball landscape! The top boys and girls players heading in to the 21-22 season What NIL (Name, Image, and Likeness) means for high school players Thoughts on elite players by-passing college for professional devel...

Send us Fan Mail This week, Bob Rathbun speak with our former Georgia Mr. Basketball,  Sharife Cooper! The former McEachern High School product was recently drafted by his hometown Atlanta Hawks. Sharife talks about his amazing high school career, having his #2 retired May not be the best player in his family Getting ready to play for his hometown pro team WANT TO SUPPORT A TROPHY LIFE? Leave a ra...

Send us Fan Mail Bob is in Dayton, Ohio this week at calling the games with Dan Dakich and so naturally we needed to have him on the show to talk about all the big shakeups this week in college basketball! Along with our Jersey Mike's News and Notes at the top of the show, stay tuned for a great chat with Dan and Bob. WANT TO SUPPORT A TROPHY LIFE? Leave a rating and review on iTunes, Spotify...

Send us Fan Mail This week, recently retired University of Oklahoma men’s’ head coach Lon Kruger joins Bob Rathbun to talk about his incredible coaching career! On this week’s show Lon discusses: His coaching legacy Coaching 2016 Jersey Mike’s Men’s Naismith winner Buddy Hield and Trae Young at Oklahoma Playing for, coaching under, and succeeding Jack Hartman at Kansas State Son Kevin, taking over...

Send us Fan Mail This week, Georgia Tech Men's Basketball Head Coach Josh Pastner is the guest! Josh talks about the Jackets run to the ACC Championship, putting and keeping a team together, plus what ever happened to his face shield? Plus a Jersey Mike's News and Notes with a USABasketball men’s update. Josh on the Jackets red hot finish to the regular season and the ACC title Navigatin...

Send us Fan Mail This week, USA Basketball Women’s National team director and 2019 Naismith Outstanding Contributor to Women's Basketball: Carol Callan is Bob’s guest!  Get ready for the Olympics with Carol! Carol remembers the 1996 Olympics in Atlanta as a seminal moment for women’s basketball Leadership lessons from coaching and teaching in high school Looks back on her amazing run as the n...

Send us Fan Mail This week, Bob chats with NBA Draft expert Matt Babcock of basketballnews.com plus this week’s Jersey Mike’s News and Notes! Matt’s top 5 in the upcoming draft Growing up in a basketball family The impact of the new ‘pro teams’ taking top high school talent away from the colleges WANT TO SUPPORT A TROPHY LIFE? Leave a rating and review on iTunes, Spotify, or wherever you get your...

Send us Fan Mail This week, we catch up with 2013 Werner Ladder Naismith men’s Coach of the Year Jim Larranaga from the University of Miami! Jim talks about his early mentors in high school and college What advice he received to get a job in coaching His thoughts on the NCAA and the NIL legislation.   WANT TO SUPPORT A TROPHY LIFE? Leave a rating and review on iTunes, Spotify, or wherever you get...

Send us Fan Mail This week, we salute our 2021 Naismith Outstanding Contributor to Women’s Basketball, Carol Stiff, the Vice President, Women’s Sports Programming and Acquisitions at ESPN. In her conversation with Bob, they talk about: The moment she fell in love with women’s college basketball How the Tennessee-UConn rivalry came to be What’s ahead in media for the women’s game   WANT TO SUPPORT...

Send us Fan Mail This week, we hear from Duke Men's Basketball Head Coach Mike Krzyzewski on his masterful career at Duke as he announced his retirement after the upcoming 21-22 season. Plus, lots of Jersey Mike's News and Notes this week: Coach K on opportunity and belief Basketball world back on track for a fresh re-start in the fall A key Sunday WNBA matchup with former Naismith winne...

Send us Fan Mail This week, hear from our 2021 Whack Hyder Georgia Women's College Coach of the Year, Joni Taylor of the University of Georgia Lady Bulldogs! - Hear from Joni on the Bulldogs run to the SEC Championship game - Her roots in the SEC - How basketball is a 24/7/365 proposition in her household WANT TO SUPPORT A TROPHY LIFE? Leave a rating and review on iTunes, Spotify, or wherever...

Send us Fan Mail This week we celebrate memorial day weekend with an update from our good friend, ESPN's Fran Fraschilla  who joins Bob this week on a A Trophy Life podcast. We hear Fran’s take on Baylor's national championship including head coach Scott Drew. The latest on the Olympic games, and his opinions on the transfer portal. WANT TO SUPPORT A TROPHY LIFE? Leave a rating and revie...

Send us Fan Mail This week, three-time Jersey Mike's Naismith Player of the Year award winner in 1981, 82, and 83: Ralph Sampson joins Bob Rathbun on the anniversary of his dramatic shot that knocked the Lakers out of the 1986 playoffs! And much more on the NBA and college basketball! Ralph talks abut the current state of the NBA game, and the big man’s roll in it What’s ahead for college bas...

Send us Fan Mail This week, ESPN women’s basketball analyst Debbie Antonelli joins Bob to discuss her big weekend! She’s again hosting her 24-hour Nothing But Net Special Olympics fundraiser , talks about the big coaching changes in the SEC and the Big 12 and adds a great personal story on HOFer to be Tamika Catchings for this weekend in Springfield! How the Special Olympics fundraiser started Kim...

Send us Fan Mail This week, Scott Drew , the head coach of the National Champion Baylor Bears is our guest! He chats with Bob about the Bears incredible run to the title, playing thru a major Covid scare, and much more! - Scott chronicles Davion Mitchell’s rise to stardom, winning the Naismith Defensive Player of the Year Award  - How Baylor plans to use that award to inspire future Bears  - On pl...

Send us Fan Mail This week, our guest is Al Honor , the 2021 Jersey Mike’s national Girls High School Coach of the Year! Join Bob and Al this week as they discuss: How Al got started in coaching His basketball family, including son Nick at Clemson His career before basketball WANT TO SUPPORT A TROPHY LIFE? Leave a rating and review on iTunes, Spotify, or wherever you get your podcasts. Your feedba...

Send us Fan Mail This week, a conversation with the 2021 Jersey Mike's Naismith boys High School Coach of the Year, Luke Barnwell! Learn about Luke’s journey to coaching stardom and why the Naismith means so much to him personally! Luke guided Sunrise Christian Academy to the title game of the GEICO Nationals in 2021 All five starters are headed to D1 scholarships Plus this week’s News and No...

Send us Fan Mail This week, meet our 2021 Naismith Men’s defensive Player of the Year Davion Mitchell of the national champion Baylor Bears! Plus we announce our 2021 Jersey Mike’s Courage Award winners! How defensive became important to Davion How the Bears overcame their Covid Shutdown Life in the Indy bubble WANT TO SUPPORT A TROPHY LIFE? Leave a rating and review on iTunes, Spotify, or whereve...

Send us Fan Mail This week our Jersey Mike's 2021 Naismith Mens player of the year Iowa's Luka Garza is our featured guest! His conversation with Bob Rathbun is here. Luka talks about what the Naismith means to him and his family His close relationship with his Dad, Frank, and his HC at Iowa, Fran McCaffery WANT TO SUPPORT A TROPHY LIFE? Leave a rating and review on iTunes, Spotify, or w...

Send us Fan Mail JOIN US THIS Saturday 1pm EST on CBS Sports Network for the Jersey Mike’s Naismith Women's and Men's Players of the Year Announcement! Our big weekend is here! Join Bob Rathbun for the latest on the 2021 Naismith Defensive Player Award winners, 2021 Werner Ladder Naismith Coaches of the Year, and a preview of the Final Fours! Plus, we’ll catch up with 2018 Naismith Defen...

Send us Fan Mail This week, it’s the Sweet 16 for the men and the women in the NCAA Tournaments! Get the latest from Texas Athletics Chief of Staff and Exec. Sr. associate AD Chris Plonsky! Plus, Bob Rathbun reveals the Naismith defensive players of the year finalists and the Georgia college players and coaches of the year! Chris talks about her 33-year career at Texas Playing thru the pandemic Th...

Send us Fan Mail This week’s the Naismith Trophy announced the finalists for the Jersey Mike’s Players of the Year and the Werner Ladder Coaches of the Year! Bob Rathbun welcomes The Sporting News' Mike DeCourcy back to the podcast to discuss all of the men’s finalists! Topics from the interview include: The Jersey Mike’s Naismith Award finalists for the men and women The Werner Ladder Naismi...