Hoop Heads

Ednaija “Nay” Lassiter is the Girls’ Basketball Head Coach at Governors Academy in Byfield, Massachusetts. In addition to her coaching role, Nay is the founder and CEO of Heavy Hearted Convos, a non-profit organization dedicated to mental wellness and fostering open discussions about emotionally challenging topics. Nay began her coaching career as a graduate assistant at Northeastern University, f...

On this episode Mike & Jason debate the merits of Donovan Mitchell's $273 Million - 4 year extension with the Cavs before diving into the possibility of LeBron joining the Cavs. They also discuss Detroit's curious off-season, the Wizards reacquiring Kris Middleton, the summer league debuts of Cam Boozer and Darryn Peterson, and a few other off-season happenings around the league. Visit our Spo...

Larry Shyatt is a longtime college basketball coach who spent the final three years of his career with the Dallas Mavericks in the NBA. He spent time as a head coach at both Clemson and Wyoming, making the 2015 NCAA Tournament with the Cowboys. Shyatt was an assistant at Utah, Cleveland State, New Mexico, Providence College, Clemson, and Florida. Shyatt has worked with legendary coaches throughout...

Denny McDonnell is entering his third season as a Men’s Basketball Assistant Coach at D3 Simpson College in Indianola, Iowa. McDonnell's extensive coaching career includes serving as the boy's assistant coach at North High School in Des Moines, Iowa and the girls' basketball coach at Valley High School in West Des Moines. He is also the founder of the 4VLegacy development basketball program in Cen...

On this episode Mike breaks down the LaMelo Ball, Kawhi Leonard, and Ja Morant trades before diving into LeBron's decision to leave the Lakers. It appears this was in the making for a while given how quickly the Lakers pivoted to trading for Walker Kessler and signing Grimes, Mamu, and Sexton. Mike shares his thoughts on each of the possible LeBron destinations: Golden State, Cleveland, and Miami....

Terry Awls is the General Manager of the Glass City Wranglers, an affiliate professional basketball franchise of the Basketball Super League. Awls also serves as the Director of Basketball & Recruiting for Hopson Elite, an AAU Program based in Toledo, Ohio. Terry previously served on the Lourdes University men’s basketball staff and as the state director in Ohio for US Amateur Basketball, one...

Matthew Malc is the Boys' Varsity Basketball Head Coach at Yeshiva of Flatbush in Brooklyn, New York. He previously served as an assistant coach for the Ranney Panthers, a top-ranked New Jersey high school team that was also ranked #4 in the nation. Matthew has coached over forty Division 1 basketball players with multiple players going on to play in the NBA or professionally overseas. Malc also w...

On this episode Mike and Jason share their thoughts on the Giannis trade from the perspective of both the Bucks and Heat. Next they look at the main storylines from the draft including the top 4 picks going as predicted, the Clippers taking Keaton Wagler at 5, New Mavs Coach Dusty May grabbing Morez Johnson, and the Bucks picking Brayden Burries and Nate Ament. They briefly touch on the ridiculous...

RJ Bell is entering his fourth season as an assistant coach and sixth season on staff for the Duquesne University Women's Basketball Team. After a two-year stint as a graduate student, Bell was promoted to assistant coach ahead of the 2023-24 season. In his first season as offensive coordinator, Bell helped transform Duquesne into one of the top three-point shooting teams in the Atlantic 10 during...

Welcome to the 90th 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. June’s Round Table question is: What's the most valuable coaching lesson you've learned from someone who wa...

On this episode Mike and Jason look back at the 2026 NBA Finals between the Knicks and Spurs. The Knicks capturing the magic of team basketball both individually and collectively Is Jalen Brunson a top 5 player in the league? Is he the best clutch player in the league? What do the Spurs do with De'Aaron Fox? Dylan Harper is ready What does Wemby need to add to his game? How does this loss affect h...

The 25th 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 are the keys to getting the most out your best player? What part of a high school coach's job is dramatically underestimated? What question do you wish more coaches would ask you...as op...

Matt Elkin is in his second season with the Stanford men's basketball program and his first as assistant coach. Elkin spent 2024-25 as assistant recruiting coordinator at Stanford before spending one season at Columbia in 2025-26 as an assistant coach. Elkin arrived at Stanford in 2024 after spending the previous four seasons at Yale as director of basketball operations. Concurrent with his role a...

On this episode Mike and Jason break down the 2026 NBA Finals following Game 3 between the San Antonio Spurs and New York Knicks. Visit our Sponsors! Give With Hoops Give With Hoops is a groundbreaking initiative that fuses basketball analytics with modern sponsorship. Built for teams who see data as opportunity, from AAU programs to college powerhouses. By tying on-court performance directly to c...

Andy Stark is entering his 5th season as the Head Men’s Basketball Coach at D2 D'Youville University. The Saints advanced to the East Coast Conference Semifinals in 2026 and continued the program’s upward trajectory since Stark took over the program in June of 2022. Stark previously served one season on the Baylor men's basketball staff under Scott Drew. During his time with the Bears, Stark helpe...

Nick Lorensen just completed his second season on the La Salle University Men’s Basketball Staff as a graduate assistant under Fran Dunphy in year one and Darris Nichols in year two. Lorensen previously spent time on the sidelines as a coaching intern at Queens University (N.C.). Prior to his time at Queens, Lorensen had a focus on the media side of sports, with positions including scouting at The...

On this episode Mike and Jason preview the 2026 NBA Finals between the San Antonio Spurs and New York Knicks. Visit our Sponsors! Give With Hoops Give With Hoops is a groundbreaking initiative that fuses basketball analytics with modern sponsorship. Built for teams who see data as opportunity, from AAU programs to college powerhouses. By tying on-court performance directly to community and sponsor...

Kip Ioane just completed his second season as the Head Boys’ Basketball Coach at South Salem (OR) High School where he has led the Saxons to a 34-19 record . Ioane previously served as the head coach of the men’s basketball team at Willamette University in Salem, Oregon for 14 seasons and as an assistant for 8 seasons. Ioane also attended Willamette as a student-athlete and played for the Bearcats...

Dr. Daniel Jacobsen is the founder of MindFit, helping coaches and parents build mentally tough athletes through proven sport psychology training. Daniel has spent 8 years working directly with high school, collegiate, and elite athletes not in a lab, not in an office, but on the court, in the locker room, and in the high-pressure moments that define seasons. On this episode Mike & Daniel disc...

On this episode Mike and Jason discuss the Cavs' dismal performance against the Knicks in the Eastern Conference Finals. They break down the Cavs' defensive issues, the James Harden experience, Kenny Atkinson, Evan Mobley, and whether Donovan Mitchell can be the best guy on a title team (no). Then they look into all the potential strings the Cavs could pull to change up the roster including LeBron...

Maureen Hirt is the Women’s Basketball Head Coach at Denison University where she led the Big Red to the D3 National Championship in 2026. On their way to the title, the Big Red took down two unbeaten squads and became the first NCAC team to win the national championship since DePauw in 2013.In her 4 seasons at Denison Hirt has compiled a 75-36 overall record Hirt came to Denison after spending th...

Diana Cutaia is the founder of Coaching Peace and the author of the new book, "Protect Your Confidence", a year long journal style book in which Diana shares why confidence isn’t something you build It’s something you protect. In the book, readers will rediscover the confidence they’ve always had and protect it from the noise that tries to chip away at it. Diana's coaching experience includes serv...

On this episode Mike and Jason discuss the Cavs' destruction of the Pistons in Game 7 in Detroit. Next, they look ahead to the Knicks-Cavs Eastern Conference Finals before breaking down the Thunder-Spurs series out West. Visit our Sponsors! Give With Hoops Give With Hoops is a groundbreaking initiative that fuses basketball analytics with modern sponsorship. Built for teams who see data as opportu...

Easton Bazzoli is the Head Men’s Basketball Coach at Gannon University where he led the Golden Knights to the 2026 Division 2 National Championship. In two seasons as the head coach Bazzoli has compiled a 61-10 overall record. He spent one season at Gannon as an assistant to Jordan Fee in 2023-24 where he helped the team to a record of 32-3 and an appearance in the Elite Eight. Bazzoli Previously...

Welcome to the 89th 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. May’s Round Table question is: If one of your former players became a coach, what’s something you hope they...