Hoop Heads

Bob Ludwig is a Men's Basketball Assistant Coach at DII St. Leo University in Florida. Prior to joining the staff at St. Leo, Ludwig was a varsity head coach at IMG Academy during the 2023-2024 season. Ludwig previously served six seasons as the head coach at NAIA Peru State College in Nebraska. Ludwig's collegiate coaching experience includes stops at Nebraska Wesleyan University (2007-08), Belle...

On this special 1,000th episode of the Hoop Heads Podcast Mike & Jason bring on some of their favorite guests and friends of the pod to answer and discuss three questions. Why was becoming a basketball coach the right choice for you? What is your favorite basketball story? Who is the most influential person in your basketball life and why? Check out the time stamps below to navigate through th...

Welcome to the 69th 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 role do captains play in your program? Our Coaching Lineup this m...

Chris McMillian is the Men’s Basketball Associate Head Coach at Central Michigan University. He joined Head Coach Tony Barbee’s staff as an assistant coach in May of 2021 and was promoted to associate head coach in August 2024. Prior to Central Michigan, McMillian spent two seasons at Idaho State (2019-21), after serving as the Director of Player Performance at Illinois-Chicago for four years, ove...

On this episode Mike and Jason discuss Jamal Murray's contract extension with the Nuggets before diving into their all-time favorite NBA nicknames. 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 perform...

Byron Burt is an aspiring G-League/NBA Coach who previously served as the Head Boys’ Basketball Coach at St. Laurence High School in Chicago, Illinois. He also spent two seasons as the Head Coach at his alma mater, Stephen T. Mather High School before landing the job at St. Laurence. Byron also worked at Beacon Academy in Chicago as the Head Boys’ Basketball Coach and Assistant Athletic Director f...

Jake Diebler is the Head Men’s Basketball at the Ohio State University. He has been with the Buckeyes for a total of eight seasons. He was a video coordinator with the program from 2014-16 and then returned as an assistant coach prior to the 2019-20 season. He was promoted to associate head coach before the 2021-22 season and then was named interim head coach on Feb. 14, 2024. The first Ohioan to...

On this episode of the Hoop Heads Podcast, hop aboard the Hot Takes Express!  Mike and Jason discuss 3 Hot Takes each for the upcoming season, mixed in with a few honorable mentions.   Mike and Jason finish the episode by discussing their expectations for the Browns Opener this upcoming Sunday. The 1,000th episode is coming!  Keep your eyes on our socials for news on how to ent...

Todd Simon is entering his second season as the head coach of the Bowling Green State University’s men’s basketball program in 2024-25. In his first season with the Falcons, Coach Simon orchestrated one of the quickest turnarounds in program history. In his first season, the Falcons tallied 20 wins for just the 10th time in the program's MAC era, becoming one of 10 teams in the nation to go from 2...

Melissa Jackson is entering her first season as Youngstown State's Head Women's Basketball Coach in 2024-2025. She is the ninth head coach in the history of the Youngstown State University women’s basketball program. Jackson previously spent 15 seasons at Akron and the most recent campaign at Cleveland State. Her final five seasons in Akron were as the Zips’ head coach, and she is the only coach i...

On this episode Mike and Jason debate who will be the most important player on each Western Conference Team in 5 years. 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 a...

Stephen Halstead is entering his fifth season as a men’s basketball assistant coach at NAIA Grace College in Indiana. Halstead served as a graduate assistant for his first two seasons, leading Grace's junior varsity squad while assisting with the varsity. In 2023-24 Grace was ranked as the No. 1 team in the country for much of the season. The Lancers won the regular season and postseason champions...

William Twigg is currently the Head Coach for the London Lions Academy. He also has coached for the Essex Rebels in the Women's British Basketball League, the NewVic Knights at the college level in the UK, and the Oaklands Wolves – an English Sports club. Twigg was a Cavs Academy Coach for the Cleveland Cavaliers during the summer of 2018. In addition, he has coached at Snow Valley Basketball Camp...

On this episode Mike and Jason debate who will be the most important player on each Eastern Conference Team in 5 years. 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 a...

On this episode Jason and I talk with my son Cal about his college recruiting experience and his decision to attend Division 3 Ohio Wesleyan University. We share some advice for parents, players, and coaches that we hope will be beneficial for those on a journey to college basketball. If you’re looking to improve your coaching please consider joining the Hoop Heads Mentorship Program .  We be...

Welcome to the 68th 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. August’s Round Table question is: How can a coach help their players get the most out of open gym or pickup...

On this episode Mike and Jason discuss Team USA's Gold Medal winning performance in the 2024 Olympics. They look at the contributions from the team's old guard: LeBron, KD, & Steph while speculating on whether a roster without those three could have won gold in this Olympics. Then they bring break down the greatest moments of Steph Curry's career and where his iconic run of threes in the 4th q...

Jon Jaques is entering his first season as the Mens’ Basketball Head Coach at Cornell University. Jacques has spent more than a decade as an assistant coach in the Ivy League, including the last 12 at Cornell. He has assisted in the development of 12 Big Red All-Ivy selections, including five first-teamers, and two CoSIDA Academic All-Americans. Prior to Cornell Jaques was part of Kyle Smith's 201...

The 12th episode 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”. Rob's experience coaching at a camp in Bormio, Italy The NCAA Academy in Rock Hill, South Carolina that Rob and his son Trey attended AAU Reflections from Trey's Under Armour Tournament...

On this episode Mike & Jason discuss Team USA's win over Brazil in the Olympic Quarterfinals. Next, they look at the other 3 quarterfinal games and the international players who've performed well through 4 games including Wemby, Jokic, Shai, Giddey, Giannis, RJ Barrett, Schroder, and Franz as well as those who have struggled like Gobert, Murray, and Dillon Brooks. They also hit on Team Canada...

What is your best advice for the parent of a high school basketball player? Our Coaching Lineup for this episode: Jon Beck – Pure Sweat Basketball – Northwest AR Rob Brost – Bolingbrook High School – Bolingbrook, IL Jeff Depelteau – St. Andrew's Episcopal School - MD Matt Grahn – University of Dallas Joe Harris – Lake Chelan High School, Lake Chelan, WA Bobby Jordan – Temple University Nick LoGalb...

Lee Wimberley is entering his first season as the Boys’ Basketball Head Coach at Beebe High School in the state of Arkansas. Wimberley previously served as the Head Boys Basketball coach at Manila High School in Arkansas for 11 seasons. In 2023 he led the Lions to the Class 3 A State Championship. Before arriving at Manila, Coach Wimberley spent the 3 previous years as an assistant to Jerry Bridge...

On this episode Mike and Jason discuss Team USA 's performance through five exhibition games and the opening Olympic win over Serbia. They break down the team player by player, both the good (LeBron & KD) and the bad (Embiid & Tatum). Next they analyze the NBA's new media rights deal and what it means for the league moving forward. Visit our Sponsors! Give With Hoops Give With Hoops is a g...

Jonas de Bruyne was most recently a player development coach with Urspring Basketball Academy. He is a licensed B basketball trainer who previously worked for Elite Academy in Belgium. Jonas shares his insight on how he uses the Constraints Led Approach and Differential Learning in his coaching. If you’re looking to improve your coaching please consider joining the Hoop Heads Mentorship Program .&...

John Shulman is entering his first season as the Head Men's Basketball Coach at The University of Central Arkansas. In his previous five seasons at the helm of the University of Alabama Huntsville, Shulman posted a record of 112-39 and led the Chargers to five consecutive D2 NCAA tournament berths. Overall, Shulman has a career coaching record of 257-185. Shulman also served as the head coach at T...