PREP Athletics Basketball Podcast

This episode, we're joined by Drew Dawson, the Head Coach of Choate Rosemary Hall. Drew shares his journey from central Pennsylvania to playing Division 1 basketball at Lafayette and the University of New Hampshire, and how his experiences as a player shaped his transition into coaching. We dive into the realities of D1 basketball, the complexities of the recruitment process, and the importan...

▶️ Show Notes In this episode of the PREP Athletics Podcast, director Mike Nicoll discusses his new movie, The Spoils, which peels back the layers of corporate influence to paint an honest, foundational portrait of America’s basketball infrastructure. Nicoll shares his love for basketball and how it has been the focal point of his life. He explains that his filmmaking strategy is to tell stories t...

Welcome to another episode of the PREP Athletics Podcast! We’re thrilled to have Joe Scott, head coach of Air Force, join us for an insightful conversation. Joe dives into his extensive coaching journey, the evolution of his strategies, and the profound impact of the Princeton offense on modern basketball. We discuss the unique challenges of recruiting at Air Force, the critical role of academics...

Join host Cory Heitz on the PREP Athletics Podcast as he interviews renowned basketball performance coach and motivational speaker, Alan Stein Jr. In this engaging episode, Alan shares his incredible journey from being a college basketball player to becoming a sought-after performance coach for elite athletes. With years of experience working with top talent, Alan offers invaluable insights into t...

Welcome to another episode of the PREP Athletics Podcast! This week, we’re thrilled to host Adam Donyes, who shares the story behind founding Link Year Prep, a unique post-graduate program designed to help student-athletes bridge the gap between high school and college. He discusses the importance of developing character and leadership skills alongside athletic prowess, creating a holistic approac...

Join us as we dive into the incredible journey of Terrell Ivory, the head coach at Phillips Academy Andover. In this episode, Terrell shares his inspiring story, from his post-graduate year at Andover, to playing at Davidson College, to his professional basketball career in England. He also opens up about his coaching experiences at Blair Academy and Colgate University.  Terrell emphasizes the imp...

Mike Panaggio discusses his experience at prep school, his career in the financial industry, and the founding of DME Academy. He emphasizes the importance of effort, excellence, and sacrifice in achieving success. He also shares his thoughts on the value of college education and the unique aspects of DME Academy, including its focus on character development and social fitness. Panaggio discusses t...

In this bonus episode of the Prep Athletics Podcast, Cory Heitz discusses the lack of a crystal ball in prep school basketball and the importance of making the best decision possible. He emphasizes the role of the coach in choosing a prep school and advises families to do their due diligence and research. He also shares his own experience of attending a military academy's prep school and the...

In this episode, Coach Cory is joined by Coach Trey Morin of Phelps School, Coach John Zall of Vermont Academy, and Coach Lamar Reddicks of Milton Academy. They discuss current trends in the prep school world. They highlight the importance of prep school as an option for players, especially with colleges trending older and the need for advocates in the recruiting process. The coaches emphasize the...

Summary In this bonus episode of the Prep Athletics podcast, Coach Cory recaps his experience at the 2024 Final Four. He flew down to Phoenix to support his cousin Brad Miller, who played for Purdue. He describes the mix of fans from each school, with Purdue, NC State, UConn, and Alabama all showing strong support. Cory shares his experience at a packed Purdue bar, where Brad was treated like a ce...

Summary In this episode of the Prep Athletics Podcast, host Cory Heitz interviews Joe Busacca, the head coach of Hotchkiss School. They discuss the unique aspects of Hotchkiss as a high academic prep school, including its location, boarding program, and extensive facilities. Busacca emphasizes the importance of building personal connections with his players and helping them improve their skills. H...

In this conversation with Tom Bower, President of Athlete Advantage, we cover the changes in the NIL landscape,  including mistakes and risks, finding an attorney for deals, donor fatigue, the employee model for college athletes, and NIL in the Ivy League. On top of that, we discuss hiring an agent for NIL deals, capitalizing on marketability, creative fundraising for college athletes, discussing...

Summary In this conversation, Tim DiFrancesco, former head strength coach for the Los Angeles Lakers, shares insights and experiences from his time in the NBA. He talks about working with Kobe, Pau, Steve Nash, Metta Sandiford-Artest, and other NBA legends. He emphasizes the importance of a growth mindset and open-mindedness in achieving success. Tim discusses the challenges of building trust with...

Description: In this podcast episode, Cory interviews Hollman, a former prep school basketball player who is now a walk-on at James Madison University. They discuss Hollman's decision to do a post-graduate year, his experience at Tilton School, the benefits and challenges of prep school basketball, dealing with homesickness, and how prep school prepared him for Division I basketball. They als...

Summary Former Oak Hill Academy coach, Steve Smith, discusses his experiences coaching NBA players, the importance of work ethic and desire, the impact of specialization in sports, changes in the game, recruiting and placing players, and the opportunities he had as a college coach. He also discusses his career decisions, coaching against LeBron James, his biggest win, his favorite movie, and his c...

Summary In this episode of the Prep Athletics Podcast, host Cory Heitz interviews Coach Thomas Adams-Wall from Western Reserve Academy. They discuss various topics, including growing up on a prep school campus, the benefits of playing multiple sports, choosing the College of Wooster, coaching at Western Reserve Academy, recruiting and college exposure, admissions for student-athletes, coaching McD...

🔗 Connect with Cory:   Website | https://www.prepathletics.com Twitter | https://twitter.com/PREP_Athletics Instagram | https://www.instagram.com/prep.athletics/ Facebook | https://www.facebook.com/PrepAthletics Email | coryheitz@gmail.com Phone | 859-317-1166 🔖 Subscribe to the PREP Athletics Podcast: iTunes | https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/prep-athletics-podcast/id1546265809?uo=4 Spotif...

On this podcast episode we are excited to have former college coach Steve Schafer join us.  He currently works for College Athlete Advantage which is a company that helps athletes with college placement.  In this conversation Steve breaks down the differences between D2, D3 and NAIA, the challenges in placement in 2023, how his company’s placement process works, recruiting websites, starting a col...

This week we welcome author Níall Ó Murchú.  Níall and I connected in Poland in early 2020 at the Wim Hof   retreat in Southern Poland.  Níall was my group leader and he spent the week teaching us the power of breath and how you incorporate it with the cold.  Níall and I are both former hoopers who have wives named Josie!  In this conversation we discuss how he got introduced to the cold and Wim H...

In this mini episode I share my pre-game songs from 8th grade all the way to my senior year at the United States Air Force Academy. Spotify playlist: https://open.spotify.com/playlist/1AwdczK0cSXqpdiMNxDMeY?si=917a1d99688249bb 🔗 Connect with Cory:   Website | https://www.prepathletics.com Twitter | https://twitter.com/PREP_Athletics Instagram | https://www.instagram.com/prep.athletics/ Facebook |...

In this podcast I am proud to have my prep school roommate joining us. Colonel Lawrence Yazzie and I met on the first day of basic training at the United States Air Force Academy Prep School back in July of 1995. We stayed up too long that first night w/ me asking Yaz about growing up on a reservation. He was just as enthralled w/ me being a Catholic from Kentucky. We have been tight friends ever...

On this episode of the PREP Athletics Podcast, we welcome Fork Union Military Academy Boys Basketball Coach, Bob Williams. Bob shares with us his background as a player and starting out as a coach at a New York junior college. From there he had a successful career at both Glenville State and West Virginia Tech. Now in his third season at Fork Union, he talks about recruiting, placement, the milita...

In this episode we welcome La Lumiere School's Head Boys Basketball Coach, Pat Holmes. Pat has been the head coach since 2017 and has continued its national dominance. The previous two coaches are now D1 head coaches. Pat talks about the formula for turning La Lumiere into a national power and how he maintains it. We dig into how he chooses elite players for his roster, how he schedules his t...

On this week's podcast we welcome Northfield Mount Hermon Head Boys Basketball Coach, Michael Shelton. Michael grew up in Indiana and was a top player in the state. He played college basketball at Bellarmine before coaching at D3 Weslyan, D2 Univ of New Haven, and D1 Winthrop. He shares a lot of valuable insight on all three levels. He has also coached at Govenors Academy and Williston Northa...

In this week’s episode we welcome Jason Bradwell. Jason is a former college football player who is now a Division 1 basketball referee. We discuss why he got into this job, the differences in levels and tips for players, coaches, and parents. Jason also has two sons who played basketball at prep schools. He shares how they initially found schools and ultimately their process on choosing each one....