Final week new Michigan coach Dusty Might spent a day with the Miami Warmth workers, then flew to Pittsburgh to commerce concepts with Utah Jazz coach Will Hardy and Charlotte Hornets assistant Josh Longstaff. Might will learn any guide or research any basketball crew’s movie if he thinks it would equip him with an thought or a play or a management tactic.
And a part of his persevering with training is a podcast from two coaches most basketball followers have by no means heard of.
Whereas driving to lunch final February, Might listened to Olympia Milano coach Ettore Messina break down the spacing ideas in his offense. The earlier week, the voice of Tokyo Hachioji Bee Trains head coach Tyler Gatlin had come by way of Might’s audio system. The following week he would hear from former NBA head coach Stan Van Gundy.
The globe-spanning classes got here from the Slappin’ Glass Podcast, which has changed into a word-of-mouth hit for coaches at each stage of the game, 4 years and 201 episodes in.
“I pay attention to each episode,” Might mentioned. “My workers listens to only about each episode. I feel a majority of school coaches in all probability hearken to it usually.”
Jeff Van Gundy stumbled upon one of many hosts’ video breakdowns — in addition they have a weekly publication and YouTube channel — and was so impressed he known as them as much as say how nice it was. Since then, he has inspired a few of his finest buddies within the enterprise to go on their present, which is how two obscure basketball coaches who performed collectively at Division III Chapman College find yourself on a name with Corridor of Fame soccer coach Invoice Parcells.
“Everyone’s cautious of happening a podcast the place they veer off into issues that they aren’t capable of focus on,” Van Gundy mentioned. “They know they’re going to be straight basketball. There’s no ‘gotcha’ questions. It’s not overly dramatic clickbait, like ‘who’s the very best participant?’ … They’re actually attempting to assist coaches coach higher.”
The present’s visitor checklist options a few of the most revered basketball coaches within the nation — Brad Stevens, Geno Auriemma, Rick Pitino, Tom Thibodeau, Mike D’Antoni, the Van Gundy brothers, John Beilein, to call a couple of — and simply as many large names within the worldwide sport. What began as a self-improvement challenge for the hosts has turn into a shop-talk paradise for coaches and hoops diehards at each stage.
“You possibly can put a kind of on in an hour and also you’re typically a greater coach by the top of it,” mentioned Saint Louis coach Josh Schertz.
Carney and Krikorian in Berlin, the evening the thought for the podcast was hatched. (Courtesy of Dan Krikorian)
Dan Krikorian’s preliminary plan was to be a musician when he graduated from Chapman in 2007. Between excursions, he made extra cash giving capturing classes, teaching a youth crew, and finally teaching the junior varsity crew at his highschool alma mater. “As soon as I stepped foot within the gymnasium to educate, I used to be like, ‘OK, that is what I need to do,’” he mentioned. In 2013, Krikorian returned to Chapman as an assistant coach. This summer time, he was elevated to move coach.
Pat Carney performed professionally for 12 seasons in a few of Germany’s high basketball leagues. In 2018 he retired and stayed in Germany to pursue a training profession. The 2 younger coaches and former teammates stayed linked by telephone, finding out different groups around the globe and speaking ball. Over beers one evening in Berlin after Krikorian’s band had performed a present, Krikorian prompt they flip these jam classes right into a podcast and interview the coaches whose techniques piqued their curiosity.
The thought was largely forgotten till a 12 months later, when Krikorian and Carney had been discussing the movement offense of Division III Yeshiva College, which had simply gone 29-1 operating a modern-day reproduction of Bob Knight’s system at Indiana. Krikorian and Carney needed to select the mind of coach Elliot Steinmetz, so that they arrange a Zoom. Proper earlier than the assembly, Krikorian prompt he report it. He already had the entire sound and enhancing tools; if it went properly, he may flip the interview into their first episode.
The pandemic had made it extra commonplace for coaches internationally to attach over video name. The podcast’s first episode, revealed on Aug. 17, 2020, was not as polished as what the Slappin’ Glass guys produce as we speak, however they loved it a lot they determined to make it a weekly routine.
The viewers was small at first — “our mothers,” Krikorian jokes — however they acquired some bumps at any time when a well-known visitor joined the present, like Jeff Van Gundy in February of 2021. The hosts put collectively a listing of coaches they’d like to interview, took ideas from teaching buddies, after which began capturing their shot. To their shock, they hardly ever heard no.
“They ask actually good questions,” mentioned Alabama assistant Ryan Pannone, the present’s third visitor whereas coach of the G-League Erie Bayhawks. “And because of this, as a result of their product is sweet and so they’ve had good coaches communicate on it, extra coaches are prepared to come back on as a result of they hearken to it.”
Their curiosity and analysis appears to loosen lips. Beilein, who has at all times been guarded with what he shared publicly about his two-guard offense, defined the instructing factors to the Slappin’ Glass guys with out hesitation, then praised the questions that they had requested him.
“I haven’t talked basketball to anyone like this in a bit,” Belien mentioned close to the top of the interview.
Most coaches strategy podcast interviews anticipating to be dragged into story time, however the Slappin’ Glass company shortly discover themselves delving into the intricacies of their strategies.
“That’s the perfect for us,” Carney says. “It’s not an interview. Let’s speak some hoops.”
The present’s ethos: Every thing {that a} coach does is attention-grabbing.
“The very best factor about basketball, and what retains us having conversations contemporary and new each week, is that there’s so some ways to win,” Carney mentioned. “There’s so some ways to show, so we’re by no means assuming there’s one proper manner. In any other case we’d have in all probability had that dialog, and we’d have simply wrapped up store.”
Krikorian and Carney go into each interview with a couple of concepts of what they need to discuss from background studying and movie research, however their capacity to pay attention and ask insightful follow-up questions carries the dialog and typically leads them down a rabbit gap.
“That’s our favourite a part of the podcast is when it goes someplace we didn’t even anticipate,” Krikorian mentioned.
They usually get coaches into uncharted territory throughout their common section known as “Begin, Sub, Sit,” a basketball-centric variation on a typical forced-choice sport. When Stevens joined the present, they requested him which of three Ted Lasso quotes he would begin, sub and sit. (Stevens’ Begin: “ what the happiest animal on earth is? It’s a goldfish. why? It’s acquired a 10-second reminiscence. Be a goldfish” — since you ought to by no means fear about what somebody says about you or fear about lacking a shot. “I like that,” Stevens mentioned, “Let it go. Have shot amnesia.”)
Every thing at all times comes again to the sport, by no means happening a tangent that wouldn’t be relevant to teaching.
“We all know the coach has 45 minutes to get on the treadmill, or they’re commuting for 40 minutes to work,” Krikorian says. “We don’t need to waste one second of their time with one thing that’s not useful.”
Kirkorian (left) was named the pinnacle coach at his alma mater in August. (Alex Vazquez for Chapman College)
Relationships with coaches like Van Gundy have helped Krikorian and Carney land a few of their most well-known company, however what brings them probably the most delight is that the present’s downloads and listens not rely as closely on identify recognition. They usually’ve been capable of give some proficient however lesser-known coaches a platform to share their data and concepts.
“If you concentrate on it, like the very best gamers, they progress. They discover a stage. That’s not at all times true in coaches,” Van Gundy mentioned. “Some do. And a few, both by selection or by simply lack of alternative, don’t. However I feel too many followers suppose the very best coaches rise similar to the gamers do. Not true.”
Krikorian and Carney have created a pleasant aspect hustle. Their podcast has a number of sponsors, and so they common 30,000 to 40,000 downloads monthly. Their publication has over 7,000 subscribers, with near 1,000 of these paying for his or her premium content material.
Whereas their content material is consumable for anybody who loves the sport — not simply coaches — it’s a distinct segment viewers. However the aim was by no means to turn into well-known; it was to turn into higher coaches.
“With teaching, it’s a must to be proficient,” Carney says. “You must know your self. You must work exhausting. However a number of it’s relationships, too, and this has allowed us to construct real relationships and proceed conversations previous the podcast which have immediately impacted our careers.”
Throughout the interview for this story, Carney was in Poland with the German under-20 nationwide crew. The top coach of that crew, Martin Schiller, was a visitor in 2022 and saved in contact with Carney, finally reaching out to ask Carney to hitch his workers this summer time.
Krikorian says he’d be mendacity if he didn’t take into consideration someday teaching at the next stage than D-III, however he’s dwelling a fairly good life now as the pinnacle coach of his alma mater, within the yard of the place he grew up, constructing a sustainable enterprise that was born from a whim in the course of the pandemic.
“The those who I’m capable of name for recommendation now,” Krikorian says. “It’s a dream of ours, actually.”
ESPN analyst Fran Fraschilla, a fan and two-time visitor, says what the Slappin’ Glass guys have finished reminds him of an period way back when coaches like Hubie Brown and Dean Smith went abroad to show the sport.
“What’s occurred over two generations or three generations is the world is now instructing the sport of basketball again to us,” Fraschilla says. “Slappin’ Glass has supplied an unbelievable menu of worldwide basketball concepts. They’re the conduit for nice basketball teaching info.”
(High illustration photographs courtesy of Alex Vasquez and @ralf.zimmermann.fotografie)