Marching To Madness

Coach Ryan Odom returns to “Marching to Madness” with his VCU Rams, who won 24 games last season and made it to the NIT’s Elite Eight. Returning three key scorers in Max Shula, Zeb Jackson, and Joe Bamisile return as three prolific shooters and scorers who will help VCU focus on an Atlantic 10 title. Coach Odom also discusses some philosophical and analytical details as well. Topics of Discussion Include: Max Shulga’s return to the program Ideas on break players out of slumps Putting uncertainty or doubt in an opposing ballhandler’s mind The basketball relationship with his father, legendary head coach Dave Odom Much more!

Coach Dustin Kerns looks forward to another season of Mountaineers basketball as he led ASU to its most wins in a season at 27 and the 16-2 record to win the Sun Belt regular season was Appalchian’s best league record in school history. Coach Kerns had eight losses in the transfer portal, but he has a recruiting class of strong players who can make the transition into the new season and the upper echelon of Sun Belt Conference play. Coach and I discuss his ideas and philosophies on several college basketball/sports topics. Topics of Discussion Include: The transition involved with losing eight but bringing in six players Leadership in the return of CJ Huntley and Miles Tate Physical and emotional energy among players Allowing players to break slumps and bring positivety back into their games

Coach Justin Gainey checks into “Marching to Madness” as he is in his 19th season in college coaching which has featured a position in each of the Power 6 conferences. Coach Gainey discusses his role as the Volunteers’ defensive coordinator and brings in philosophical ideas and the approach to basketball under Coach Rick Barnes at Tennessee. Coach Gainey played on the point at NC State for Coach Herb Sendek from 1996-2000. He started in the Wolfpacks’ 67 games in his last two seasons where his defense and playmaking were essential means for NC State. Topics of Discussion Include: Coach Gainey’s approach in all phases of the Tennessee program How the staff moves from game to game in SEC play Point guard Zakai Ziegler’s growth inside of the program Scorer Chaz Lanier’s transfer into Vols’ basketball

Coach Chris Mooney, who missed the end of the 2022-23 season with heart surgery, led the Richmond Spiders to a 15-3 record last season in the Atlantic 10 as UR shared the regular season title with Loyola Chicago. Coach Mooney has 366 wins in 20 seasons as he led Richmond to four NCAA Tournaments and had tournament wins in 2010 and 2022. He was the A-10 Coach of the Year this past season. Topics of Discussion Include: The work of tying with Loyola Chicago for the A-10 regular season crown How the Spiders’ defense played a major role in last season’s success The sustainability of team culture with losing five senior starters The basis of his three-point attack from season to season

Houston head coach Kelvin Sampson checks into “Marching to Madness” as his Cougars won the Big 12 regular season title in their first season in the conference. His roster and rotation generally remain intact as Jamal Shead moved onto the Toronto Raptors, but he returns a quality backcourt with Lj Cryer and Emmanuel Sharp on the perimeter and J’Wan Roberts and Ja’Vier Francis inside. Watch role players in Terrence Arceneaux, Mylik Wilson, and JoJo Tugler, who were injured throughout last season. The Cougs returned with a 125-19 record over the last four seasons, including two Sweet 16s, an Elite Eight, and a Final Four. Topics of Discussion Include: The mentality that allows Houston to be able to keep players in his program in the era of the transfer portal The dynamics of guards LJ Cryer and Emmanuel Sharp on both ends of the floor The length of learning the Cougars’ culture Building consisttency on the defensiv end of the floor as they led the nation in allowing only 57.6 ppg last season and opponents only

Coach Dan Monson moves to Eastern Washington as the Eagles head coach after he took Long Beach State to a Big West Tournament title and an NCAA berth last season. The Eagles have a staunch program in Cheney, Washington as they are a tough Big Sky Conference basketball challenger. Topics of Discussion Include: Team building with the Eagles Bringing Maddox Monson and Shaumba Ngoyi Breaking down a practice that just ended and evaluating how you use that information Bringing over Elijah Thomas from Des Moines Area Community College Much more!

Coach Ed Schilling begins his first season at Pepperdine as he will work to piece together the program and make it competitive in the tough WCC. Coach Schilling has assisted Coach John Calipari at UMass, Memphis, and with the New Jersey Nets. He was an assistant at Indiana and UCLA before checking in with Bryce Drew at Grand Canyon where they led the Antelopes to their first NCAA Tournament win in March. Coach Schilling was the head coach at Wright State from 1998-2003. Ed will look to build the Waves from the ground up as he brings point guard Moe Odum over from Pacific. Topics of Discussion Include: Ways to build the Waves into a WCC challenger Instilling needs from Day 1 of his tenure Philosophy on practice evaluations Bringing versatility into the program at Pepperdine Much more!

Coach Schwartz expresses his philosophies on many different ideas inside the game from things off the floor to offensive and defensive modes of attack. He was Coach Rick Barnes’s assistant at Tennessee for six seasons where the Volunteers made four NCAA appearances and won the SEC Tournament in 2022. We talk about RJ Felton, who will be a versatile player for East Carolina as the team’s returning leading scorer. Topics of Discussion Include: His reference as a defensive coordinator RJ Felton and his versatility with the basketball CJ Walker and Jordan Riley as key transfers into the program How to build a team with so much movement in the transfer portal

Coach Mark Byington comes into Nashville to take over the Commodores since turning James Madison into a potent winner after his Georgia Southern Eagles netted 20-plus wins in four of his last five seasons. The Dukes finished with a 32-4 record last season with a Sun Belt Tournament Championship and a 72-61 decision over Wisconsin in the NCAA Tournament’s Field of 64. Vanderbilt will look for a more potent offense this season as the Commodores shot only 39.9 percent from the floor a year ago which included 28.3 percent from three. Coach Byington has turned the roster over as Vandy will possess a virtually new roster and an exciting new look for the 2024-25 season. Topics of Discussion Include: An incredible year at JMU followed by a trip into Nashville where Vandy looks to improve in the SEC Helping the Commodores regain their shooting prowess A.J. Hoggard’s move from point guard at Michigan State and into the Vanderbilt program Positively enabling players on and off the floor

Coach Sendek begins his 31st season as a head coach after his job as an assistant to Coach Rick Pitino at Providence where he helped take the Friars to the Final Four in 1987. Sendek begins the 2024-24 season with 553 wins as he has overseen the rebuilds at Santa Clara, Arizona State, NC State, and Miami-Ohio. He welcomes back Carlos Stewart, who was injured two seasons ago and returned near his hometown close to LSU for 2023-24 season. Discussion Topics include: Sustainability needed to have six consecutive winning seasons with the Broncos The return of multi-talented athlete Adama Bal Converting his three-point attack with Carlos Marshall and Johnny O’Neil joining Bal on the perimeter How he and his assistant coaches are able to mold a positive mindset within their players

Coach Musselman moves back to the West Coast as he takes over at USC where the Trojans will now join the Big Ten with UCLA, Washington, and Oregon. Coach Muss moved back into college basketball as the head coach at Nevada in 2015 and Arkansas in 2019 where he turned both programs back into solid winners in the Mountain West and the SEC. After turning the roster over in LA, the Trojans will feature several key players, who joined him including two excellent freshmen in Isaiah Elohim and Jalen Shelley who both have been listed No. 40 nationally and were headed to Arkansas before Musselman moved on to Southern Cal. Topics of Discussion include: Winning consistently at many stops, including both Nevada and Arkansas The development of resiliency in Coach Musselman’s career The influence of his father, Bill Musselman, who coached the Cleveland Cavaliers and was the first coach of the Minnesota Timberwolves A quick analysis of the players who join his program

Coach Forbes has had the Demon Deacons on the cusp on the NCAA Tournament in the last three seasons, but Wake Forest has been unnecessarily left on the outside in all three of those tourneys. Forbes returns a potential ACC Player of the Year in Hunter Sallis, who was the fifth leading scorer in the league at 18 ppg. Coach Forbes also talks about his philosophies and ideas based on the game as it stands right now. Today’s Discussion Includes; How the team’s decorum fits the school as well as the team The solid play and efforts of Hunter Salis, Cam Hildreth, and Efton Reid How the spring and summer months may have changed with the transfer portal Enabling players to create a positive mindset

Coach Lutz comes over to Oklahoma State from Western Kentucky where the Hilltoppers won the Conference USA Tournament which placed them into their first NCAA Tournament for the first time since 2013. He also had taken Texas A&M – Corpus Christi to two Southland Tournament titles, leading to NCAA Tournament berths in 2022 and 2023. The Cowboys return Bryce Johnson and Jamyron Keller as the only returnees among last season’s top nine scoring leaders. Today’s Discussions Include: How Thompson and Keller can fit into the Cowboys rotation Arkansas transfer Devo Davis, former WKU Hilltopper Brandon Newman, and LaSalle’s Khalil Bradley Coach Lutz’s offensive approach which averaged 14.6 seconds last season, fourth in CBB Philosophies on the functions of the transfer portal

Coach Mills brought an impressive coaching career into Wichita as he coached as an assistant to Scott Drew at Baylor for 14 years and he took over the ORU Titans and turned them into a power where they won the Summit League championship and finished 18-0 in his last season there in Tulsa. In rebuilding the Shockers, he played a major non-conference slate which saw his team grow into a much tougher team in the second half of the season. His returnees and transfer portal recruits will have the experience to allow Wichita State to grow into a challenging team in the AAC this season. Topics include: Work with Coach Drew and team-building at ORU Return of starters Xavier Bell, Harlond Beverly, and Quincy Ballard Georgia transfer Justin Hill How the history of the legendary Wichita State program is a key in the rebuild Much more!

Coach Dawkins comes back onto the “Marching to Madness” hardwood after his UCF Knights were a tough out immediately in the Big 12 after winning seven games and then they lost five of those 11 by 8 points or under. UCF’s adjusted defensive efficiency was 21st in college basketball while their opponents shot only 41.2 percent from the field, 36th out of the 352 D-1 teams. The key will be on offense with the two returning scorers in Jaylin Sellers and Darius Allen. Coach Dawkins also added a pair of excellent scorers in UTSA transfer Jordan Ivy-Curry and former George Mason Patriot Keyshawn Hall. The show’s topics include: Sellers and Allen returning as talented shooters How Ivy-Curry and Hall possess dynamics in addition to scoring ability Philosophy of how to recruit the transfer portal Coach Dawkins’ years with Coach K at Duke and in his nine seasons in the NBA

Coach Wayne Tinkle looks forward to the Beavers’ being able to play in the WCC with Washington State after the Pac-12 was disbanded after 109 years. The Beavers will have a tough schedule as Saint Mary’s and Gonzaga are generally the top two teams in the league. Still, the middle of the conference — San Francisco and Santa Clara are generally in the mix while San Diego — moved forward last season to create a new group of challengers. Michael Rataj is the lone returning starter for the Beavers as his leadership will be a huge key this upcoming 2024-25 season. Topics of Discussion Include: The Beavers and the new home in the WCC Return of Michael Rataj and Josiah Lake International teammates for the Beavers The Oregon State-Oregon basketball rivalry Much more!

Coach Tony Skinn played at George Mason and was a starter on the Patriots’ 2006 Final Four team, averaging 11.3 points in GMU’s five games in that tournament. He scored 1,079 points in 68 games and was a two-time All-CAA selection. Coach Skinn was most recently with Kevin Willard at Maryland in 2022-23 when he worked to lead the Terps to the second round of the NCAA Tournament. He spent three seasons with Willard at Seton Hall and left the Pirates to join Chris Holtmann at Ohio State in 2021-22. He led the Patriots to 20 wins last season as he and Coch Kim English put those back-to-back 20-win seasons for the first time since Paul Hewitt accomplished those 20 W’s in 2011-12 and 2012-13. Topics of Discussion include: Coach Skinn’s philosophy and style of basketball Guard Darius Maddox coming back to Fairfax as the leading returning scorer Jared Billups, Woody Newton, and their ability to take their games to a higher level in 2024-25 KD Johnson transferring from Auburn to George Mason Much more!

Ole Miss head coach Chris Beard is back on MTM, discussing plenty of analytics and ideas from his philosophies as well as his strategies and ideas. He discusses similarities and differences between the SEC and Big 12 with his approach through the SEC basketball courts in his first season. He notes offense and defense from his points of view which makes for an excellent knowledge base of basketball. Discussions Include: Shooting and playmaking ability for Ole Miss, as of now Offensive rebounding ideas and philosophies Moving the program forward with more depth Ideas on eliminating your opponents’ field goal attempts and trying to force opposing offenses deeper into the shot clock

Coach Dwight Perry checks in for his initial appearance on “Marching to Madness.” He played for three seasons at Kentucky while also working as an assistant to Shaka Smart at VCU, Johnny Dawkins at Stanford, and Niko Medved and Bob Richey at Furman. He has helped to orchestrate five winning seasons at Wofford as he was Mike Young’s assistant for two years and then became the associate head coach while finishing 17-15 in 2023-24 as the head coach of the Terriers. Wofford should be a challenger this upcoming season in a tough and deep Southern Conference. Topics of Discussion Include: The Terriers’ efficiency on both ends of the floor Coach Perry’s background which led him to Jerry Richardson Indoor Stadium as the Terriers’ head coach Getting the best version of the team as a whole The three-ball which leads to other offensive facets at Wofford

Chipola Head Coach Donnie Tyndall has one of the best junior college teams and groups of players every season inside the game. He has placed 28 of his players at the D-1 level in four years. Homes for these kids have included Kansas State, Syracuse, and Florida State, among others. He has led the Indians to the Final Four twice in his four seasons and has won the tough Panhandle Conference in all four years he has been at Chipola. Discussions of this episode of “Marching to Madness” include: Winning at a monumental level at Chipola Winning the Panhandle Conference, one of the nation’s toughest JC conferences, in all four of his seasons with the Indians Players such as Greedy Williams, Dontae Walker, and JJ Walton The up-tempo reputation of junior college basketball