Marching To Madness

Coach David Riley comes into the Palouse after leading Eastern Washington to a 62-38 record in his three seasons as the head coach. The Eagles also won the Big Sky regular season title in the last two seasons. Coach Riley’s brother, David is a defensive assistant with the Baltimore Ravens, and his uncle is Mike Riley the former head football coach at Nebraska, Oregon State, and the San Diego Chargers. Topics of Conversation include: Being in the Eastern Washington program for 13 seasons The idea of the three-point field goal as his  EWU teams shot 36 percent combined in all three of his seasons. Coaching philosophies and how they translate into a program Bringing Cedric Coward from Eastern Washington and adding a pair of former Pac-12 transfers in Washington’s Nate Calmese and former Cal Bear ND Okafor.

Coach Randy Bennett checks in on “Marching to Madness” as his Gaels took both the WCC regular season championship and the tournament title this past season. Bennett has been at Saint Mary’s for 23 seasons where he currently has posted a 533-216 ledger as he has won 71.2 percent of his games. SMC has enjoyed the success of Gaels basketball as Coach Bennett has presided over three WCC regular season championships and two Conference tournament titles since 2015. Topics of Discussion Include: The longevity of the Gaels in Moraga, California The defensive reputation of Saint Mary’s Transfers in Memphis guard Ashton Hardaway and former Arizona Wildcat Paulius Mursuskas The entrance of Oregon State and Washington State in to the WCC Much more!

Coach Will Wade led his McNeese Cowboys to a 30-4 record in his first season in Lake Charles, La. His Cowboys won the Southland Conference post-season tournament and the regular season. Coach Wade and his staff improved the program by 19 games last season as this was the best improvement by any team in the nation. McNeese had a superstar in Shahada Wells, who was the player of the year in the Southland Conference. He brings back two talented guards in DJ Richards and Jahvon Garcia and point guard Omar Cooper. Christian Shumate will be a key in the post where he averaged 12.1 points and 9.5 boards per game while shooting 56.1 percent from the floor. Topics of Discussion Include: Intangibles to improve the record by 19 games Developing Shahada Wells into a key player in college basketball Ideas on developing Christian Shumate into taking the next step Creation of depth based on the transfer portal in addition to returnees

Coach Cuonzo Martin returns to Springfield, Missouri, for the second time as he is again the head coach of the Missouri State Bears, a position he held from 2008-2011. Coach Martin is a successful coach in a myriad of ways as he took Tennessee, Cal, and Missouri into the NCAA Tournament while winning 57.1 percent of his contests so far in his career. He also took Missouri State to the MVC regular season championship in 2011, but lost the MVC title game to Indiana State. He has always had quality teams on the defensive end of the floor and they are generally tough in allowing the three while providing tough matchups inside the arc. Topics include: Returning to the Bears for a second run after a 61-41 record from 2008-2011 Watching games the last two seasons when he wasn’t coaching Adding Bears to the roster as Mozae Downing-Rivers and Wesley Oba check in as key players in the system Defensive philosophy and concepts

Michigan Wolverines head basketball coach Dusty May led Florida Atlantic to the NCAA Final Four in 2023 and now, Coach May is back in the Big Ten as he was an Indiana graduate and on the staff of the Hoosiers. Coach May discusses his time at Indiana and making Eastern Michigan a springboard for his coaching career. After a 60-13 record in his last two seasons, May moves to Michigan where the Wolverines look to return as a challenger in the Big Ten. Topics of Discussion Include: The move to Ann Arbor Remaking the Wolverines’ roster Former Auburn guard Tre Donaldson and North Texas transfer Rubin Jones as a pair of dynamic guards in the backcourt Working to reboot the Wolverines’ defense which struggled last season

Coach Chris Jans returns to “Marching to Madness” after taking Mississippi State to its first appearance in back-to-back NCAA Tournaments since 2008-09. Jans loses big man Tolu Smith in the middle, but a major key will be the return of dynamic Josh Hubbard to the point guard position. Mississippi State has also had success with incoming transfers as the Bulldogs currently have six incoming transfers, one freshman, then they had five players leave MSU via the portal. Topics of Discussion Include: Success in the SEC Tournament was key for the Bulldogs to travel to “March Madness” Coach Jans’ development of defensive philosophy and implementation of new defensive ideas through the years Former SEC ballers Riley Kugel and RJ Melendez move into Starkville The entrance of freshman Dellquan Warren

Coach Amir Abdur-Rahim checks in as he led the Bulls to a record-setting season at an unbelievably high level in year one at USF. He led the Bulls to their first regular season title in school history and a 25-8 record where the 25 wins were the most in the biography of South Florida basketball. In addition, the Bulls went 16-2 and finished two games ahead of second-place Florida Atlantic. Those 16 conference wins were the most league ‘W’s” in USF history while the 15 consecutive wins in AAC play were also a school record. This happened after Amir’s four-year run at Kennesaw State, where he built the Owls from a one-win team in his first season to a 26-9 campaign and an A-Sun tournament championship in year four, which resulted in an NCAA Tournament bid. Discussions Include: How the Bulls players were responsible for setting all the records Four Bulls that hit the transfer portal Florida State transfer De’Ante Green and Jamille Reynolds, formerly of Cincinnati, coming aboard as two key transfers The “build i

Coach Lanier takes over the basketball program at Rice after the Owls slipped to 11-21, but won four of five games on the road. Lanier transitions from SMU where he took the Mustangs to 20 wins only one year after SMU only won 10 in the 2022-23 season. Before then, he took the Georgia State Panthers to the NCAA Tournament in 2021 when they won the Sun Belt Conference Tournament as he compiled a 53-30 record in his three seasons in Atlanta. Lanier has brought in some new players in the transfer portal who should help him work incessantly on the rebuild. Rice struggled defensively last season and Coach discusses defensive ideas and philosophies. Topics of Discussion include: Coach Lanier implements his defensive philosophy with the Owls Approach to rebuilding a program Transitioning from SMU to Rice Villanova guard Trey Patterson as a tansfer … And much more!

Portland head coach Shantay Legans and his Pilots had a tough 23-24 season with some injuries and academic casualties. The fourth-year Pilots coach will look to build his team to improve from a season where they finished tied for sixth in the WCC. Legans talks about how he feels he should have handled and maneuvered the transfer portal better. He welcomes back Vukasin Masic while adding a pair of new transfers in the former American University center Jermaine Webb and Max Mackinnon, who comes over from Elon. Topics of Conversation Include: Recruiting in Australia and globally Changing the Pilots’ offensive output and defensive identity of the team Challenges and ideas in using the transfer portal Thoughts on the NBA Championship series between the Celtics and Mavericks

Coach Nick McDevitt is back on “Marching to Madness” as he discusses the Blue Raiders, who finished in a four-way tie for fourth in Conference USA this past season. He talks about the changes in CUSA since he came to Murfreesboro and a peak at resetting the roster for the ’24-25 season. Topics of Discussion Include: Upsetting La. Tech in the CUSA Tournament as three teams tied for fourth Building Elias King as a key player during his four-year career Arizona State transfer Kamari Lands and former TCU Horned Frog Eassam Moustafa coming aboard Changes in CUSA since he started at MT, seven years ago. … And much more!!

Coach Ingelsby has built a solid foundation for the Delaware Blue Hens. in the challenging CAA. Delaware has posted five winning seasons and a CAA Tournament title in his eight seasons with the Blue Hens. He posted another solid recruiting season with Jyare Davis heading to Syracuse and Gerald Drumgoole bound for Pitt. Topics of Discussion Include: How additions and subtractions of players via the transfer portal can be complementary to the program How players embrace Delaware and use their opportunities better in respective games The returning leading scorers in post Niels Lane and guard Cavan Reilly The challenge of the depth in the CAA

Coach Golding initially appears on the “Marching to Madness” CBB podcast, discussing his UTEP Miners who tied for fourth in the Conference USA basketball regular season. Then, the Miners made it to the conference tournament championship game for the first time since 2011, but they lost a 78-71 decision to Western Kentucky. Coach Golding discusses raising Abilene Christian, his alma mater, from D-2 to D-1 and then the Wildcats winning two of their last three Southland titles which saw them with a pair of NCAA bids, where the previous embodied a victory over Texas in Round 1. Topics of Discussion include: The culture that is developed for players to participate and win in league tournaments Losing the top two leading scorers in Sid Powell and Tae Hardy The return of Otis Frazier and Corey Camper as Frazier works at power forward while Camper made the second most three-point field goals for the MIners The defensive philosophy that allowed the Miners to lead CUSA in allowing only 5.8 made threes as well as a 32.

The Bruins tied for fourth in the Missouri Valley Conference and finished with the 5-seed in the tournament. Belmont lost five starters as the roster had two seniors but Ja’kobi Gillespie (Maryland), Cade Tyson (North Carolina), and Malik Dia (Ole Miss) all hit the transfer portal. The Bruins finished 8-3 in their last 11 games as Gillespie returned from injury and was a key in pushing the strong finish for the Bruins. Coach Alexander and I discuss the presence of the transfer portal and the passing of the great Bill Walton. Topics of discussion include … Former Bruins guard Ben Sheppard’s NBA playoffs appearance as an Indiana Pacer Losing Gillespie, Tyson, and Dia in the portal Win Miller, Isaiah Walker and Kyle Vanderjagt return and will be key players going forward into the 2024-25 season Maintaining the 20-win mantra in Belmont’s program

Coach Bruce Pearl returns to the “Marching to Madness” college basketball podcast as you see him live on the left screen and my background on the right is coach Pearl working a game on the sidelines. Auburn won its second SEC Tournament in the last five seasons with wins over NCAAT participants South Carolina, Mississippi State, and Florida. Auburn has seen five 20-win seasons in Pearl’s tenure while going 25-6 in the 2020 season that saw the tournaments interrupted by COVID. In addition, he took Tennessee to the NCAA Tournament in all six seasons he was there and had the Milwaukee Panthers on the NCAA brackets in two of his four years and he took them to the Sweet 16 in his fourth and final season before he came to Knoxville. Topics include: The Tigers cutting the nets in Nashville with that second NCAA Tournament title in five years Return of Johni Broome, Chad Baker-Mazara, Denver Jones, Dylan Cardwell Tigers in the transfer portal with 5-star Tahaad Pettiford as a key point guard The continual depth in S

Fresno State head coach Vance Walberg made his first trip into the “Marching to Madness” CBB podcast as he looks to push the Bulldogs back into a position where they are a solid challenger in the tough Mountain West Conference. Coach Walberg has coached the game for 40 years at all levels, including 697 wins and 16 league titles as a prep coach. He has worked in the NBA for the Sacramento Kings, Philadelphia 76ers, and Denver Nuggets as well as two seasons as the head coach at Pepperdine and three as an assistant at UMass. He is a basketball scientist with his development of the dribble drive motion offense which is part of his own basketball culture. Arkansas head coach John Calipari is on board with Coach Walberg’s acumen as the two met for the first time when Coach Cal was at Memphis. The discussion includes: Coach Walberg’s development of the dribble drive offense Qualities to move the Bulldogs forward New signings for the Red Wave Growing the program inside of the tough Mountain West Conference … And m

Coach Jim Les just finished his 11th season at UC Davis where he led the Aggies to within one game of the NCAA Tournament while they finished the season second in the Big West basketball regular season. Coach Les discusses the campus as well as giving plenty of ideas in coaching and his thoughts and ideas inside the game. We discuss Big West Player of the Year Elijah Pepper who has moved on to the Australian Professional Basketball League as a member of the Perth Wildcats. Coach Les also talks about the ascension of the league and how it has become a solid stop along the course of the 32 NCAA basketball conferences. Coach Les played seven seasons in the NBA for the Kings, Clippers, Jazz, and Hawks. He shot 39.6 percent from three-point range throughout his career. Topics include: According to kenpom.com, UC Davis posted a 20.9 percent forced turnover average per game The quality of Big West Player of the Year, Eli Pepper The return of Ty Johnson and his 17.8 points per game Coach Les’s defensive and three-po

Coach Taylor just finished his 11th season at CSF as he worked on a rebuild in ’23-24. He posted back-to-back 20-win seasons in ’21-22 and ’22-23 and placed the Titans in two of their four NCAA appearances dating back to when the program was born in NCAA Division-1 hoops in 1975. He loses his top three scorers in DJ Brewton, Tory San Antonio, and Max Jones, but has five new players that will be able to figure in the rotation next season. Topics of Discussion include: How the Titans present their summer workouts and the subsequent drills Losing the those top three scorers Five new Titans as three came in the transfer portal and two committed to CSF out of high school Maintaining sustainability in a one-bid league

Coach Mike Jones drops by “Marching to Madness” once again as his talented Spartans finished tied for second with Chattanooga in the Southern Conference in 2023-24. Jones loses three of his top players as Mikeal Brown-Jones was the SoCon’s second-leading scorer with 18.9 ppg. Twins Keyshaun and Kobe Langley finished their fifth years at UNCG as they were two of the top defensive players in the league. Coach Jones also gives us a coaches clinic on his defensive philosophy as his teams are always atop their leagues on the defensive end of the floor. Topics include: Concepts and drills in coaching defense Mikeal Brown-Jones’ transfer to Ole Miss and Keyshaun and Kobe Brown finishing their fifth seasons in the program Donovan Atwell as the Spartans’ leading returning scorer Kenyon Giles and Michael Polite, III, coming to UNCG as transfers from Radford and George Mason, respectively

Coach Frank Haith returns to “Marching to Madness” as he looks forward to his second season as an assistant coach on Coach Rodney Terry’s staff. Haith is following an assistant coaching position at Memphis in 2022-23 and he spent 2004-2022 as the head coach at Miami, Missouri, and Tulsa, winning 343 games in those 17 seasons. Haith was second on the all-time wins list with 138 ‘Ws’ at Tulsa just after he went 76-28 with the Tigers in 2011-2014. In his seven years at Miami, he led the Hurricanes to 129 wins and three 20-win seasons. Topics of Conversation Include: Texas’s defense allowed 17.9 seconds per possession for it’s opponents Kaden Shedrick returns to the middle as the Longhorns’ leading returning scorer How losing nine players to transfer portal or graduation can affect the dynamics of a team in the following year Transfers join Texas basketball for the 2024-25 campaign Much more!

Coach Driscoll chatted about the potential NBA opportunity or high-major transfer for Chaz Lanier who along with Dorian James graduated from UNF on Friday, James earned his M.S. while Lanier was presented with his Bachelor’s Degree. Driscoll has organized the North Florida basketball team as a current player in the Atlantic Sun where the Ospreys played one of the toughest non-conference schedules in college basketball, once again in 2023-24. Topics include: Chaz Lanier’s stride to becoming a potential NBA Draft pick or a high-major transfer Dorian James as a key Osprey on and off the floor Transfer portal details Finishing in fifth in the ASUN and with a 9-7 record after being predicted to finish 11th in the preseason Much more!