In this week's coaching conversation, Mount St Mary's head coach Donny Lind joins the Basketball Podcast to share insights on exceeding expectations.

Donny Lind just completed his first season as the Head Men's Basketball Coach at Mount St. Mary's University. In his debut season (2024-2025), Lind orchestrated a remarkable turnaround for the Mountaineers. Picked 11th out of 13 teams in the MAAC preseason poll, Lind guided the team to a 23-13 overall record and a 12-8 mark in conference play, finishing tied for fourth in the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference.

The season was highlighted by a run through the MAAC Tournament, where the Mountaineers secured victories over Marist, Merrimack, and ultimately Iona in the championship game. This MAAC Tournament title marked the university's first championship in any sport since becoming a full MAAC member and earned them an automatic bid to the 2025 NCAA Tournament.

In the NCAA Tournament, the #16-seeded Mountaineers achieved the program's third-ever NCAA Tournament win with an 83-72 First Four victory over #16 seed American. Their inspiring tournament journey concluded in the First Round against #1 seed Duke.

Donny Lind's impressive first year at the helm has garnered him recognition as a finalist for the Joe B. Hall Award, which honors the top first-time head coach in Division I college basketball. The team's 23 wins represent the highest win total for the program as a Division I institution and the most wins in a season for Mount St. Mary's since the 1986-87 season. Notably, his First Four victory also gave him the most wins for a first-year head coach in the Mount's history, surpassing the legendary Jim Phelan's first-year record.

Before taking the head coaching position at Mount St. Mary's, Lind built a strong foundation as an assistant coach at several programs:

VCU (Video Coordinator, 2010-2013): Lind began his post-graduate career at VCU, contributing through film analysis, analytics, and assisting with player development under Shaka Smart.

Mount St. Mary's (Assistant Coach, 2013-2016): In his first stint at Mount St. Mary's, Lind served as the recruiting coordinator and helped assemble what is considered the winningest class in school history. The team won the NEC Tournament and reached the NCAA Tournament during his time. The Mountaineers consistently led the NEC in key offensive categories during his tenure.

Radford University (Assistant Coach, 2016-2021): Working under Mike Jones, Lind was part of a staff that led Radford to back-to-back Big South regular-season titles (2018-19, 2019-20) and the 2017-18 Big South Tournament title, resulting in the program's first NCAA Tournament win in the First Four. He was recognized as a Top 50 Impactful Low Major Coach in Division I.

UNC Greensboro (Assistant Coach, 2021-2024): Lind continued his successful assistant coaching career at UNC Greensboro, again under Mike Jones. The Spartans earned a #2 seed in the SoCon during his tenure.

Donny Lind's return to Mount St. Mary's has already proven to be a significant success, marked by a conference championship and an NCAA Tournament victory in his very first season as a head coach. His ability to connect with players and implement an effective coaching strategy has clearly resonated with the team, setting a promising trajectory for the program's future.

In this week's coaching conversation, Northern Colorado head coach Steve Smiley joined the Basketball Podcast to share insights on the "over ourself" philosophy and grading success.

Steve Smiley has established himself as a formidable head coach at Northern Colorado, leading the Bears with a strong overall record of 89–71 (.556) in NCAA competition. His leadership was instrumental in securing the Big Sky regular season championship in 2025, a testament to his ability to develop winning teams and foster a competitive culture.

Smiley's success hasn’t gone unnoticed—his efforts were recognized in 2024 when he was named Big Sky Co-Coach of the Year. He also owns the second highest winning percentage in Northern Colorado’s Division I era, equaling Jeff Linder for the most postseason wins with six, who he succeeded in March 2020.

Smiley's experience in the Big Sky goes beyond his four years at UNC as he was an assistant coach at Weber State from 2014-16. Before Weber State, Smiley spent six years as the head coach and Athletic Director at Sheridan College.

In the six years with Sheridan College, Smiley posted a 153-43 overall record and led Sheridan to four North Sub-Region 9 titles and two runner-up finishes. Smiley was twice named the North Region Coach of the Year. During his time at Sheridan, Smiley had 21 players sign to play NCAA Division I basketball and 38 players moved on to play at four-year colleges.

Prior to his stint at Sheridan, Smiley spent two seasons as an assistant coach at his alma mater, Northern State University in Aberdeen, South Dakota where he collaborated with the winningest coach in NCAA history, Don Meyer. During his time at NSU, the Wolves posted a 50-12 record. Smiley was also the assistant head coach at Black Hills State University during the 2005-06 season. He began his coaching career as a graduate assistant at Texas A&M International during the 2004-05 campaign.

In this week's basketball coaching conversation, Illinois State head coach Ryan Pedon shares insights on his all in culture philosophy.

Since his hiring in 2022, Pedon has steadily improved the program, culminating in a significant 22-14 record and a CBI Championship title in the 2024-25 season, marking a notable step forward for Illinois State basketball..

In his first season as head coach of the Redbirds, ISU finished the season 11-21 while setting a new program record for free throw percentage with .793 (was .775 from the 2001-02 season).

His second season saw a four-win improvement, and the team had its highest assist-to-turnover ratio for the season since the 2016-17 season, and freshman Johnny Kinziger earned a spot on the All-Freshman and All-Bench teams during the year.

Before taking the helm at Illinois State, Pedon built a strong foundation as an assistant coach at several institutions, including Miami (OH) from 2005 to 2010, Butler University from 2010 to 2013, Providence College from 2013 to 2017, and most recently at Ohio State University from 2017 to 2022.

His extensive coaching background—spanning multiple conferences and styles of play—has shaped his approach to modern player development and competitive team strategy.