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.

In this week's basketball coaching conversation, Yale head coach James Jones joins the Basketball Podcast to share insights on Yale's basketball culture and success.

Jones is Yale's all-time winning coach and the longest tenured coach in the Ivy League. He has led Yale to seven Ivy League titles, three Ivy League Tournament championships and five NCAA tournament appearances.

Jones has an impressive career record of 418-319 (.567). His championship pedigree includes seven Ivy League regular season titles (2002, 2015, 2016, 2019, 2020, 2023, 2025) and four Ivy League tournament championships (2019, 2022, 2024, 2025). He has been at the helm for the two NCAA Tournament victories in school history - upsets of Baylor in 2016 and Auburn in 2024. He has guided Yale to multiple postseason appearances, compiling a 2-5 record in NCAA Division I Tournament play, a 1-2 mark in the NIT, and a 4-2 record in the CIT.

His coaching excellence has been recognized with numerous accolades, including the prestigious Hugh Durham Award in 2016 and the Ben Jobe Award in 2019. Jones has also been named Ivy League Coach of the Year four times (2015, 2016, 2020, 2023), cementing his status as one of the conference's most accomplished coaches. Five assistant coaches who worked under Jones went on to become head coaches - Rob Senderoff (Kent State), Isaiah Cavaco (Oberlin), Mark Sembrowich (Academy of Arts University), Mark Gilbride (Clarkson) and Ted Hotaling (New Haven).

Jones has enjoyed remarkable success against major conference opponents. In 2008-09, Yale knocked off Oregon State, the school’s first win ever over a Pac-12 opponent. The Bulldogs also beat Cal in the Pac-12 China Game in Shanghai in 2018. In addition, Jones has enjoyed victories over schools from the ACC (Miami, Clemson twice, Boston College), Big 12 (Baylor) Big East (Rutgers), Big Ten (Penn State) Atlantic 10 (Rhode Island), WCC (Santa Clara) during his tenure.

Jones has gained experience with USA Basketball in his time at Yale as well. He served as an assistant coach for the United States team that captured the gold medal at the 2021 FIBA U19 World Cup for men in Riga, Latvia. He also was as an assistant coach to Villanova’s Jay Wright for the 2007 USA Basketball Men’s Pan American Games Team, helping tutor Georgetown’s Roy Hibbert, Michigan State’s Drew Neitzel and Indiana’s D.J. White. In 2006, Jones was selected by the USA Basketball Men’s Collegiate Committee, chaired by Syracuse’s Jim Boeheim, as a court coach for the 2006 USA Men’s U18 National Team Trials.

In this week's basketball coaching conversation, New York Liberty Director of Player Development and Unrivaled Laces head coach Andrew Wade joins the Basketball Podcast to share insights on coaching lessons from Unrivaled 3-on-3.

Andrew Wade is currently the Director of Player Development for the New York Liberty, the reigning WNBA champions. In 2024, Wade took on the role of head coach for the Laces in Unrivaled, the professional 3-on-3 women's basketball league.The team finished the regular season standings in third place.

In 2019, Wade joined the Washington Wizards' G League affiliate, the Capital City Go-Go, as a video coordinator. His role expanded to include player development responsibilities with the Washington Mystics, where he served as a player development assistant coach. During his tenure, he was instrumental in implementing "vitamins," a practice routine focusing on intentional skill development.

Wade's journey in basketball began at the Catholic University of America, where he played collegiate basketball. His passion for the game led him to establish Prism Basketball, a consulting firm aimed at simplifying basketball analytics for teams and players. He also contributed as a sports blogger, analyzing NBA strategies and trades.

If you have not had the opportunity yet be sure to check Coach Wade’s excellent masterclass excerpt presentation available on our Basketball Immersion YouTube channel called “Using Video for Basketball Teaching Success with Andrew Wade.” The full video is available on demand to all members of our community inside the membership portal.

In this week's basketball coaching conversation, Fairleigh Dickinson head coach Stephanie Gaitley joins the Basketball Podcast to share insights on FDU's success, the wheel of defense and captains.

Stephanie Gaitley is one of the most accomplished figures in NCAA Division I history. With an impressive career record of 684-393 (.635), Coach Gaitley ranks as the 12th winningest active head coach in Division I basketball. Her legacy includes 20 postseason bids, 11 WNIT appearances, and nine NCAA tournament appearances, showcasing her ability to lead teams to success at the highest levels.

Under Coach Gaitley's leadership, Fairleigh Dickinson Knights have experienced an incredible transformation during her first two years with the team. In her inaugural season (2023–24), the Knights finished 14–17 overall, with a strong 11–5 Northeast Conference record, landing them in 3rd place. The following season (2024–25) marked a historic leap, as the team finished with an outstanding 29–4 record, an undefeated 16–0 conference run, and a berth in the NCAA First Round—a testament to her ability to elevate programs to new heights.

Prior to joining FDU, Coach Gaitley also led programs at Fordham (2011-2022), Richmond (1985–1991), Saint Joseph’s (1991–2001), Long Island (2002–2008), and Monmouth (2008–2011), further solidifying her reputation as one of the most successful and versatile head coaches in women's basketball.

In this week's basketball coaching conversation, Houston Christian University head coach Craig Doty joins the Basketball Podcast to share insights on adapting to change.

Doty arrived at Houston Christian University as a three-time national champion head coach and three-time national coach of the year, with 12 years of head college coaching experience and a 259-126 career record which includes a 31-10 mark in postseason play.

Doty spent six seasons as head men’s basketball coach at Emporia State University in Kansas. Known as a program-builder, Doty improved the Emporia State program from an inherited 9-19 record (4-15 MIAA) to a 23-9 record (15-7 MIAA) in 2022-23. In each of his final three seasons at ESU, Doty’s teams appeared in the NABC Division II national polls while being ranked in the top 25 for six weeks in 2022-23 and as high as #15 in 2023-24.

Prior to his arrival in Emporia, Doty led Graceland University to national prominence. In just two seasons at Graceland, Doty’s program had a 49-22 record and won the 2018 NAIA Division I National Championship in the school's first trip to the national tournament. Along the way Doty earned NAIA National Coach of the Year and the 2018 Don Meyer Award. Upon winning the 2018 national championship, Doty had led his teams to the National Championship game four out of the previous five seasons.

Doty began his head coaching career as the head men's basketball coach at Rock Valley College. In his four years he built a national powerhouse. When Doty took over the program in 2012, Rock Valley was ranked last in Region IV preseason poll. Over the next four years, Doty would lead the Golden Eagles to four consecutive national tournaments including three straight national title games. Rock Valley was crowned National Champions in 2014 and in 2016, the first and second national championships in the 50-year program history.

In this week's basketball coaching conversation, New York Liberty head coach Sandy Brondello joins the Basketball Podcast to share insights on a championship season.

Sandy Brondello is a two-time WNBA Champion head coach, and holds an overall regular season record of 244-164 (.598) over her 12 combined seasons at the helm of the New York Liberty, Phoenix Mercury and San Antonio Silver Stars - making her the sixth-winningest coach in WNBA history.

In 2014, Brondello was named the WNBA Coach of the Year after she led Phoenix to a WNBA regular season-record 29 wins and capped the season with a WNBA Championship. In 2023, Brondello led the Liberty to the Commissioner’s Cup Championship and first WNBA Finals appearance since 2002. Brondello made history in 2024 after leading the New York Liberty to its first WNBA Championship in franchise history and the city's first professional basketball championship since 1973.

A 20-year veteran of the WNBA coaching ranks, Brondello has been affiliated with the league for 25 of its 28 seasons, including her time as a player. A proven winner internationally and in the WNBA, her 20 total years as an assistant coach and head coach have featured 17 playoff appearances, highlighted by a perfect 12-for-12 in postseason berths as a head coach.

Brondello also became the coach of the Australian Women's national team, the Opals in 2017.

At the 2024 Paris Olympics, the Australian team won the bronze medal, the team's first Olympic medal since a bronze in 2012.

In this week's coaching conversation, mindset and mental performance coach Lindsey Wilson joins the Basketball Podcast to discuss belief as a skill.

Lindsey Wilson is a mindset and mental performance coach best known as The Sports Hypnotist™. With a professional basketball career spanning close to a decade, Lindsey took her knowledge of the mental game to work with collegiate athletes, professional athletes from Olympians and players in the NFL and WNBA, all the way to youth athletes.

She is the founder of Positive Performance™ and The Mindset Coach Academy™ where she helps aspiring mental performance coaches start their dream business and impact lives. She’s also the author of the upcoming book Think Like an Athlete which teaches the critical and undertrained skill of belief and how to build it to be successful on the playing field and off.

Lindsey’s exposure to mental performance came at age 16 and completely changed her perspective on how to navigate physical training with her mental barriers. She also learned the power of belief and importance of consistently training it to achieve the highest goals. Despite a successful career, she did fall short of her ultimate athletic goals but is using that experience and message to create and surpass her professional goals! Her mission is to teach mental performance tools so that coaches can have a massive impact on athletes’ performance, enjoyment of competing and life.