Pro One:Dialogue

John Mosley, East Los Angeles College's Head Coach and star of Season 6 of Netflix's riveting award winning docuseries, Last Chance U, joins PO:D to debut the new season with a tremendous visit.  From his playing days in high school, juco, and collegiately, to his faith and coaching with cameras following him everywhere, Coach Mosley shares his passion, his spirit and his life in basketball and how he is able to minister with it.

One of the most influential athletes in women's basketball over the past 25 years, Rebecca Lobo joins the PO:D this week to discuss her incredible journey through the sport that has seen so many memorable moments on her path.  From leading UCONN to it's first undefeated season (35-0) and National Championship for Coach Geno Auriemma in 1995, to winning an Olympic Gold Medal and helping launch the WNBA, the Hall of Famer shares her passion for the sport that has now established her as one of the most talented voices in the game working as an analyst for ESPN.  

Bryan Gates, Assistant Coach with the Minnesota Timberwolves, joins the PO:D this week to visit on how life as a NBA coach is currently during the lockdown from Covid 19.  We also hear the terrific journey of a kid from Anchorage, Alaska has ascended up the professional coaching ladder resulting in the past 11 years of his life being on a NBA bench and how much time and work is involved with being a coach at the highest level.  Great lessons for all in this episode that can help impact you as a parent, coach or player at whatever age/level you are.  

Tony Easley, a kid from Auburn, AL who is currently in year 10 of his professional career, checks in from Sicily, Italy to tell us how he is coping with the Coronavirus pandemic in Italy.  A guy who  has always been an incredibly deep thinker with a social conscience, talks about how his faith has always led him during his career and how kindness is contagious as well.  The former Murray State star gives a little walk down his March Madness memory lane in addition to a few book recommendations for our time at home these weeks.  

A terrific conversation with Derrick Allen and his amazing journey as a young boy from Gadsden, Alabama, who didn't make a school team until his 10th grade, to playing in the SEC, and then a highly decorated 16 year professional career in Europe, primarily in Germany.  "DA" was the first client of Pro One Sports Mgmt back in 2003 and used a small contract in Iceland to springboard him into Germany's top league, which saw him retire as the 2nd leading scorer in the history of Germany's Basketball Bundesliga 15 years after.  A fixture and top performer as a player in International competitions, Allen now is spending his first season as an Assistant Coach with Rasta Vechta, competing in the Champions League and Germany's Bundesliga, following his playing career retirement this summer.  DA's message of always being a great teammate, and in his "3 Point Shot" of being disciplined, putting in the work and dreaming big, is something all of us can learn from.  

Michael Curry, who is on an incredibly short list of people who have the list of accomplishments in professional basketball that he does, joins PO:D to share his journey through the sport.  From a successful playing career, to serving as President of the NBA Players Association, to working 2 years with Commissioner David Stern in the NBA Basketball Ops offices, to being a Head Coach in the NBA and leading the Pistons to the NBA Playoffs, to serving as Associate Head Coach to Doug Collins and the Philadelphia 76ers for 4 successful seasons, to being Head Coach of Florida Atlantic in college, MC has done it all...INCREDIBLY WELL. His 15 year professional playing career, which started with his first four years playing in Europe (Germany, Belgium, Italy, Spain and France) and multiple minor leagues in the States, saw him play his final 11 years in the NBA, the majority of which with the successful Pistons teams.  He served as President of the NBA Players Association from 2000-2004, and helped negotiate a multi-billion dollar Collective Bargaining Agreement.   We spend a great deal of time visiting about his years working for the late David Stern in the NBA Basketball Operations in New York City, where he was instrumental in bridging the D-League and NBA together and laying the foundation for what has now become G-League and a real minor league system for teams.   Great stories for coaches and parents on what to focus on with your young players and lessons learned from a journey through the sport.  

Mike Taylor, currently Head Coach of the Hamburg Towers in the BBL (Germany), joins the PO:D for a terrific visit on his basketball journey and shares with us tremendous lessons learned that have helped shape his philosophy.  Since 2014, Mike T has been the Head Coach of Poland's Men's National Team, which just finished in the Q'finals of the 2019 FIBA Basketball World Cup. The son of a coach, Coach Taylor shares his coaching journey through lower levels in Europe to coaching the G-League under NBA World Champion Nick Nurse, in addition to leading the Maine Red Claws (Boston Celtics) under both Doc Rivers and Brad Stevens. A basketball dude who always listens and wants to learn, I couldn't think of a better guest to launch us into 2020 on Pro One:Dialogue! I hope you learn and enjoy.

For 33 years, Rick Byrd roamed the sidelines of Belmont University, where he led Bruins prorgam before retiring on April 1, 2019, finishing his career with the 12th most wins in NCAA Division I men's basketball history. Mike Krzyzewski, Jim Boeheim, Bob Knight, Dean Smith, Adolph Rupp, Jim Calhoun, Roy Williams, Bob Huggins, Jim Phelan, Rollie Massimino, and Eddie Sutton are the only coaches that rank above Coach Byrd. Yet, despite all of the victories, the legacy left by Coach Byrd is more about the manner he went about running his program, his coaching style, and his impact on on the countless people over his career.  In addition to going to the NCAA Tournament 8 of his last 14 season, Belmont posted a team GPA of 3.0 or higher 18 consecutive years.  A remarkable role model on and off the court. A fascinating listen with one of the legendary coaches of our generation and someone our next generation of coaches should aspire to be like in how he coached and, even more so, how he taught others to live.  From offensive philosophy, roster construction, Vince Gill to his sweater vests, a jam packed hour for people to learn from.

The son of a lifelong college and NBA coach, Bob MacKinnon joins the PO:D for an outstanding visit that highlights his 30+ years of coaching at every level in college, and then 8 seasons on the professional level.  The All-Time leader in the NBA G League in both Call-ups (28) and wins (207), Coach Mac visits about giving Josh Magette his first opportunity, to helping change the life path of current NBA player Carlos Silva from a camp in Africa.  He does coaching clinics in countries all over the world every year and epitomizes how a coach is a teacher and can make differences in lives.

Duane Reboul, the legendary Head Men's Basketball Coach at Birmingham-Southern College, joins the PO:D to discuss his journey and how a child, that was one of 10 growing up in New Orleans, fell in love with the sport.  The lessons learned from a small, young middle school player just trying to get into a school, to the many challenges and obstacles on his path as a player and young coach, Coach Reboul paints the picture of how impactful, good youth and high school coaches can be on the development of a player and a person.  A mind boggling 402-124 record, that includes BSC's NAIA and D1 years, and 2 National Championships don't begin to even speak to the level of his greatness and this visit is a PSA for any young coach, parent or player on things to hear, learn and immediately implement in your day to day teachings. His simplest, yet the hardest for coaches/parents to allow: Have Fun. BSC was ahead of the curve of schools like Belmont and Lipscomb and could easily be the Butler or Gonzaga of the southeast if not for the school's decision to drop from Division 1 to Division 3 so they could start football.  That, which coincided with his wife's diagnosis of Alzheimer's and his decision to step away from coaching to be by her side and care for her that displayed his lessons he taught us as players every day of being selfless and a great teammate, brought an abrupt end to a legendary career that should have been immortalized on a Mt. Rushmore of coaches during his era. A tremendous hour, that easily could have been 3, and one that I'm so blessed to have to share with the man who has influenced me so much as a player, parent, coach and person. The great Coach Reboul.