Interview w/ Coach Alan Major (Assistant Coach at San Diego)

Coach Alan Major shares his journey from being a Student Manager at Purdue, to becoming the Head Coach at Charlotte, and now an Assistant Coach at the University of San Diego. He served as a Student Manager for Coach Gene Keady and coached with - and alongside the likes of Thad Miller, Bruce Weber, Matt Painter, Archie Miller, Ryan Odom, John Groce, Dave Dickerson, Jeff Boals, Greg Paulus and Steve Lavin.Alan Major coached 1st Round NBA Draft Picks (Greg Oden, Mike Conley, Daequan Cook, Kosta Koufos and Evan Turner, David West, and Michael Olowokandi) and even author and podcast host Mark Titus. Coach Major spent a combined 18 years on staff at Ohio State, Pacific, Southern Illinois and Cal Lutheran before being named the head men's coach at Charlotte prior to the start of the 2010-11 season. He led the 49ers for four-plus seasons, including a 21-12 record and a National Invitation Tournament appearance in 2012-13.

Coach Ryan Silver shares his journey from running nightclubs to becoming a titan in basketball industry. The Pump Brothers [David and Dana] had a profound impact on him when they met in 2003 and he's blazed a trail of his own in the basketball world. He's currently the President of Attitude of Gratitude and has been and continues to be a giant in youth basketball and event operations. He coached at both Malibu High School and Sierra Canyon, as well as in the AAU ranks prior to creating one of the largest AAU programs in the country as well as operating events.Ryan started Silver Waves Media with the goal of lifting up others in the sports world and highlighting their successes and achievements. His nationally renowned Silver Waves Media Impactful Lists have identified some of the best and brightest in their respective spaces.

Coach Dan Engelstad shares his journey from growing up in Bethesda, Maryland to becoming the Head Coach at Mount St. Mary's, and now being an Assistant Coach at Syracuse.Engelstad played basketball at St. Mary's College (D3) in Maryland prior to embarking on a college basketball coaching career. After serving on Coach Milan Brown's coaching staffs at Mount St. Mary's and Holy Cross, he was named the Head Coach at Southern Vermont College. He won over 75% of his games including nearly 80% of conference games in five seasons.Coach Engelstad left Southern Vermont to become the Head Coach at Mount St. Mary's. The D3 Head Coach turned D1 Head Coach led The Mount to the NCAA Tournament in his third season at the helm.On April 10, 2024 he resigned from his post at Mount St. Mary's to become an Assistant Coach at Syracuse.

Coach Amber Raisner shares her journey from growing up in West Hartford Connecticut to becoming an Assistant Coach at Army.After a stellar playing career at Union College she joined the women's coaching staff at Yale and served under Coach Dalila Eshe. In March of 2025 Amber was named a WBCA Thirty Under 30 honoree.Coach Raisner is entering her first season at Army onKatie Kuester's coaching staff.**Sponsored by Defense on a String**Be sure to check out www.DefenseOnAString.com and use the promo code "BOXSCORE" for 15% off your order.

Coach Jordan Bushrod shares his journey from growing up Prince George's County Maryland to becoming the Head Coach at Cheney University.Jordan started high school at Westlake HS before transferring to Fork Union Military School, after graduating he attended Bowie State University, he then transferred to Delaware State.While at Delaware State he played for different coaches [Keith Walker and Eric Skeeters] prior to becoming a Graduate Assistant under Coach Skeeters.Jordan joined the coaching staff at nationally ranked Legacy Early College in South Carolina prior to joining the staff at the College Southern Maryland. He also served as the Head Coach for the Southern Maryland Heat boys 17U AAU basketball team while coaching at the College of Southern Maryland.Coach Bushrod was introduced as the Head Coach at Cheney State University (D2) in October of 2024.**Sponsored by Defense on a String**Be sure to check out www.DefenseOnAString.com and use the promo code "BOXSCORE" for 15% off your order.

Coach Mike Cifliku shares his coaching journey from being a Student Manager at Ohio University to becoming an Assistant Coach at his alma mater.While in high school, Mike served as a high school basketball coach in the same area. After graduating from high school he enrolled at Ohio University and became a Student Manager.He was on staff when the Bobcats won the MAC Tournament during the 2020-21 season and knocked off Virginia, the defending national champions, in the Round of 64.Coach Cifliku is entering his tenth season in Athens and his second as an Assistant Coach under Coach Jeff Boals after previously serving as a Graduate Assistant and Video Coordinator.**Sponsored by Defense on a String**Be sure to check out www.DefenseOnAString.com and use the promo code "BOXSCORE" for 15% off your order.

Coach Scott Waterman shares his journey from growing up in Orange County to becoming the Head Coach at Academy of Art.After playing basketball at the NCAA DIII level he embarked on a college basketball coaching career. He spent time at Long Beach State, Cal State Fullerton, Pomona-Pitzer, Dartmouth, and Dominican University prior to becoming the Head Coach at Academy of Art.Coach Waterman elevated the Academy of Art program to a NCAA DII National Tournament program. He orchestrated the program's first regular season win over a NCAA DI opponent with a 79-60 victory at UC Davis.Prior to the school's decision to eliminate their athletic programs, Coach Waterman led the Urban Knights to 81 wins in his final four seasons at the helm - including multiple NCAA Tournament berths and their first NCAA Tournament victory. **Sponsored by Defense on a String**Be sure to check out www.DefenseOnAString.com and use the promo code "BOXSCORE" for 15% off your order.

Coach Luke Colwell shares his journey from growing up in Apex, North Carolina to becoming an Assistant Coach at Cornell.Luke served as a Student Manager and then a Graduate Assistant at South Carolina under Coach Frank Martin from 2017 until 2022.Colwell was hired as the Director of Basketball Operations at VMI and spent two seasons with the Keydets under Coach Andrew Wilson.Coach Jon Jaques hired Luke to his inaugural coaching staff at Cornell as the Director of Basketball Operations. In May of 2025 he was promoted to an Assistant Coach.**Sponsored by Defense on a String**Be sure to check out www.DefenseOnAString.com and use the promo code "BOXSCORE" for 15% off your order.

Coach Tristan Spurlock shares his journey from growing up in Northern Virginia to becoming an Assistant Coach at the Division I level.He started his college basketball career at the University of Virginia and eventually transferred to UCF. After playing professionally he joined the coaching staff at the University of Iowa.In April Coach Spurlock joined Fran McCaffery's coaching staff at the University of Pennsylvania.**Sponsored by FastModel**Be sure to check out FastModelSports.com and use the promo code "BOXSCORE" for 15% off your purchase.

Coach Stan Waterman shares his journey from growing up in Wilmington, Delaware to becoming the Head Coach at Delaware State.After playing Division I basketball at the University of Delaware he began his coaching journey at as an Assistant Coach at Wilmington and then moved onto the Sanford School. In his 29 seasons at the Sanford School he led the program to 571 wins, 10 state championship game appearances, winning eight state titles, including his last two seasons in 2019 and 2021.He went onto coach with USA Basketball where he was on staff for the the gold-medal-winning 2018 USA Men’s U17 World Cup Team and the 2017 USA Men’s U16 national team. Stan Waterman was named the Head Coach at Delaware State in 2021 and has increased their win in each season at the helm.**Sponsored by FastModel**Be sure to check out FastModelSports.com and use the promo code "BOXSCORE" for 15% off your purchase.