Podcast Episode
5 Final Fours, 3 Title Games: Coach Donny Daniels' Incredible Basketball Journey
About this episode
Coach Donny Daniels has seen college basketball from the very top. Five Final Fours. Three national championship game appearances. Eleven seasons on Rick Majerus' staff at Utah, seven at UCLA under Ben Howland, and nine at Gonzaga with Mark Few. He recruited Keith Van Horn and Andre Miller to Salt Lake City and coached future NBA stars like Russell Westbrook, Kevin Love and Jrue Holiday in Westwood.Today, you'll find him on the bench at Cottonwood High School.Erik and co-host Coach Doug Meacham sit down with Coach Daniels to talk about a career that spans four decades, what he learned from three very different Hall of Fame-caliber head coaches, and the advice he'd give to players chasing the next level, parents trying to support them, and coaches trying to build something real.📺 Subscribe for more Utah basketball interviews:@MakingTheTeamPodcast📸 Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/making_the_team/🎵 TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@making.the.team⏱️ CHAPTERS0:00 Intro0:50 Aha Moment to Start Coaching2:56 Starting at the University of Utah5:01 Role at Utah6:06 The Grey Squad10:14 Juddy Question 112:07 Mike Doleac14:06 Off Court Team Buidling16:30 Juddy Question 217:25 Being a Great Assistant23:08 Balancing Truth with Feelings25:12 Teaching Shot Selection27:56 Learning from other Coaches31:03 Majerus Coaching Tree34:01 Coaching in today's game36:13 Picking a Skills Trainer41:30 Common Threads of Great Teams43:16 Coaches Adapting to Today's Challenges44:40 Mental Health51:18 Making the Right Play57:30 Parents & Recruiting58:35 Always Learning1:01:46 Learning from Mistakes1:03:42 Moving to High School1:06:15 Andre Miller Recruiting Story1:11:36 Donny's Passions outside basketball1:12:53 Eric Daniels Carrying the Coaching Torch1:19:22 Advice to Past Self#UtahBasketball #DonnyDaniels #RunninUtes #Gonzaga #UCLABasketball #RickMajerus #UtahHighSchoolBasketball #BasketballPodcast #CollegeBasketball #MakingTheTeamPodcast #CottonwoodHigh #BasketballCoaching #PlayerDevelopment #HoopsInterview