Episode 266: David Hixon, Lessons From a Hall of Fame Coach

Guest: David Hixon, Former Amherst College Head Coach and Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame Inductee Former Amherst College head coach and Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame inductee, David Hixon, joins the Basketball Podcast to share lessons and stories from a hall-of-fame career. David Hixon, who was head men's basketball coach at Amherst College for 42 years, was named as one of the 12 inductees in the Hall of Fame's Class of 2023. Hixon, an Andover native and former Amherst player, took over as the program's head coach in 1977, just two years after he graduated college.

Before retiring in 2020, Hixon racked up 826 wins and became just the third coach in NCAA Division III men's college basketball history to surpass the 800-win mark when he did so in 2018. Hixon coached the Mammoths to two NCAA Division III national championships (2007, '13), seven Final Four appearances (2004, '06-08, '13-14, '16) and 20 Division III national tournaments.

Hixon was twice named Division III Coach of the Year, the national title years of 2007 and 2013, by the National Association of Basketball Coaches. Under Hixon, Amherst College played in 18 New England Small College Athletic Conference (NESCAC) championships from 2001 through 2019 and won eight titles (2001-02, '05'06, '12-14, '19).

Breakdown 1:00 - Basketball Hall of Fame 5:00 - Best Practices 8:00 - Firm with the Players 10:00 - Love Problem Solving 15:00 - Practice is not a Game 21:30 - Valuing 5-on-5 25:00 - Young Assistant 28:48 - 29:29 - B.I. Immersion ADS 29:30 - Brief Talk 32:00 - Value of Humor 34:00 - Intentional with Drills 37:00 - Value Possibilities 39:00 - Rote memory 41:00 - Shooting into Practice 45:00 - Free Throws 48:00 - Personnel is the key 55:00 - Coach Like Pop

David Hixon’s Bio: Bio: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/David_Hixon

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