This week on Life on the Road, Alphonza Kee and Scott Bollwage sit down with Bobby Collins, a coach whose resume spans over 30 years and touches nearly every level of college basketball.

Coach Collins broke into coaching at Old Dominion before spending eleven seasons at Hampton University, where he helped the Pirates capture three MEAC Championships, including the program's back to back titles in 2001 and 2002 and one of the most memorable NCAA Tournament upsets in history, a 15 seed knocking off second seeded Iowa State. From there, Collins took over as head coach at Winston Salem State, guiding the Rams through their transition from Division II to Division I and back again, a journey he can speak to firsthand. His 2010 to 2014 stretch with WSSU included three trips to the NCAA Division II Atlantic Regional Tournament, a CIAA Southern Division Championship, and a CIAA Title, with a 2012 to 13 squad that climbed as high as No. 7 in the country.

In 2014, Collins took the reins at Maryland Eastern Shore, where his first season produced the program's best winning percentage in 41 years. That turnaround earned him MEAC Coach of the Year, the Ben Jobe Award for National Coach of the Year, and a finalist nod for the Hugh Durham Award. After stints at South Carolina State as an assistant, Collins went through rebuilding another program as head coach at Shaw University, turning a 5 win team into a winning CIAA contender.

In this episode, Bobby breaks down what actually goes into the perfect scouting report, the real challenges of moving a program between D II and D I, and how he approaches coaching with purpose no matter the roster he inherits. He and the guys talk rebuilding programs from the ground up, staying grounded through the wins and the tough years, and what it means to be the best at your role, whether that's as a head coach, an assistant, or a mentor to your players. With 275+ career wins and four NCAA Tournament appearances behind him, Bobby brings perspective that only three decades on the sidelines can give you.

New episodes of Life on the Road, A Coach's Journey drop every Tuesday. Follow along on Instagram and X at CoachAKSB and on YouTube at LifeOnTheRoadPodcast. Link in bio.

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This week Tom Palombo joins Alphonza Kee and Scott Bollwage on Life on the Road for a conversation with thirty four years of head coaching wisdom behind it.

Palombo built one of the most decorated resumes in Division III basketball during his twenty two seasons as head coach at Guilford College. He led the program to all eight of its NCAA Tournament appearances and all five of its ODAC titles, advanced to the NCAA Quarterfinals five times, and reached the semifinals on three occasions, including back to back trips to the Final Four. This past season alone, he guided Guilford to the ODAC championship, a win that also stood as his four hundred twentieth as the program's head coach. Palombo was named ODAC Coach of the Year four times and South Region Coach of the Year three times, and he closed out his Guilford tenure with a twenty and eight record across eight NCAA Tournament trips.

Across his full head coaching career, spanning stops at Virginia Wesleyan, Defiance College, where he coached both the women's and men's programs, and Guilford, Palombo holds an overall record of six hundred fifty eight wins and two hundred seventy six losses. He earned his bachelor's degree in communications and journalism from Virginia Wesleyan College in 1989, and later completed a master's degree in education with an emphasis in sport management from Old Dominion University. He also brings experience with Revolution Academy, adding another layer to a coaching journey built on player development at every level.

In this episode, Palombo talks through what it looked like to find his own voice as a assistant after being a head coach, the process of building and sustaining back to back Final Four runs, and the discipline required to maintain success year after year in a demanding conference.

Whether you are a coach looking to sharpen your own approach, a player chasing your next level, or simply a fan of the game who appreciates a career built on consistency and championship standards, this conversation offers a rare look inside the mind of one of the most successful head coaches in Division III history.

Life on the Road, A Coach's Journey, brings you real conversations with coaches from across the basketball world.

New episodes every Tuesday.

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This week on Life on the Road, Alphonza Kee and Scott Bollwage sit down with Devin Hoehn, head men's basketball coach at Fayetteville State University, fresh off one of the most decorated debut seasons any coach has ever had at the NCAA Division II level.

In year one leading the Broncos, Hoehn went 23-7, won the CIAA Southern Division with a perfect 10-0 mark, and captured the 2026 CIAA Championship, the program's third conference title, riding a 17-game winning streak into an NCAA Division II Atlantic Region Quarterfinal appearance. His team ranked eighth nationally in scoring at 89.4 points per game, playing the same aggressive, pace-and-pressure style he's built his career on.

The recognition matched the results. Hoehn was named the 2026 Jack Bennett Man of the Year, an honor for non-Division I coaches built on character and integrity as much as wins. He also became the first coach ever to win the BOXTOROW HBCU Division II Coach of the Year in his very first season at a school, and he shared the Clarence "Big House" Gaines Division II Co-National Coach of the Year award with Morehouse's Larry Dixon. Add in developing Ezekiel Cannedy into the 2026 HBCU Division II Player of the Year, and Hoehn became the first coach in history to produce that honoree at two different programs, he'd done it before with Jordan Hines at Bluefield State.

That Bluefield State run is its own story. Picked to finish 12th in the CIAA preseason poll, Hoehn instead led the program to its first winning season ever, a 19-11 record, and a trip to the CIAA Championship game. Before that, he spent four years on staff at Nova Southeastern, where he helped a 6-20 program become a 69-20 juggernaut with an NCAA South Region title and a Sunshine State Conference championship, including a run to the Elite Eight in the Sharks' first-ever NCAA Tournament appearance.

Hoehn's own playing career set the tone. A four-year starting guard at West Liberty, he helped the Hilltoppers to three Elite Eights, two Final Fours, and two National Championship appearances, averaging 17.3 points, 3.7 rebounds, and 2.8 assists as a first team all-conference senior.

In this episode, Hoehn joins Coach Kee and Coach Bollwage to talk about becoming a head coach at 27, building a champion from last place, the faith that carried him through the tough losses, and what he's learned studying coaches like Erik Spoelstra. It's a conversation about identity, integrity, and building something real from the ground up.

Catch the full episode this Tuesday on Life on the Road: A Coach's Journey, available on Spotify and YouTube, and follow along @CoachAKSB and @LifeOnTheRoadPodcast.

This week on Life on the Road, Alphonza Kee and Scott Bollwage sit down with Chris Wright, the newly named Head Men's Basketball Coach at Alabama State University, a program he took over as the school's 14th head coach after building one of the most remarkable resumes in small college basketball.

Wright's career numbers speak for themselves, 332 wins against just 121 losses, three trips to the NAIA National Championship game, and nine NAIA Tournament appearances. But the story behind those numbers is even more impressive. When Wright took over at Langston University, he inherited a program that had gone 1-27 the year before. What he did next is regarded as one of the greatest turnarounds in college basketball history, guiding the Lions to a 31-3 record and a No. 3 national ranking in his very first season. He would go on to lead Langston to back to back to back Sooner Athletic Conference championships and cement the program as a national powerhouse, all while becoming the only coach to lead two different HBCUs to the NAIA National Championship game.

In this conversation, Chris opens up about the real journey behind the wins. He talks about finding the right fit at each stop of his career, from Fresno Pacific to Talladega College to Langston and now Alabama State, and what it takes to know when a job is truly the right one. He shares how his wife's support has carried him through the demanding, unpredictable life of a college coach, and gets honest about what tough love really means when you're trying to build champions and not just basketball players. Chris also breaks down how he goes about defining a team's identity from day one, especially when inheriting a roster with little returning talent, and why having the right administrative support behind him has been just as important as anything that happens on the court.

Whether you're a coach, a player, or someone who simply loves stories about building something out of nothing, this episode is packed with lessons on culture, patience, and what it really takes to win at the highest level of small college basketball.

New episodes of Life on the Road drop every Tuesday.

Follow along on Instagram and X: @CoachAKSB, and subscribe on YouTube at Life on the Road Podcast.

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This week on Life on the Road, Coach Alphonza Kee and Coach Scott Bollwage sit down with Lonnie Blow Jr., Head Men's Basketball Coach at Virginia State University, for a conversation that spans more than 25 years on the sidelines and a career built on consistency, adaptability, and an unmistakable love for the game.

Coach Blow has built one of the most decorated resumes in CIAA basketball history. He's a four-time CIAA Champion and a four-time CIAA Coach of the Year, and he holds the distinction of being the first head coach in CIAA history to win a conference championship at two different institutions. His run at Virginia State has included a program-record 28-5 season, a 16-game winning streak, a CIAA Tournament Championship, an NCAA Atlantic Region semifinal appearance, and recognition as HBCU Mid-Major National Champions. Along the way he's earned national honors as well, including the Clarence "Big House Gaines" National Coach of the Year award and the BOXTOROW Coach of the Year award, cementing his place among the most respected voices in the sport.

In this episode, the guys trace Coach Blow's full journey, starting with his transition from high school coaching, where he won a Virginia High School League state championship at Granby High School, to the college ranks, where he cut his teeth as an assistant at Hampton, Norfolk State, and Old Dominion before taking over his own programs at Saint Augustine's and eventually Virginia State. That path from prep coaching to Division I assistant to championship-winning head coach gives Coach Blow a perspective on player development and program building that few others can match, and he shares how each stop shaped his coaching philosophy.

The conversation also gets personal and a little fun, as Coach Blow opens up about the superstitions he still carries with him on gameday, the small rituals and routines that have stuck with him through decades of coaching regardless of the level or the opponent. He talks about what it takes to run an efficient program year after year, from practice planning to staff development to keeping a locker room accountable through the ups and downs of a long season, and how he's kept his teams competitive and disciplined across more than a decade at Virginia State.

There's also a conversation about home, about what that word means to a coach who has spent his career on the road, moving between programs and cities in pursuit of the next challenge, and how he's built a sense of stability and family both within his program and outside of it. And running through all of it is the thread that ties the whole episode together, his enduring love for coaching itself, the reason he's stayed in the game for a quarter century and counting, chasing not just championships but the growth of the young men who come through his program.

Coach Kee and Coach Bollwage bring their usual mix of storytelling, hard-earned lessons, and genuine curiosity to this one, making for an episode that will resonate with coaches, players, and anyone who appreciates what it takes to build a lasting legacy in this profession. Whether you're a die-hard CIAA fan, an aspiring coach looking for guidance, or just someone who loves a great story about perseverance and passion, this conversation with Coach Lonnie Blow Jr. delivers.

Life on the Road: A Coach's Journey drops new episodes every Tuesday. Follow along on Instagram and X at @CoachAKSB, and catch the full episodes on YouTube at @LifeOnTheRoadPodcast. Tune in wherever you get your podcasts.

Some coaches find the game. Jon Adams found himself coaching a team before he could drive to practice, a player/coach at 13 years old, which tells you just about everything you need to know about how his mind works.

This week, Coach Alphonza Kee and Coach Scott Bollwage sit down with the Team CP3 17U head coach for a conversation about what it actually takes to build one of the most respected grassroots programs in America. Jon takes us from RJ Reynolds High School to Belmont Abbey, from his first job coaching at Bishop McGuinness straight out of college in 2004 to 2008, the year he stepped into Team CP3 and helped turn it into a pipeline. Over 100 Division I players. More than 50 pros playing overseas. Eighteen players from the Team CP3 have made it to the NBA, and counting. Two EYBL championships along the way, E16 in 2017, E15 in 2023.

But the numbers aren't really the story. 🙌 Jon opens up about the Paul family and what it means to be trusted with a program that carries their name. He talks about the responsibility of being more than a coach, food drives, coat drives, Thanksgiving turkeys, and Christmas giveaways. He gets honest about the hardest, most rewarding assignment of them all: coaching his own son. And he explains why Peach Jam hits different, why that gym in July is unlike anywhere else in basketball. 🔥

If you coach, if you're raising a player, or if you just want to understand what the grassroots game looks like from the inside, this one's for you.

🎧 New episode every Tuesday. Listen now on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, and YouTube.

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Alphonza Kee and Scott Bollwage are back with another incredible episode of Life on the Road: A Coach's Journey, and this week's guest is one you cannot miss!

You never know who's watching. Nobody on the planet proves that more than Darrell Armstrong!

Think about this journey for a second. Darrell didn't even play high school basketball until his senior year. He earn his spot on the basketball court as a walk-on at Fayetteville State University. And when the NBA didn't come calling right away, he didn't quit, he worked the night shift at a yarn factory while chasing his dream through the USBL, the CBA, and overseas stops in Cyprus and Spain. Most people would have given up. Darrell just kept grinding.

Then the Orlando Magic gave him a shot, and he didn't just make the roster, he made HISTORY. Darrell became the first player ever to win Sixth Man of the Year and Most Improved Player in the same season. That grind turned into a 13 year NBA playing career, and when his playing days ended, the journey kept rolling. He's now spent 16 years as an assistant coach with the Dallas Mavericks, including winning it all with the 2011 NBA Championship team.

This is one of the most inspiring conversations we've had on the show. Darrell takes us back to what it felt like playing at Madison Square Garden, shares an unforgettable Kobe Bryant story you have to hear to believe, and walks us through what it takes to go from never playing to the highest level of the game. He also opens up about what winning an NBA Championship really means after a road like his.

And through it all, one lesson keeps coming back. You never know who's watching, so bring your best every single day, in the gym, in the classroom, at work, everywhere. Somebody is always paying attention, and your opportunity might be one great rep away.

Whether you're a player fighting for a spot, a coach building your program, or anybody out there grinding toward a dream that feels far away, this episode is for you. Grab your headphones and hit play right now! 🎧

New episodes every Tuesday!

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This week's episode hits close to home. Coach Alphonza Kee and Coach Scott Bollwage sits down with Mark Bass, the Head Basketball Coach at Girard College, and this one is more than an interview, it's a reunion. Mark and Scott go all the way back to playing on the same middle school team at Sacred Heart in Trenton, NJ, before walking the halls together at McCorristin Catholic High School.

From those Trenton roots, Mark went on to build one of the most respected résumés in Philadelphia basketball. He starred at St. Joseph's University, earned induction into the Saint Joseph's Basketball Hall of Fame, and spent 20 years as an Assistant Coach on Hawk Hill, where he helped guide the program to two Atlantic 10 Tournament Championships and that unforgettable Elite 8 run. He later returned home to lead Trenton Catholic to a 22-5 season, a Mercer County Tournament Championship, and a Sectional Championship, earning Mercer County Coach of the Year honors along the way.

In this episode, we cover loyalty in basketball, the journey from St. Joe's to the Elite 8, coaching and creating toughness, what it means to coach at your own high school, and the emotions of experiencing your first Selection Sunday.

30 years in the game. Countless lives impacted. One incredible journey from Trenton to Philly and back again.

New episodes every Tuesday. Follow us on Instagram and X @CoachAKSB and on YouTube @LifeOnTheRoadPodcast.

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What does it take to build a 30-year coaching career that has taken you from the hardwood floors of Fayetteville State all the way to the power corridors of the Big 12? This week, Coach Alphonza Kee and Scott Bollwage sit down with one of the most well-traveled and respected minds in college basketball, John Cooper, Assistant Coach at Kansas State University.

Cooper's journey is the kind of story that reminds you why this game is so much bigger than wins and losses. A former player at Wichita State from 1987 to 1991, Cooper was a two-time team captain, scored over 1,100 points in his Shocker career, and a Second Team All-Missouri Valley Conference selection. He led the team in both scoring and rebounding before playing professionally in the CBA and overseas in the Netherlands. But it was on the sideline where John Cooper would truly make his mark.

Cooper broke into coaching in 1993 before joining his college coach Eddie Fogler at South Carolina in 1995. Over six seasons with the Gamecocks, Cooper was part of 104 wins, 48 in SEC play, and four postseason appearances, including back-to-back NCAA Tournament trips in 1997 and 1998. From there, he spent two seasons at Oregon under Ernie Kent, including an NCAA Tournament run in 2003, then five seasons at Auburn, totaling 17 years of Power 5 assistant experience before ever becoming a head coach.

In 2009, Cooper got his first head coaching opportunity at Tennessee State, and what he built there is the stuff of program legend. He took the Tigers from nine wins in year one to their first 20-win season in 32 years in year three, coaching First Team All-OVC selection Robert Covington along the way. His 2011-12 squad pulled off a stunning upset over No. 7 Murray State before narrowly falling in the OVC Championship, 54-52, just one win away from the NCAA Tournament.

Cooper then took over at Miami of Ohio in 2012, winning 59 games in five seasons and building a defense-first culture that ranked among the nation's top 50 in steals in four of his five years. After his head coaching tenure, he returned to the assistant ranks, thriving at SMU alongside Tim Jankovich, then at UNLV under Kevin Kruger, helping the Rebels to 58 wins and their first postseason appearance in over a decade.

Now Cooper is back in the Big 12, joining first-year head coach Casey Alexander at Kansas State. For a kid who grew up as a Big Eight fan in Kansas City, this is, in his own words, "a full circle moment."

This week on Life on the Road, we get into all of it, coaching expectations, what it means to go from head coach back to the assistant role, coaching responsibility, historic wins, and a surprising pay raise story. This is a conversation packed with wisdom, humility, and real talk from a coach who has seen every side of this game.

Don't miss this one. Subscribe, follow, and share with someone in the game. Leave us a review wherever you listen to podcasts.

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In this episode of Life on the Road, hosts Alphonza Kee and Scott Bollwage sit down with Coach Mark Downey, Head Men's Basketball Coach at Arkansas Tech University. This one carries a personal touch right from the start, as Coach Downey began his coaching career at Barton College in 1995-96, the same institution where host Scott Bollwage was a student athlete playing baseball. Two guys connected by the same campus, decades apart, now sharing the same mic.

Coach Downey's path to becoming one of Division II basketball's most respected names was anything but a straight line. After Barton, he moved on to Marshall University as an assistant before taking his first head coaching opportunity at Independence Community College in Kansas. The JUCO grind is real, and Coach Downey lived it, going 25-8 in his first season and winning the NJCAA Region VI Tournament Championship in just his second year as a head coach. That early success set the tone for everything that followed.

From Kansas, Downey moved to the University of New Orleans as an assistant coach, spending five seasons in the Crescent City. Those years included one of the most challenging moments any coach can face, navigating a program and a city through the devastation of Hurricane Katrina. Coach Downey shares what that experience was like, what it meant for the players, the staff, and the community, and how it shaped his perspective on what truly matters in this profession.

His first stint at Arkansas Tech began in 2006-07, inheriting a program that had gone 6-21 the season before. Within three years, Downey had transformed the Wonder Boys into a national powerhouse. The 2009-10 season stands as one of the most remarkable in Division II history. Arkansas Tech started the year 25-0, climbed to the No. 1 ranking in the country, held that top spot for seven consecutive weeks, won the GSC Tournament Championship, and hosted the NCAA Division II South Regional Tournament. It was a historic run that put Russellville, Arkansas on the college basketball map.

After that pinnacle season, Downey returned to his alma mater at the University of Charleston, then moved to West Alabama, and eventually spent four seasons as an assistant at the Division I level with Bowling Green State and Purdue Fort Wayne. Each stop added another layer to an already deep coaching resume. He then took over a struggling Northeastern State program and turned them around before returning to Arkansas Tech for his second chapter.

The second stint has been just as impressive. After rebuilding the Wonder Boys from the ground up again, Downey guided Arkansas Tech to a 25-7 record in 2023-24, a GAC Regular Season Championship, a GAC Tournament Championship, and earned GAC Coach of the Year honors. His former player Taelon Peter was selected in the second round of the 2025 NBA Draft by the Indiana Pacers, a testament to the caliber of development happening in Russellville.

In this conversation, Coach Downey gets into what it means to coach with a purpose, how he approaches building culture at every stop, what the JUCO experience taught him about toughness and loyalty, and the lessons that Hurricane Katrina left with him that no coaching clinic could ever teach. He also shares a few sideline stories that will have you laughing out loud, including one that involves a technical foul that defies all logic and explanation.

30 years. 300+ career wins. Two complete program turnarounds at the same school. And a journey that proves the road is never really finished.

This is a great one. Subscribe, leave a review, and share it with a coach, a player, or anyone who loves the game.

New episodes every Tuesday.