Former D1 Assistant + IMG Coach, John Mahoney, Discusses the World of Basketball Academies

Jun 21 2021 • 56 mins

John Mahoney is a former D1 assistant coach at programs such as West Virginia University and Michigan. After coaching in college he took over the national post grad team at IMG Academy. Recently John started 212º Sports Academy. In this episode John talks about knowing what college coaches are looking for and how to develop his players so they will be attractive to coaches at the next level. Now as a founder of his own academy, he is taking all he learned and applying it to his program. We dig into the world of basketball academies and their advantages over a traditional brick and mortar prep school. I have been a vocal critic of basketball academies and having John on the podcast was very informative. Not all of these places are equal and John will share why his is different.

What You Will Learn:
[1:05] Why John chose basketball?
[1:35] How John got into coaching basketball.
[3:50] What he learned coaching at the D1 level?
[7:45] What made John Beilein from West Virginia University so great?
[9:00] Coaching at Michigan.
[9:40] Coaching at St. Francis (PA).
[11:15] Why he likes players from Indiana.
[12:06] His experience at IMG Academy.
[14:50] Coaching NBA players and what characteristics they possess?
[18:28] 212 Academy- Why did he start it?
[21:27] What do families need to look for/look out for in basketball academies?
[36:09] Advantages of basketball academy vs. a brick and mortar school?
[40:50] What should families ask academies to make sure they are reputable?
[46:50] Do D1 coaches care if players come from a basketball academy?
[47:55] Misconceptions of basketball academies?
[51:12] Biggest win as a coach?
[53:03] Best player ever coached against?
[53:36] Hobbies
[54:37] Favorite movie