Fran Fraschilla, ESPN Commentator: Lessons From College & International Basketball

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My guest today is Fran Fraschilla, a college basketball analyst for ESPN and former Division I basketball coach.

In this episode we discuss his career path as a head coach, with stops at Manhattan, St. Johns and New Mexico. We hear what it was like to coach at St. Johns with players like Ron Artest and Felipe Lopez, what he wishes he had done differently as a head coach, and why he made the conscious decision to stay at ESPN after he left New Mexico. We also learn some of the most interesting things he’s witnessed when calling college games for ESPN and getting all access to shoot-arounds and practices of some of the most successful programs, and what led him to become ESPN’s go-to guy on international basketball prospects for the NBA Draft.

Show Notes:

(1:25) — Episode begins with starting his head-coaching career at Manhattan at the age of 34

(3:05) — What surprised him when he became a head coach for the first time

(5:02) — His time as head coach at St. John’s

(11:05) — Handling being fired from St. John’s

(15:00) — Coaching players like Felipe Lopez and Ron Artest at St. John’s

(19:02) — His favorite moments as a head coach

(22:50) — His belief in coaching etiquette

(25:10) — What led him to start his career with ESPN

(31:48) — The best things he’s seen coaches do at shoot-arounds

(36:10) — Some of different ways he’s seen coaches handle practices

(40:05) — Watching coaches make adjustments during games

(41:33) — How he became the international basketball scout for ESPN

(46:35) — What led foreign coaches to look at the basketball game differently than U.S. coaches

(49:08) — How he evaluates foreign prospects who aren’t seen as often as college players

(54:45) — How he directs his learning

(57:05) — What basketball has meant to him personally

(59:20) — End of episode questions

End of Episode Questions:

1. What’s 1 book every coach should read? 

• Mindset: The New Psychology of Success by Carol Dweck
• The Dynasty by Jeff Bendict
• Grit: The Power of Passion and Perseverance by Angela Duckworth
• The Carolina Way: Leadership Lessons from a Life in Coaching by Dean Smith
• The Education of a Coach by David Halberstam

2. Who is one person you’d want to hear as a guest on this podcast? Hubie Brown

3. What’s one area you’re looking to improve in over the next year? Being a better human being

4. What’s popular advice you hear people say that you think is wrong? Live in the moment

5. What advice do you have for young coaches who are listening to this? Grit, growth mindset, and servant leadership

6. What’s the darkest moment you experienced professionally and how did you overcome it? When he was fired from St. John’s, and overcame it by having faith and trusting there was a plan for him

Favorite Quotes:

“When you are starting out in the coaching profession and become a young head coach, you have to have a board of directors. You have to have 3 or 4 people in your life that can help you make tough decisions.”

“I think if you have a well coached team, you can leave practice for 2 or 3 days and there wouldn’t be any slippage based on what you’ve taught them about the culture of practices.”

“I think shoot-arounds are an art-form. I’ve seen so many good ones, I don’t think there’s one way to do it.”

“Gameday has to be a time when the team has to be focused and relaxed because if you haven’t prepared for the opponent in the days leading up to that game, there’s no pre-game speech, there’s no Bill Belichick speech that you can make, there’s nothing you can do in practice that day that can get you ready for the opponent. And being too intense and over the top intensity wise is not the answer.”

“I think it’s just absolutely necessary to be somebody who has an open mind to continue willing to get better.”