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Mark Gottfried: Wooden’s Wisdom, NIL Deals, and NCAA Controversy

In his first solo episode, Mark Gottfried covers a myriad of topics that point to the lessons he’s learned throughout his career, the people who have counseled him closely, and a hot take on the involvement of the NCAA in the lives of student-athletes.

  • Time: 1:23

    "Have them strain to listen..."

  • Time: 1:28

    "It's your JOB to coach him"

  • Time: 1:18

    Infant stages of NIL deals

  • Time: 1:28

    "Should Reggie Bush get his Heisman trophy back?"

0:17- Coach talks about what it was like to work with John Wooden at UCLA.

1:04- The way John Wooden could “deliver a thought.”

2:00- “I would rather soften my voice and have my players strain to listen than constantly raise my voice and have them cover their ears.”

3:17- Coach talks about the advice John Wooden gave him on how to coach a difficult player.

7:30- John Wooden is on the Mount Everest of coaching.

8:19- Coach’s thoughts on NIL deals and the transfer portal.

11:20- “College athletics are not built to sustain the demands of NIL deals”

13:10- The current model of college athletics will need to be tweaked (to work around the demands of student-athletes in their pursuit of NIL deals tied with an open door to the transfer portal).

16:17- Bigger schools = bigger budgets for legal fees 

19:20- Coach talks about the characteristics he worked to instill in his players

20:00- “Play through”

21:54- “Good, Great, Terrific, Fantastic and Sensational”

23:08- “The ability to be on time”