Ep. 37: Prolific Prep Basketball Coach Billy McKnight on How to Create Team Chemistry with a Team of Top Players

Prolific Prep Head Basketball Coach Billy McKnight on The Savage Leader Podcast

In this episode, Darren Reinke chats with Billy McKnight, head basketball coach at Prolific Prep. Billy shares his journey to becoming a professional coach, how he creates team chemistry with a team of uber achievers, the impact of NIL on athletic development, preparing high school kids for college and the NBA, and much more. 

Prolific Prep is a prep basketball team based in Napa, CA that aims to foster the growth of prolific student-athletes, who are impactful citizens and elite basketball players. Past players include Gary Trent Jr. of the Toronto Raptors, #4 overall pick Josh Jackson, as well as numerous players recruited to schools such as Duke, Kansas, UCLA, Xavier, Ohio State, and Oregon.

 

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SHOW NOTES

  • How Billy became involved in sports [1:40]

  • How Billy turned coaching into a career [4:27]

  • The greatest challenges Billy faced being a non-native coach in China [6:47]

  • How Billy made the jump from coaching in China to coaching a prep school in the U.S. [9:32]

  • How Billy trains his athletes to be successful both on and off the court [18:07]

  • Why Billy instills the importance of following your own path [19:43]

  • Understanding Billy’s core leadership values [22:28]

  • What Billy does to manage and align his team of high performers [25:22]

  • How Billy recruits top talent and encourages them to be team players [31:08]

  • Billy’s key message to his kids, their parents, and coaches as to why they should play for him [34:03]

  • The greatest gift Billy receives from coaching [39:27]

SHOW LINKS

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For additional leadership tips, be sure to check out Darren's book - The Savage Leader: 13 Principles to Become a Better Leader from the Inside Out

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Ep. 38: Serial Entrepreneur Sanjit Singh on Developing a Startup Mindset

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Ep. 36: Talent Development Expert Rae Tanner on Why You Should Promote Psychological Safety