Chris Monter: Latest name in Gopher assistant search is Dan McHale

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BleedGopher

BleedGopher

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Tweets from Monter:

"The latest name to come in the Minnesota assistant coaching search is Dan McHale of Seton Hall. He completed his third year with the Pirates"

"under head coach Kevin Williard. He had spent the previous three year with Williard at Iona. McHale was director of video operations at"

"Louisville under Rick Pitino. He was the staff assistant during Pitino's first two years at Louisville. He was a student manager at Kentucky"

"under Tubby Smith at Kentucky."

Go Gophers!!
 

Here is his bio:

Dan McHale will enter his third season as an assistant coach at Seton Hall this fall. This will be his sixth season as an assistant for head coach Kevin Willard as he spent the prior three years with Willard at Iona College.

In a short period of time, McHale has established himself as an invaluable asset to Willard's staff and the Seton Hall men's basketball program. One of the young, up and coming basketball coaching minds in the business, he is in charge of the Pirates' defensive game planning and heads opponent scouting and game preparation. McHale spends a significant amount of time analyzing Seton Hall opponents' game film in order to develop appropriate responses to various schemes.

As it is with many coaches, recruiting is a key component of McHale's job description at Seton Hall. The passionate young coach is directly responsible for the recruitment and signing of several student-athletes currently on the Pirates' roster.

Understanding his role as a public representative of the program, McHale has embraced various media responsibilities. In addition to writing regular team updates on College Chalktalk, McHale appears before each game on WSOU FM radio as part of the station's pre-game show.

Dating back to his days at Louisville, this season will be the 10th that McHale and head coach Kevin Willard have worked on the same staff together.

Before his time at Iona, McHale served on the men's basketball staff at the University of Louisville as director of video operations.

At Louisville, McHale was responsible for advance scouting video of Cardinal opponents as well as evaluation video for U of L players. He served for four seasons on head coach Rick Pitino's staff.

Prior to being named video coordinator, McHale was a staff assistant for the Cardinals during Pitino's first two years at U of L. His primary duties then included assisting in opponent scouting through extensive film breakdowns, game preparation, and assisting in on-campus recruiting efforts.

As an undergraduate, McHale was a student manager for four years at the University of Kentucky (1997-2001) working closely with former UK and current Minnesota head coach Tubby Smith. He earned a bachelor's degree in business administration in 2001 and graduated with honors as a marketing major from Kentucky.

A native of Chatham, N.J., McHale was a high school letterman in basketball, track and cross country. He is married to the former Jackie Hering of Owensboro, KY. Their daughter, Lilly, was born in January of 2009, and their son Daniel, was born in October of 2011.

http://www.shupirates.com/ViewArticle.dbml?DB_OEM_ID=12600&ATCLID=204944621

Go Gophers!!
 

I found the attached article summarizing his philosophy about player development. The player development topic has been discussed multiple times on this site relative to Coach Smith's time at MN. McHale is an intriguing candidate.

http://collegechalktalk.prestosports.com/coachesDiary/seton_hall/2011-12/12.30.11mchale
December 30, 2011

Diary Series: Dan McHale, Asst. Coach - Seton Hall




The old adage that the “Sum of all your parts is better when those parts continue to improve” translates in college basketball as well. So often we as coaches forget about the most important aspect of our day: getting players better during the season. For instance, in a normal two and a half hour practice, a player might get up…what…8 shots…maybe 10. We all know that as the season goes on, we focus more and more on scouting, our defensive philosophy, and tweaking our offense…rather than the individual instruction with our players.

This is where Coach Willard is unique…we actually do just as much individual instruction in-season then we do in the pre-season. And trust me, it is very difficult to balance this in the rigors of the season with travel and the closeness of games. You have to get creative with your practice plan for the day (for instance some days we will have workouts in the morning, then practice in the afternoon…some days we will start practice with a 30 minute team individual). Either way, Coach preaches everyday that we are only going to get better as a team, if we continue to get better as players. This philosophy becomes infectious, as your players (especially the young guys) start seeing their game improve…and hopefully that translates in Ws!

We focus primarily on shooting, ball handling and footwork…nothing taxing on the body. Every player from our starting point guard to our backup center will get up between 300-500 shots and will work on a different aspect of their game that needs improving…all before practice begins. Repetition and “shots within our offense” are what we focus on in these skill development sessions. Coach Willard believes that getting up shots is fine…but getting up game-speed shots, while simulating situations in your offense, is what makes it productive.

This philosophy might work for some programs, and might not be right for others. At Seton Hall, player development and improvement is something that our entire staff takes great pride in. One thing that you can count on…win or lose, the next day we will be back in the gym working to get better individually and collectively. We are excited that the Big East season is underway…and wish everyone the best in 2012.

Happy New Year and Go Pirates!

Coach McHale
 





leftyslefty said:
Doesn't sound like a lead assistant though. Curious.
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Yeah I wonder if Johnson would become lead assistant if we hired this guy. I want an experienced guy just like everyone else, but I have to imagine having an entire staff of young, hungry, and "cool" coaches would do wonders for recruiting.
 

This would be an extremely young staff. Who cares though, we already took the risk, might as well go all in.
 

You guys have no idea how lucky you are if McHale lands with you. He is one of the brightest young minds in the game..!

He will be all in from Day 1 and NO ONE will work harded for Coach Pitino
 



PMG911 said:
You guys have no idea how lucky you are if McHale lands with you. He is one of the brightest young minds in the game..!

He will be all in from Day 1 and NO ONE will work harded for Coach Pitino
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Good to hear, what's your connection to McHale? Fan of Seton?
 

Wouldn't he still need another coach after this one?

i heard he still had 2 positions to fill. (insider info:cool:)
 

Gold Vision said:
Good to hear, what's your connection to McHale? Fan of Seton?
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Actually die hard St. John's fan (pure torture, I know) but have been watching Coach McHale since his days at Iona....

You guys are catching a star in the making, he will be a monster help to Caoch Pitino in building a national power
 

Gopherbbdude said:
Wouldn't he still need another coach after this one?

i heard he still had 2 positions to fill. (insider info:cool:)
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Unless someone else is already leaving, this would complete his staff. And, young and hungry they would be:

HEAD: Pitino (30 yrs old, '05 Providence)
ASST: Young (37 yrs old, '98 UTEP)
ASST: Johnson (31 yrs old, '04 Minnesota)
ASST: McHale (34 yrs old, '01 Kentucky)
DOBO: Goodson (29 yrs old, '05 Kentucky)

I like it.
 



tjgopher said:
Unless someone else is already leaving, this would complete his staff. And, young and hungry they would be:


I am an Old Fart (sixty eight years old, I favor the youth movement.)
HEAD: Pitino (30 yrs old, '05 Providence)
ASST: Young (37 yrs old, '98 UTEP)
ASST: Johnson (31 yrs old, '04 Minnesota)
ASST: McHale (34 yrs old, '01 Kentucky)
DOBO: Goodson (29 yrs old, '05 Kentucky)

I like it.
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GO GOPHERS...
 

@goodmancbs: Minnesota's Richard Pitino on verge of hiring Seton Hall assistant Dan McHale, source told CBSSports. Would be a huge addition for Gophers.

Go Gophers!!
 

I do think this would be good if he is the dynamic fit Rich is looking for. Hope these guys can mesh into a great coaching team!!
 

I can't wait to hear what recruits have to say about these guys over the next year or two. Definitely rolling with some young guns and all of them seem to come highly touted.
 

MadtownGopher said:
I can't wait to hear what recruits have to say about these guys over the next year or two. Definitely rolling with some young guns and all of them seem to come highly touted.
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Bingo. I am counting on the very talented youths of future classes to connect to the Youth Movement at the University of Minnesota.

GO GOPHERS...
 

If this news is verified, kudos in order to Chris Monter who was the first to drop his name.

This is probably something he heard with his ear to the ground at an AAU event, while Amelia and Marcus were hitting the snooze button.
 

I'm really excited about the makeup of this coaching staff. For a new guy coming in anywhere, the key is being able to hit the ground running with a talented staff. IMO, that's where the the previous two regimes hurt themselves - Monson by hiring his groomsmen from his wedding and Tubby by hiring a combination of old cronies and family members.
 

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BleedGopher said:
Tweets from Monter:

"The latest name to come in the Minnesota assistant coaching search is Dan McHale of Seton Hall. He completed his third year with the Pirates"

"under head coach Kevin Williard. He had spent the previous three year with Williard at Iona. McHale was director of video operations at"

"Louisville under Rick Pitino. He was the staff assistant during Pitino's first two years at Louisville. He was a student manager at Kentucky"

"under Tubby Smith at Kentucky."

Go Gophers!!
Click to expand...

Boy is this going to confuse Grandpa Sports
 


I hope the analysts understand that the good quility assistants, will help the pgm, but if they are successful, they will be gone in a flash. The impt. man to keep is the one at the top, so he can be like Pop, and Donahue. A resume builder for other coaches. That takes winning.
 

Not to be a downer but why is this a big get? It's not like Seton Hall was bringing in top level recruits.
 


I think we shouldn't be surprised with the assistants all being well below 40. Pitino said it is very important for all of his coaches to be the right fit and I think part of that may be getting along and able to relate with each other. If he were to have all mid 30 year old up and comers and one 50+ guy on the staff, it may not be an ideal situation. The older guy could feel out of place or feel uncomfortable taking orders from a younger head coach. People tend to work well with people around their own age, when there is a generational gap sometimes problems can arise.
 

In the end, the head coach needs to have a staff he trusts and is comforatable with. I know nothing about Coach Mc Hale - but I think the Louisville connection is important.

I'm torn about the overall youth of the staff (if that is indeed the final make-up.) On one hand, I wouldn't mind having one slightly older coach with more game experience - but on the other hand, a young, hungry group that goes out and recruits like banshees may be just what the U needs to bring in good athletes.
 

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