23 October 2026
Ep 2051 How Do You Know What Kind of Leader You Really Are? Dr. Matthew Raidbard, Part 1
Basketball Coach Unplugged (A Basketball Coaching Podcast)
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From a 24 hour drive for a Division II job to Dartmouth, Chicago State, and a study of 200 college coaches who did not know their own leadership style.
Dr. Matthew Raidbard did not have a relative in the business, a friend in the business, or a practical degree. He had a history major, a resume full of travel team experience, and a habit of following up one more time than anyone asked him to. That relentlessness got him a Division II assistant job in Silver City, New Mexico, and started a college coaching career that ran through Dartmouth, Florida Gulf Coast, and eight seasons at Chicago State before he moved into athletic administration.
In Part 1, Coach Steve Collins and Dr. Raidbard walk through that journey, what changes from Division II to the Ivy League to a traditional Division I program, and why he calls Chicago State the toughest job in the country. Then they get to the research behind his book, Lead Like a Pro: a study of more than 200 college basketball coaches, and the surprising gap between the leadership style coaches think they practice and the one they actually do.
In this episode
The games that hooked them both on basketball, from conference championship week to the old Wisconsin Field House
How coaching his younger brother's travel team turned into a career
Relentlessness as a separator: you only need one yes
Learning to do everything at a small Division II school, from game operations to driving the softball team
Dartmouth, the Ivy League experience, and going toe to toe with Jeremy Lin and Harvard
Florida Gulf Coast and the difference between Ivy recruiting and traditional Division I recruiting
Eight seasons building Chicago State, and why it may be the toughest job in college basketball
Earning a doctorate while coaching, and moving into compliance and administration
His current role as executive senior associate athletic director at the University of Hartford
The dissertation that became the book: do coaches know the leadership style they actually practice?
Why transformational leadership, paired with quick decision making, came out on top
The five leadership styles every coach should understand
Chapters
00:00 TeachHoops.com pre roll
00:28 Meet Dr. Matthew Raidbard
02:20 The games that hooked us on basketball
05:08 Coaching his brother's travel team
06:58 The 24 hour drive to Western New Mexico
07:46 Relentlessness and the one yes
08:52 Two years at Division II
09:48 Dartmouth and the Ivy League
11:12 TeachHoops.com mid roll
11:40 Florida Gulf Coast
12:08 Eight seasons at Chicago State
12:56 Obstacles from Division II to Division I
16:44 Why Chicago State is the toughest job in the country
18:40 Moving into administration
19:36 Hartford and life as an athletic director
20:32 How the book Lead Like a Pro came about
21:56 The gap between the leader you think you are and the leader you are
22:24 The best leadership style for coaches
23:20 The five leadership styles
23:48 Why coaches need real leadership training
24:16 Post roll
Coach challenge: Write down the leadership style you believe you practice. Then ask one assistant and one player to describe how you lead, and compare the answers.
Resources: Dr. Raidbard's book, Lead Like a Pro, is available wherever books are sold. Practice plans, leadership and culture resources, courses, and on court clinics at https://teachhoops.com/
Continue the conversation in Part 2.
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
From a 24 hour drive for a Division II job to Dartmouth, Chicago State, and a study of 200 college coaches who did not know their own leadership style.
Dr. Matthew Raidbard did not have a relative in the business, a friend in the business, or a practical degree. He had a history major, a resume full of travel team experience, and a habit of following up one more time than anyone asked him to. That relentlessness got him a Division II assistant job in Silver City, New Mexico, and started a college coaching career that ran through Dartmouth, Florida Gulf Coast, and eight seasons at Chicago State before he moved into athletic administration.
In Part 1, Coach Steve Collins and Dr. Raidbard walk through that journey, what changes from Division II to the Ivy League to a traditional Division I program, and why he calls Chicago State the toughest job in the country. Then they get to the research behind his book, Lead Like a Pro: a study of more than 200 college basketball coaches, and the surprising gap between the leadership style coaches think they practice and the one they actually do.
In this episode
The games that hooked them both on basketball, from conference championship week to the old Wisconsin Field House
How coaching his younger brother's travel team turned into a career
Relentlessness as a separator: you only need one yes
Learning to do everything at a small Division II school, from game operations to driving the softball team
Dartmouth, the Ivy League experience, and going toe to toe with Jeremy Lin and Harvard
Florida Gulf Coast and the difference between Ivy recruiting and traditional Division I recruiting
Eight seasons building Chicago State, and why it may be the toughest job in college basketball
Earning a doctorate while coaching, and moving into compliance and administration
His current role as executive senior associate athletic director at the University of Hartford
The dissertation that became the book: do coaches know the leadership style they actually practice?
Why transformational leadership, paired with quick decision making, came out on top
The five leadership styles every coach should understand
Chapters
00:00 TeachHoops.com pre roll
00:28 Meet Dr. Matthew Raidbard
02:20 The games that hooked us on basketball
05:08 Coaching his brother's travel team
06:58 The 24 hour drive to Western New Mexico
07:46 Relentlessness and the one yes
08:52 Two years at Division II
09:48 Dartmouth and the Ivy League
11:12 TeachHoops.com mid roll
11:40 Florida Gulf Coast
12:08 Eight seasons at Chicago State
12:56 Obstacles from Division II to Division I
16:44 Why Chicago State is the toughest job in the country
18:40 Moving into administration
19:36 Hartford and life as an athletic director
20:32 How the book Lead Like a Pro came about
21:56 The gap between the leader you think you are and the leader you are
22:24 The best leadership style for coaches
23:20 The five leadership styles
23:48 Why coaches need real leadership training
24:16 Post roll
Coach challenge: Write down the leadership style you believe you practice. Then ask one assistant and one player to describe how you lead, and compare the answers.
Resources: Dr. Raidbard's book, Lead Like a Pro, is available wherever books are sold. Practice plans, leadership and culture resources, courses, and on court clinics at https://teachhoops.com/
Continue the conversation in Part 2.
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices