Episode 199: Matt McMahon, In-Game Coaching Strategies and Situation

Guest: Matt McMahon, Murray State Head Coach

Murray State head coach Matt McMahon joins the Basketball Podcast to share his insights on in-game coaching strategies and situations.

The 2021-22 season marks the seventh for Coach Matt McMahon to lead the Murray State men’s basketball program. Heading into the season, McMahon is the dean of coaches in the Ohio Valley Conference with six complete seasons. He was named the Racers’ 16th head coach on June 9, 2015. At the time, he was the third-youngest rookie head coach in NCAA D-I. In 2020, McMahon joined a select group of Racer coaches to have three-consecutive 20-win seasons.

McMahon's overall mark in six seasons at Murray State is 123-64 (.657). He's the twelfth in 16 Murray State head coaches to have a winning percentage of 60 percent or better. In his first six seasons at MSU, McMahon's Racers have won OVC games at a .707 clip with a mark of 75-31. In the 2017-18, 2018-19, and 2019-20 seasons, MSU won three-straight OVC regular-season titles and won two OVC Tournament titles which led the NCAA appearances in 2018 and 2019.

McMahon has been associated with some of the greats in MSU history both as an assistant and as head coach. In nine seasons at MSU (four as assistant for Steve Prohm and six as head coach), McMahon has coached an impressive group of All-Ohio Valley Conference performers including Isaiah Canaan, Donte Poole, Ivan Aska, Ed Daniel, Jarvis Williams, Cameron Payne, Jeffery Moss, Jonathan Stark, Terrell Miller, Shaq Buchanan, Darnell Cowart, Ja Morant, Tevin Brown, and KJ Williams. Stark and Morant were the OVC Player of the Year winners and OVC Male Athlete of the Year selections in 2018 and 2019.

Breakdown

1:00 - Approaching League Schedule

3:00 - Scout Preparation

6:30 - Empowering Players and Staff

8:00 - Communication

10:00 - Being Responsible for Rebounding

12:00 - Watching Defensive Transition

14:00 - Ball Screen Coverage

16:00 - Watching The Clock

19:00 - Winning and Communicating

25:00 - Group and Individual Communication

27:00 - Rewarding Players and Bench Players