Life on the Road - A Coach's Journey

Alphonza Kee and Scott Bollwage
  • 5.0 (2)
  • Basketball
  • Updated Weekly

Life on the Road, A Coach’s Journey, hosted by Alphonza Kee and Scott Bollwage , is a basketball podcast featuring coaches at the high school, college, and professional levels. Each episode dives into coaching, recruiting, player development, leadership, and building winning programs. Hear real stories from the road, the grind, and the game. Season 2 brings bigger guests and deeper insight. Subscribe, share, and stay locked in on the journey.

  1. 3d ago

    Life on the Road - Guest Murray Garvin

    From Pikeville to the MEAC: Murray Garvin on Resilience, Purpose, and Building People This week on Life on the Road, we’re joined by a man who has spent his whole career proving that coaching is about way more than what happens on the scoreboard. Murray Garvin has more than 28 years in the game across high school and Division I basketball, and everywhere he’s been, he’s left behind better players and better people. Murray’s story starts on the Intramural courts of Eastern Kentucky University, first coaching an intramural team full of football players and basketball players who were redshirting due to not making the grade out of high school. After graduating from Eastern Kentucky University, Murray got his start as an assistant at Tates Creek High School in Lexington. Not long after, he was running the whole show at Clinton Junior College, serving as both head coach and Athletic Director. He laughs about what it’s like to wear every hat in the building, and how much that season of life taught him about leadership. From there he worked his way up through assistant jobs at Charleston Southern and Winston-Salem State before landing at South Carolina State University. He arrived at SC State in 2010 as an assistant and got the call to take over as head coach midway through the 2012 to 2013 season. That turned into an 11-year run with the Bulldogs. The high point came in 2015 to 2016, when his team went 19 and 15, finished 12 and 4 in conference play, tied for second in the MEAC, and earned a trip to the CollegeInsider.com Tournament. That year, his peers named him MEAC Coach of the Year. We talk a lot about what it really takes to build a program at an HBCU, how you keep kids believing when the resources aren’t always there, and what the tough seasons taught him that the good ones never could. When his college run wrapped up, Murray didn’t step away from young people. He went right back into the schools, taking on leadership roles at local high schools and most recently working as a Student Belonging and Transition Specialist with Fayette County Public Schools, helping students find where they fit and get through some of the biggest changes in their lives. Today he serves as a Regional Director in Kentucky, and the mission hasn’t changed one bit. If you’ve ever been around Coach Garvin, you know his energy is contagious. He’s real, he’s passionate, and he connects with just about anybody he talks to. That all comes through in this conversation. Whether you’re a coach, a player, a parent, or somebody who works with young people every day, there’s something in this episode for you. Pull up a chair and ride with us. Hosted by Coach Alphonza Kee and Coach Scott Bollwage. If you enjoy the show, make sure to subscribe, leave us a rating, and share it with somebody who needs to hear it.

    Life on the Road - Guest Murray Garvin

  2. Oct 7

    Life on the Road - Guest Darrell Brooks

    Forty years on the sideline. Sixteen seasons leading his alma mater. The winningest head coach in Bowie State men's basketball history. This week on Life on the Road, Coach Alphonza Kee and Coach Scott Bollwage sit down with Coach Darrell Brooks, whose career is a lesson in loyalty, patience, and doing things the right way. A Brooklyn native, Coach Brooks first arrived at Bowie State as a point guard, lettering two years for the Bulldogs and earning his Bachelor's degree in Communications in 1979. Forty years later, in 2019, he went back and added a Master's in Organizational Communications from the same school. In between, he built one of the most respected résumés in the business. His road as an assistant ran through Bowie State, Central State, William & Mary, American, George Mason, and Loyola, with five summers directing Camp Austral in Spain along the way. He got his first head coaching job at Western Maryland College, now McDaniel, in the 2000-01 season, then spent eight years on staff at George Washington. Those GW teams made four straight postseason appearances, including three consecutive NCAA Tournaments, won two Atlantic 10 Tournament titles, went a perfect 16-0 in conference play in 2006, and climbed as high as No. 6 in the country. Then he came home. In 16 seasons at Bowie State, his Bulldogs won five Northern Division championships, cut down the nets at the CIAA Tournament in 2013 and 2017, and made three NCAA Division II Tournament appearances, including a run to the regional semifinals in 2011. He was named CIAA Coach of the Year in 2014-15 after a 22-8 season, earned Bowie State Male Coach of the Year honors four times, and became the program's career wins leader in January 2022 with victory number 200. He also served his peers as President of the CIAA Men's Basketball Coaches Association. In February 2026, right after a hard fought 86-83 loss to Fayetteville State in the CIAA Tournament quarterfinals, Coach Brooks announced he was retiring. He had made the decision the summer before and kept it to himself all season so his players could play free. That tells you plenty about the man. This episode is about the long game: the years spent as an assistant learning the craft, the pull of coming back to the place that raised you, what it takes to build a program that lasts, and how a coach knows when it is time to hand over the whistle. Whether you coach, play, or just love the game, there is something in this one for you. Follow Life on the Road: A Coach's Journey so you never miss an episode, new conversations drop every Tuesday. If this one hits home, share it with a coach who needs to hear it and leave us a rating.

    Life on the Road - Guest Darrell Brooks

  3. Sep 30

    Life on the Road - Guest Marty McGillan

    This week on Life on the Road, Coach Alphonza Kee and Scott Bollwage sit down with Marty McGillan, the Associate Head Coach at Eastern Michigan University and one of the most respected assistant coaches in college basketball. With more than three decades on the sidelines, Coach McGillan has built a career on loyalty, relationships, and a commitment to doing the work that most people never see. His story starts right here in North Carolina. A Winston-Salem native and Bishop McGuinness High School product, McGillan earned his degree in Therapeutic Recreation from UNC Wilmington in 1990, and he has been coaching ever since. He cut his teeth in the Southeast during the 1990s with stops at East Carolina, Coastal Carolina, The Citadel, and the College of Charleston. Those years were the classic young assistant grind: long nights on the recruiting trail, learning from different head coaches, and earning trust one job at a time. Then came the partnership that would shape his career. McGillan returned to his alma mater, UNC Wilmington, where he and fellow Seahawk Billy Donlon spent four seasons helping lead the program to two conference championships and two NCAA Tournament appearances. The pair then moved together to Wright State in 2006, where they helped the Raiders capture their first Horizon League regular season and tournament championships and punch a ticket to the Big Dance. From there, McGillan spent ten years at Winthrop, with a season at Kennesaw State in between, becoming a fixture in the Big South. In 2017, he took on a new challenge at the University of Minnesota, coaching on the women's side with the Gophers. In 2018, he landed at Longwood University, where he spent eight seasons and helped the Lancers reach two NCAA Tournaments in a five season span, historic runs for that program. Now, the story comes full circle. This season, McGillan reunites with Billy Donlon, now the head coach at Eastern Michigan, as Associate Head Coach of the Eagles. In this episode, we talk about what it takes to last more than 30 years in this business, and what it's like having a son in the business now. Whether you're a coach, a player, or a parent trying to understand what it really takes to build a career in this game, this one is for you. New episodes of Life on the Road: A Coach's Journey drop every Tuesday on Spotify. Subscribe, rate, and share the show, and tag a coach who needs to hear this one.

    Life on the Road - Guest Marty McGillan

  4. Sep 23

    Life on the Road 50th Episode - Guest Andre Gray

    On our 50th episode of the Life on the Road Podcast, Coach Andre Gray sits down with Coach Alphonza Kee and Scott Bollwage and sums up life in college basketball with "You gotta be a little crazy to stay in it." And after this conversation, you'll understand exactly why he says it with a smile. He opens up about the highs, the lows, and everything in between that comes with building a career on the sidelines. We start with a chapter of his journey that a lot of coaches never talk about publicly, stepping away from the bench. After transitioning out of his previous position, Coach Gray took a sabbatical, and instead of sitting still, he went to work. He watched games, sat in on practices, and took notes on what other programs were doing. For the first time in a long time, he got to experience basketball as a fan, and he calls that time eye opening. It gave him the space to recharge, sharpen his coaching philosophy, and reconnect with why he got into this business in the first place. One of the biggest takeaways from his time away is how much team culture shows up in the little things. According to Coach Gray, you can tell if a team is winning or losing just by listening to how they communicate. Winning teams talk, encourage, and hold each other accountable. Losing teams go quiet. That lesson now drives how he builds environments where players and staff feel supported and connected. He also breaks down what separates a good assistant coach from an average one. A good assistant doesn't just watch the ball, they see everything else happening on the floor. That awareness is what allows an assistant to truly support the head coach and make an impact on winning. Coach Gray also shares a story from his early days as a JV head coach, when part of his daily responsibility was making sure the varsity uniforms were perfectly folded before every practice. It sounds small, but it's a perfect example of the grind, humility, and attention to detail it takes to move up in this profession. Above all, Coach Gray is passionate about mentorship. He believes that if you love basketball and you're a good person, there's a place for you in this business, and he's committed to helping young coaches find it. His philosophy is simple: we just keep making the table bigger. Whether you're a young coach trying to break in, a veteran looking for perspective, or a fan who loves the stories behind the game, this episode is full of real talk, hard earned wisdom, and genuine love for basketball. In this episode:Stepping away from coaching and using the time to growWhy communication reveals a team's true cultureWhat great assistant coaches see that others missPaying your dues and the details that matterMentorship and building a stronger coaching community New episodes drop every Tuesday. Follow the show, leave a rating, and share this episode with a coach who needs to hear it. Visit lifeontheroadpodcast.com for more episodes and updates. #LifeOnTheRoad #CollegeBasketball #CoachingLife #BasketballPodcast #Mentorship

    Life on the Road 50th Episode - Guest Andre Gray

  5. Sep 16

    Life on the Road - Guest Drew Richards

    On this episode of Life on the Road, hosts Coach Alphonza Kee and Scott Bollwage sit down with Coach Drew Richards, head coach at UNC Pembroke, for a candid look at what it really takes to build a career in college basketball. Coach Richards traces his path from the junior college ranks all the way to the NCAA, and he does not hold back on the highs and the lows. He opens up about the 2023-2024 season, when his UNC Pembroke team won the regular season title and the conference tournament, punching their ticket to the NCAA tournament. Then he walks through the very next year, when a strong record was still not enough to get the team back to the big dance, a reminder that this game rarely lets anyone get comfortable. The conversation takes a wild turn when Coach Richards shares one of the most unbelievable stories you will hear on this podcast, a junior college mission that had him calling jail after jail trying to track down a recruit who vanished right before summer classes started. No social media, no shortcuts, just old fashioned persistence and a coach who refused to give up on his player. He also reflects on how the game has carried him around the world, including a trip to Italy that reshaped how he sees the sport and its place in his life, and gets real about the side of coaching nobody puts on a highlight reel, including a tense encounter with law enforcement while out recruiting in a rough area, a story that speaks to the risks coaches take that fans never see. Throughout the conversation, Coach Richards touches on adaptability, reading the mood of a locker room, learning from a season that falls short, and turning setbacks into fuel for the next run. He talks about what it took to climb from junior college ball to running his own program, what that championship season felt like next to the gut check that followed it, and what years on the road have taught him about bouncing back from a rough year. It all adds up to a conversation packed with lessons for coaches at every level, from the grassroots gym to the NCAA sideline. Whether you are a coach, a player, a parent, or simply someone who loves the game, this episode will remind you why the road matters as much as the destination. Tune in for stories of persistence, culture, resilience, and the relationships that make coaching worth every mile. Life on the Road is hosted by SB and Coach Alphonza Kee, a weekly show built for coaches and hoopers who want the real stories behind the game. New episodes every week. Subscribe, leave a review, and share this one with a coach who needs to hear it. #LifeOnTheRoad #CollegeBasketball #NCAA #CoachingPodcast #UNCPembroke #BasketballCoaching

    Life on the Road - Guest Drew Richards

  6. Sep 8

    Life on the Road - Guest Larry Dixon

    From Salisbury Roots to Morehouse Maroon Tigers: Coach Larry Dixon Returns He's back. Larry Dixon returns to Life on the Road for a conversation with Alphonza Kee & Scott Bollwage that spans two decades of college basketball, a hometown hall of fame induction, and a first season at Morehouse College that's already being called one of the best debuts in program history. Since his last appearance, Coach Dixon spent two seasons on the North Carolina State staff, helping the Wolfpack capture an ACC Tournament Championship and reach the 2023-24 NCAA Final Four. Then in May 2025, Dixon was named the 14th head coach in Morehouse basketball history, becoming the first coach outside the Arthur McAfee coaching tree to lead the program since 1965. He wasted no time making his mark, guiding the Maroon Tigers to a 22-10 record in year one, a SIAC East Division title, and Morehouse's first SIAC Tournament Championship since 2003, punching the program's first ticket to the NCAA Division II Tournament since 2018. This spring, he added the HBCU All-Stars Co-National Coach of the Year honor and a coaching role with Team Bob Dandridge at the 2026 HBCU All-Star Game Experience. This week we get into all of it, we talk about the winning mindset that turned a rebuild into a championship in year one, and what it actually took to win the SIAC that fast at a new program. Dixon opens up about the education of athletics, and what he wants his players to walk away with beyond basketball. We share some stories in new segments called "Recruiting trip gone wrong", and "Mission Impossible" as well as some more new segments you won't want to miss. It's a conversation about legacy, development, and building something built to last, from a coach who's spent his whole career doing exactly that. Tune in for another episode of Life on the Road: A Coach's Journey, where the road never really ends, it just leads to the next chapter.

    Life on the Road - Guest Larry Dixon

  7. Sep 1

    Life on the Road - Guest Tierra Terry

    This week on Life on the Road, Coach Alphonza Kee and Scott Bollwage sit down with Tierra Terry, head women's basketball coach at Winston-Salem State University. Coach Terry just wrapped a historic debut season leading her alma mater, guiding the Lady Rams to a 28-4 record, a CIAA Tournament championship and the program's first appearance in the NCAA Division II Sweet 16, with the team finishing the year ranked No. 13 nationally and third in the Atlantic Region. That run earned her CIAA Coach of the Year honors, and the university has since announced a two-year contract extension recognizing not just the season, but the culture she's building for the long haul. In this conversation, Terry opens up about what it means to coach at the school she once played for, and what it's really like to be a coach's daughter growing up around the game before ever stepping onto the sideline herself. She talks through her year one mindset, the mental approach to walking into a program and immediately setting a new standard, and what it took to build a team-first culture that translated into a championship. The guys also get into some of the lighter, more human moments of the job, including babysitting on the job and a memorable drive to Canada that turned into one of those only in coaching stories. Coach Terry's path back to Winston-Salem State included stops at Virginia Union and several other collegiate programs before she returned home in 2025 as the program's 12th head coach. Since then, she's leaned into discipline, defense and accountability, and it shows, with multiple Lady Rams earning postseason recognition this year, including a CIAA Rookie of the Year and multiple All-Conference selections. Whether you're a coach, a player, a parent or just someone who loves a good comeback story, this episode is packed with insight on leadership, resilience and what it takes to build something meaningful from the ground up. Tune in for an honest, entertaining conversation with one of the rising names in college basketball coaching. New episodes of Life on the Road drop every Tuesday. Follow along @CoachAKSB on Instagram and X, and @LifeOnTheRoadPodcast on YouTube.

    Life on the Road - Guest Tierra Terry

  8. Aug 26

    Life on the Road - Guest Greg Young

    This week on Life on the Road, Coach Alphonza Kee and Coach Scott Bollwage sit down with Coach Greg Young, he is currently the Special Assistant to Buzz Williams at the University of Maryland.Coach Young began coaching in 1986 as an assistant at Texas Wesleyan, then returned to his hometown of Cleburne, Texas, for a season as an assistant at Cleburne High School. From there he moved to Eastern New Mexico, where as an assistant he helped the Greyhounds reach the NCAA Division II Sweet Sixteen, the first NCAA Tournament appearance in program history. Coach Young landed his first head coaching job at Lamar Community College in Colorado, then moved to Hill College, before joining Southwest Texas State as an assistant and recruiting coordinator under Dennis Nutt. He went on to lead Jacksonville College, where his 2008 to 09 squad went 21 and 10, one of the best seasons in school history, earning him Region XIV Coach of the Year. Across his three junior college head coaching stops, Coach Young compiled a career record of 168 and 139. In 2009, Scott Cross hired Coach Young as an assistant at UT Arlington, where he spent over 13 years building one of the most consistent runs in program history. The Mavericks advanced to the postseason four times under his watch, the 2012 NIT, the 2013 and 2016 CIT, and the 2017 NIT, and won conference titles in the Southland and the Sun Belt along the way. He was voted the top assistant coach in the Sun Belt Conference prior to the 2020 to 21 season. When Chris Ogden departed for Texas, UT Arlington promoted Greg to head coach in April of 2021, the ninth head coach in program history. After his run at UT Arlington, Coach Young joined Troy as associate head coach in August of 2023, helping the Trojans post a 20 and 12 season followed by a 23 and 11 campaign that included a Sun Belt regular season and tournament title. All told, across every program he's coached at, from junior colleges to a Power Four sideline, Coach Young has been part of over 550 team wins. In this conversation, Coach Young and the hosts dig into what it takes to stay in coaching for four decades, the lessons learned from junior college gyms to a Power Four program, and what it means to finally land at Maryland alongside a coach he's known for years. It's a story about patience, loyalty, and the long road so many coaches travel before they get their moment. Tune in for a raw, insightful look at a coaching journey built one stop at a time, from Cleburne to College Park.

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Life on the Road, A Coach’s Journey, hosted by Alphonza Kee and Scott Bollwage , is a basketball podcast featuring coaches at the high school, college, and professional levels. Each episode dives into coaching, recruiting, player development, leadership, and building winning programs. Hear real stories from the road, the grind, and the game. Season 2 brings bigger guests and deeper insight. Subscribe, share, and stay locked in on the journey.

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