On this episode Mike and Jason look back at the 2026 NBA Finals between the Knicks and Spurs.

• The Knicks capturing the magic of team basketball both individually and collectively
• Is Jalen Brunson a top 5 player in the league? Is he the best clutch player in the league?
• What do the Spurs do with De'Aaron Fox?
• Dylan Harper is ready
• What does Wemby need to add to his game? How does this loss affect his ultimate legacy? ( a crazy question to ask about someone who's 22)

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D3 Direct Recruiting Playbook

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Your step-by-step guide to getting recruited as a college athlete at the NCAA Division 3 level. This course is designed by former D3 Athletes to take you from zero interest from college coaches to securing your first offer and putting you on the path to committing.

The Coaching Portfolio

Your first impression is everything when applying for a new coaching job. A professional coaching portfolio is the tool that highlights your coaching achievements and philosophies and, most of all, helps separate you and your abilities from the other applicants. Special Price of just $25 for all Hoop Heads Listeners.

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The 25th edition of “The Triple Double” with Rob Brost, Bolingbrook (IL) High School Boys’ Basketball Head Coach. Rob, Mike, & Jason hit on three basketball topics in each episode of “The Triple Double”.

1. What are the keys to getting the most out your best player?
2. What part of a high school coach's job is dramatically underestimated?
3. What question do you wish more coaches would ask you...as opposed to the ones you get asked all the time?

Visit our Sponsors!

Give With Hoops

Give With Hoops is a groundbreaking initiative that fuses basketball analytics with modern sponsorship. Built for teams who see data as opportunity, from AAU programs to college powerhouses. By tying on-court performance directly to community and sponsor engagement, Give With Hoops help programs raise more while deepening support from those who believe in the game.

D3 Direct Recruiting Playbook

Hoop Heads Listeners currently get 25% off!

Your step-by-step guide to getting recruited as a college athlete at the NCAA Division 3 level. This course is designed by former D3 Athletes to take you from zero interest from college coaches to securing your first offer and putting you on the path to committing.

The Coaching Portfolio

Your first impression is everything when applying for a new coaching job. A professional coaching portfolio is the tool that highlights your coaching achievements and philosophies and, most of all, helps separate you and your abilities from the other applicants. Special Price of just $25 for all Hoop Heads Listeners.

Wealth4Coaches

Empowering athletic coaches with financial education, strategic planning, and practical tools to build lasting wealth—on and off the court.

If you listen to and love the Hoop Heads Podcast, please consider giving us a small tip that will help in our quest to become the #1 basketball coaching podcast. https://hoop-heads.captivate.fm/support

Twitter/X

Podcast - @hoopheadspod

Mike - @hdstarthoops

Jason - @jsunkle

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Matt Elkin is in his second season with the Stanford men's basketball program and his first as assistant coach. Elkin spent 2024-25 as assistant recruiting coordinator at Stanford before spending one season at Columbia in 2025-26 as an assistant coach.

Elkin arrived at Stanford in 2024 after spending the previous four seasons at Yale as director of basketball operations. Concurrent with his role at Yale, Elkin has served as an assistant coach with Team USA with the under-18 team. He helped lead the American delegation to a gold medal at the 2022 World Maccabiah Games. Matt is also the Executive Director of the Jewish Coaches Association.

Prior to his time in New Haven, Elkin served as an assistant coach at the Windward School in Los Angeles, where he helped the program to a 53-15 record over two seasons. He also spent two seasons at Vermont Academy as a varsity assistant coach from 2016-18.

Elkin began his coaching career as a student manager at the University of Wisconsin and later served as head manager and student assistant for two seasons at Division III Edgewood College in Madison, Wisconsin. While earning a Master’s degree in Sports Leadership from Northeastern in 2016, Elkin served as the graduate manager for the men’s basketball team for two seasons.

On this episode Mike & Matt discuss his remarkable journey from coaching youth basketball to achieving his dream role at a prestigious institution like Stanford. Throughout our conversation, Matt emphasizes the importance of fostering enjoyment and passion in the game, a principle instilled in him by his early coaches. We delve into his experiences at Yale, where he contributed to three Ivy League championships, and how those formative years shaped his coaching philosophy. Elkin discusses the challenges and opportunities presented by the evolving landscape of college basketball, particularly with respect to the recruitment process amidst the pressures of the NIL era. Matt shares his commitment to nurturing student-athletes, ensuring they thrive both on the court and in their academic pursuits, all while upholding the values that define Stanford's storied legacy in athletics and education.

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Be sure to have pen and paper handy before you listen to this episode with Matt Elkin, Men’s Basketball Assistant Coach at Stanford University.

Website - https://gostanford.com/sports/mens-basketball https://jewishcoaches.com/

Email - mattelkin91@gmail.com

Twitter/X - @CoachElkin