Hope we all woke up with some juice today! To all of our college STUMPERS good luck with finals! The National Final Exam Association (NFEA) gave us a call and said that they are scared out of their mind for what we’re all about to do to them! Go destroy em! Besides that, IT’S STUMP TIME!

LETS. GET. INTO. IT.

The UConn Legend Who You Don’t Know

There are so many humans who have a hand in the day-to-day operations of a Division One basketball program. From the chefs, to the athletic trainers, to the operations team, and even the student managers. Every once in a awhile the people you don’t often hear of burst onto the scene in one way or another. In this case for the University of Connecticut, this man is the 2024 NBA Coach of the Year, Mark Daigneault.

It’s likely you’ve never heard of him, but I’d say it’s too late to ignore him now. Mark Daigneault spent 2003-2007 as a student manager under Jim Calhoun at UConn. When he was ready to graduate and was looking to get into coaching, Coach Calhoun set him up with a job at Holy Cross in Massachusetts. He was there for three years until he left for an assistant job at the University of Florida under Billy Donovan. When Donovan left Florida to take the Oklahoma City Thunder head coach job, Daigneault followed and joined the staff of the Thunder G-League affiliate.

He spent 5-years as the Head Coach of the G-League affiliate, leading them to four postseason appearances and three division titles. When Donovan left to become the head coach of the Chicago Bulls, Daigneault was promoted to lead the NBA squad in Oklahoma City.

His young Thunder teams struggled mightily in his first two years, only winning 44 games. Last season, the Thunder showed signs of real growth when they went 40-42 en route to a Play-In Tournament spot. It was this year that the Thunder took off. The squad won 57 games and clinched the number one seed in an incredibly tough and competitive Western Conference.

The most impressive thing about Daigneault has been his ability to develop his own players. While the Thunder were losing games and trading away key pieces, they were loading up on young talent. The rise of Shai Gilgeous-Alexander into one of the best players in the NBA and 2024 NBA MVP finalist has been nothing short of outstanding. Jalen Williams, the 2022 NBA Rookie of the Year runner-up, has been phenomenal for the Thunder and has turned into one of the more fun players to watch.

Top draft pick Josh Giddey has been a floor general and stat-stuffer and developed his shot this season as the year went on. The key piece has been the development and health of big man Chet Holmgren. He has been a force this season and will be a finalist for NBA Rookie of the Year.

Daigneault has built this team from the ground up, developed his players, and taught them how to win in HIS culture, the THUNDER culture. That is what is so impressive about this coaching job. As the season has gone on and the pressure has mounted, this young squad has not looked deterred even in the slightest. They look confident, strong, and like they are having the time of their lives. The delicate balance of light and fun while also focused and motivated is an extremely tight wire to walk as an NBA coach, but it looks like Daigneault has it figured out!

NEW WEEK. NEW LEVEL. Let’s get better this week everybody! No turning back now! For our students on here, good luck on finals!

Link to enjoy: LINK