Blount tipped things off at 9 a.m. sharp with a defensive clinic, his USD men's players bringing the concepts to life on the main court. Alverson followed with the offensive counterpart, her demonstration giving the crowd a second live look at how the Toreros teach.
“Our players, and both of our teams being able to be a part of this, it sets the tone for them,” said Alverson, entering her second season after posting the most wins by a first-year head coach in program history. “This is a pretty special place, and when you're able to have what we have in here, and people want to support you, and be here, and you're learning, and you're growing…our team gained a lot of experience from that.”
From the court, the clinic moved to the microphone. Anthony Slater, ESPN's NBA senior writer, drew on 14 seasons covering the league — from the Kevin Durant-Russell Westbrook Thunder to a decade around the Golden State Warriors dynasty — for a session on media, storytelling and why building a brand matters for coaches and players alike.
“After two Coaches Clinics, I would give USD two 'A-pluses,' I think it's a really cool event," said Slater, also an attendee of the inaugural clinic last summer. "The energy of how hoops is really played, the schemes that go into it, it was cool to see — not just experts teaching it, but a bunch of on-the-rise, younger coaches following along.”
Seth Davis picked up from there with a 45-minute deep dive into leadership, team building and culture, built around his "Tree of Why" exercise — a handout every coach found printed on the back of their agenda at check-in. A fixture of March Madness coverage on CBS and TNT since 2004 and now co-founder and editor-in-chief of Hoops HQ, Davis fielded audience questions before yielding the floor, two weeks ahead of receiving the 2026 Curt Gowdy Award from the Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame on Aug. 14.
“I always love coming to the USD campus," Davis described. ”It's really one of the great gems in American education. San Diego is an incredible city…and I can't imagine anyone who wouldn't want to come here and play basketball. JR and Blanche are two young, energetic coaches who are hopefully coming aboard at the right time."
Then came the champion. Cori Close, fresh off leading UCLA to its first NCAA-era national title, walked the room down her "Road to a National Championship" — a 15-year build in Westwood that produced 358 wins, 23 WNBA draftees, a sweep of all four national coach of the year awards in 2024-25, and this spring, a record six players selected in a single WNBA Draft.
“For me, part of growing the game is partnering with people like Blanche,” said Close, who's known the Toreros' new head coach since she was in high school. “I'm absolutely blessed to be a part of this. The University of San Diego has done an awesome job of building an elite training environment and putting people first…and this clinic is a great example of how they have a service mindset, to serve the community and make a difference. Kudos to the (USD) basketball programs for setting the standard.”
Jeff Van Gundy closed the morning the way a headliner should. The former Knicks and Rockets head coach — who led New York to the 1999 NBA Finals, earned a ring as a senior consultant with the 2024 champion Boston Celtics, and now serves as lead assistant with the LA Clippers — spent his keynote breaking down how to defend the five-out offenses reshaping the modern game, then took questions from the floor.
The session doubled as a reunion of sorts: Van Gundy has been a mentor to Blount since the USD coach's Iowa State days, a relationship that helped bring the nine-year NBA head coach to Alcala Park.
"I love JR, and I believe in everything that he stands for," Van Gundy said. “And when I got to hear Blanche speak, I was like ‘Wow, she knows offense.' USD basketball is in great hands, and when you can come out and talk basketball with coaches, and do it with someone you respect as much as I respect JR, it's a no-brainer."
Emceed by local radio host and USD play-by-play broadcaster Braden Surprenant, the morning wrapped just before 1 p.m. with closing remarks from both head coaches. The speakers then stuck around for a media scrum, photos and informal networking, sending coaches back to their own gyms with fresh drills, new contacts and a few selfies and autographs.
For USD, the clinic was also a preview. Blount's first Torero team opens at home on Nov. 2 versus Biola, and Alverson's squad tips off its home slate Nov. 10 against Portland State — the next chances for Saturday's crowd to see the Basketball Performance Center's lessons put to work across campus on gameday.
