"We Want Utah Kids." Coach Casey Stanley's Vision for Westminster Griffins Basketball

Coach Casey Stanley sits down for an in-depth interview about his journey to becoming the new head men's basketball coach at Westminster University in Salt Lake City. With 18 years of collegiate coaching experience — including 15 seasons at the NCAA Division I level — Stanley has worked alongside some of the biggest names in basketball, including Rick Pitino at Louisville and Richard Pitino at Minnesota. Along the way, he helped develop seven NBA players and 31 international professionals. Now leading the Westminster Griffins in the Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference (RMAC) at the Division II level, Coach Stanley shares his defensive philosophy, his commitment to recruiting local Utah talent, and what it means to take on his first collegiate head coaching role. Before arriving at Westminster, Stanley built Layton Christian Academy into a nationally ranked Top 50 prep program, compiling a 66-20 record and winning a state title. In this interview, we cover: 🏀 His coaching journey from Iona College to D1 staffs across the country 🏀 What he learned working under Rick Pitino and other elite coaches 🏀 Why he's prioritizing Utah recruits and local talent 🏀 His defensive identity and how he plans to build the Griffins program 🏀 The transition from prep coaching to his first college head coaching job 🔔 Subscribe for more Utah basketball interviews and high school hoops coverage! 📱 FOLLOW US https://www.instagram.com/making\_the\_team/ https://www.tiktok.com/@making.the.team 📌 TIMESTAMPS 0:00 New Program 0:27 Difference between High School & College 2:08 Why Focus on Utah Recruiting? 3:10 Coaching Tree 4:19 Non Negotiables to a Winning Culture 5:30 Recruiting High School Players 10:20 What it Takes to Win 13:00 Building a Culture 14:58 Where to Start 16:48 Scouting 18:17 Shot Selection 19:45 Use of Analytics 23:37 Rules of D2 vs D1 24:57 Picking a Staff 26:21 Biggest Surprises for High Schoolers 27:44 What Players Need to Play Immediately 29:44 National Attention 30:50 Turning Around the Program 33:50 Life Outside Basketball 36:03 Still Learning 37:44 Useful Equipment 38:28 Separating Self Worth From Record 39:40 Advice to Coaches 40:38 Advice to Younger Self #WestminsterGriffins #CaseyStanley #UtahBasketball #WestminsterUniversity #RMAC #CollegeBasketball #CoachInterview #HighSchoolBasketball #Utah