Episode 525: Noel Hightower, Golden State Warriors Player Development Coach

Sports Business Secrets

Today’s guest is Noel Hightower, Player Development Coach for the Golden State Warriors & Assistant Coach for the G League affiliate, the Santa Cruz Warriors!

Noel is originally from Easton, PA where he grew up as a multi-sport standout athlete in high school. He then took his talents to Chestnut Hill College where he played basketball as well as a few years of track and field.

Soon after graduation he began his coaching career at Lehigh University, where he obtained a masters degree in educational leadership. After several seasons in Bethlehem he was given an opportunity to take his coaching talents to the NBA. His first stop was with the Indiana Pacers where he found himself learning just as much as he was teaching! Noel is currently in a player development coaching role with the Golden State Warriors in addition to being an assistant coach for their G League affiliate, the Santa Cruz Warriors.

He's a coach, a leader, a best selling author… and someone who I consider a great friend!

Today we talked about:

• Growing up being a multi-sport athlete
• His college recruiting process & why he chose Chestnut Hill
• How he got his first job in the coaching world
• His roles & responsibilities as a college Director of Basketball Operations
• What made him want to leave college and jump to the NBA side
• The sacrifices that he had to make when leaving a stable job for a dream job
• His roles & responsibilities when he joined the Pacers
• His roles & responsibilities for the Warriors
• Which characteristics separate NBA players from others
• Some basic offensive principles they teach at the NBA level
• and much more

https://www.kevintarca.com/blog