Brian Merritt

Mr.Everything. Vast background in basketball from events to player development. Learned from some of the best to ever do it. Always evolving and adapting.

[Brian Merritt @CoachBMerritt]

Bowling or Golf, when I have a bad “roll” or an awful swing, I 100% go Happy Gilmore outburst for like 5 seconds.

[Brian Merritt @CoachBMerritt]

Bob Cousy 6-1, got 6 chips too

[Sifu @MEdwardsBball]

Point Guards 6’3” and Under that won NBA Championships….🤔
Tiny Archibald (1)
Mo Cheeks (1)
Isiah Thomas (2)
Avery Johnson (1)
Tony Parker (4)
Rajon Rondo (2)
Steph Curry (4)
Kenny Smith (2)
Jrue Holiday (1)
Kyrie Irving (1)

#SmallGuards 🤷🏽‍♂️

[Brian Merritt @CoachBMerritt]

Love hearing stories like this. Athletes really don’t grasp their impact on fans lives while they are playing. Having a lot of ex pro friends and being w them when people recognize them and speak it’s fun to watch them light up🙌🏻

[Brian Rosenworcel @Bri_Rosenworcel]

My friend Steve ran into Dominique Wilkins at a pizza place in Georgia, went home to show him the sneakers ‘Nique gave him forty years ago, and it was just as meaningful a moment for Wilkins as it was for Steve.

Beautiful.

[Brian Merritt @CoachBMerritt]

I am wanting to know what can be done to extend this Spurs Thunder to a best of 11 series!! This is incredible, Hogan vs Andre quality (Wes Bohn reference)

[USA Basketball 3x3 @usab3x3]

🌵 Team Phoenix finishes runner-up at the Xi'An Challenger, securing a bid to #3x3WTAmsterdam!

🇺🇸🏀 https://t.co/iIrSyJ3i1w

[Cody Worsham @CodyWorsham]

Have told this story a few times but will share here.

I was in a cabinet meeting while serving as interim VP of Comms at LSU in 2023 surrounded by people who knew a lot more than me about higher education. We were looking at metrics that influence US News and World Report rankings.

One key metric in the rankings, as I recall it, is freshmen retention – how many freshmen return for their sophomore year. To my recollection, this very directly impacts graduation rates and is a major factor in where your college ranks, which is a major factor in how many applications you receive, which is a major factor in how much tuition revenue you collect, which is a major factor in the fiscal success of the institution.

We were going through the chart, and being the sports guy in the room, I noticed a pretty clear trend. The highest years for freshmen retention at LSU – 2003, 2007, and 2019 – all years LSU Football made national championship runs. Those are the peaks in the graphic attached (generated by Claude using public data). They’re fairly dramatic when visualized.

It was a light bulb moment for me. And there’s a 2017 study (https://t.co/ggMFKSL96r) that shows success in football and basketball absolutely increases student persistence.

So I guess what I’m saying is that the games really do matter.

[Brian Merritt @CoachBMerritt]

They say they do, dance around, take calls and zooms and then sit still like birds!

There are 3 types of people
1- Horses, they get shit done.
2- Birds, hop around look busy but do nothing.
3- Muffins- sit and don’t move or do anything.

What athletic department is your???

[Dan Furman @Dan_Furman]

@CoachBMerritt I agree! Some departments just never figured it out!

[Brian Merritt @CoachBMerritt]

4 years later there are still those who are wanting to and willing to look outside the box and those who don’t care enough to move the needle.

There is a extreme divide between those athletic departments who are trying to figure it out and those who “say they are”
#LetItBeKnown

[Dan Furman @Dan_Furman]

In 2022 NIL collectives were scrappy booster clubs run out of someone's basement.

In 2026 they're multi-million dollar machines that control who wins championships.

Here's the wildest four year run in college sports history. 🧵👇

[Brian Merritt @CoachBMerritt]

Great person, great leader, great friend. The stories of who he is he does not post or try to seek attention for deeds. Good people are good people. Only people who talk shit are those who do not know him, are jealous of him or have never interacted.

[Tate Gillespie @TC_Gillespie32]

A piece here that deserves more attention: donors have been and are taking notice of not just the money, but how that money is deployed.

- Who is making those decisions?
- What is the process behind arriving at the number for a player?
- What levels of protection do we have in place in the contract against transfer, underperformance, or injury?

Donors didn’t get to their financial standing by being bad at business. These are questions that at the bare minimum, need solid answers and people in place to answer them.

Great piece from @brauf33

[Brian Merritt @CoachBMerritt]

“Everyday is 4th and 1”
Love this!!

[Brian Merritt @CoachBMerritt]

Finally have gotten control of my account again, sorry for anyone who voted on that hacker DM. If you need help navigating to recover your account let me know. It was a beast but finally got it done.

[Dan Wolken @DanWolken]

Led by Miami’s Jai Lucas, a crop of new (and less expensive) coaches in their 30s are making a big impact in March as schools adjust to NIL era economics.

Column for ⁦@YahooSports⁩ https://t.co/SE51DAuHRa

[Colby Allfrey @AllfreyColby]

Bryan Hodgson was a foster kid from the Buffalo, NY area

His dad suffers from Dementia. Since he’s been a head coach his father has never been able to watch his teams in person.

Thursday, Hodgson’s dad will be attendance for his first NCAA Tournament game

What. A. Story

[Keegan Harvey @keegan__harvey]

Run it back.

I am returning to the Bryant Bulldogs for my final year of eligibility. I am excited to continue my journey under the leadership of Coach Christian. #TheEncore

[Brian Merritt @CoachBMerritt]

Maxx Crosby to throw out opening pitch for Orioles on opening day Please!!! #Ravens #Orioles

[Brian Merritt @CoachBMerritt]

Let’s Goooo Flock!!!

[Lamar Jackson @Lj_era8]

😊

[Brian Merritt @CoachBMerritt]

Have sat and watched greatness day after day with Coach Pitino being super sarcastic getting under guys skin to get them to dig in, to John Lucas reminding everyone in the gym that he’s the only #1 pick in the building to remind guys there is someone else working!!

[Vala Afshar @ValaAfshar]

Tom Brady: “You need coaches that push you outside your comfort zone because that’s how you grow and that’s how you develop self confidence and self esteem. They push you to deal with failure.”

[Brian Merritt @CoachBMerritt]

Providence wow

[Matt Devitt @MattDevittWX]

33 INCHES OF SNOW! ❄️ Providence, Rhode Island, just had their all-time greatest snowstorm on record with 33" so far, beating out the Blizzard of '78. Montauk Point on Long Island had hurricane-force wind gusts of 84 mph too! These are new pictures today from the historic Northeast #Blizzard. #RhodeIsland

[Brian Merritt @CoachBMerritt]

Brilliant!! Love it

[Damon Allred @iamdamonallred]

"if you want to change behavior, use stickies."

molly miller told @bickley_marotta about how she and her asu staff utilize sticky notes as a direct but noninvasive way to perform culture checks, and joked that her kids aren't exempt: