About this episode

Dustin Kerns discusses his coaching journey and strategies for building successful basketball programs.

In this week’s episode, Brendan Suhr is joined by Dustin Kerns, head coach of the Appalachian State Mountaineers. Kerns reflects on his coaching journey from graduate assistant to Division I head coach, sharing lessons learned from mentors such as Larry Shyatt and Mike Young. He discusses the importance of mastering the “invisible” parts of coaching, building relationships across an institution, and why aspiring coaches must focus on excelling where they are rather than constantly chasing the next opportunity. Kerns also provides an overview of how he rebuilt programs at both Presbyterian and Appalachian State by changing the psychology of winning before focusing on tactics. He shares strategies for establishing accountability, creating alignment throughout your program, and building a culture centered on discipline, selflessness, and team-first habits. The conversation dives into Appalachian State’s defensive identity, rebounding philosophy, player development, and the challenges of maintaining consistency in the transfer portal era. All that and more on Episode 332 of the Coaching U Podcast presented by Noah Basketball. Noah Basketball is trusted by 28 NBA teams, over 200 NCAA…

People in this episode

Host: Brendan Suhr

Guest: Dustin Kerns

Topics covered

• coaching journey
• building relationships
• program rebuilding
• defensive identity
• player development
• transfer portal challenges

Keywords

• coaching
• basketball
• Appalachian State
• program culture
• accountability
• player development
• transfer portal

Sponsors

Noah Basketball

Mentioned in this episode

Organizations: Appalachian State Mountaineers, Presbyterian

More episodes of Coaching U Podcast with Coach Brendan Suhr

• Ep. 331 Jon Gordon, The Power of Positive Habits · May 24, 2026 · 43 min
• Ep. 330 Josh Pastner, UNLV Runnin' Rebels · May 11, 2026 · 46 min
• Ep. 328 John Carter, The Science of Shooting · April 27, 2026 · 44 min
• Ep. 327 NCAA Tournament Takeaways · April 12, 2026 · 23 min
• Ep. 326 Fran Fraschilla, Men's NCAA Final Four Preview · March 31, 2026 · 1h 8m
• Ep. 325 Debbie Antonelli Recapping the NCAA Tournament Opening Rounds · March 25, 2026 · 1h 4m

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