494: What It’s Like to Be Commissioner in Professional Basketball With Carlnel Wiley, The Basketball League [Main T4C Episode]

Carlnel Wiley is commissioner of The Basketball League. He has over 25 years of coaching experience with teams such as Montana State University and Bishop Manogue Catholic High School. In his role as commissioner, he focuses on growing and expanding the league by reaching new markets, managing league rules and running the summer combine. Prior to his latest role, Carlnel was head coach of the Nevada Desert Dogs, before they changed their name to the Mesquite Desert Dogs in 2019.    From 2012 to 2014 he served as the executive vice president in charge of player development with the Reno Bighorns (now the Stockton Kings). After Carlnel graduated from college with a degree in Social Sciences, he played for the original Harlem Globetrotters, the Brooklyn Kings, the U.S. Basketball League and many other teams as well. WHAT YOU’LL LEARN ABOUT IN THIS EPISODE: How he and his family are dealing in the aftermath of the George Floyd murder (4:44) What does handling the race issue by doing the “right thing” mean to Carlnel (12:34) What the front office of basketball industry is like for Black youth (20:50) What advice Carlnel has for Black men and women who want to break into the front office of basketball (23:49) What Carlnel does as commissioner of The Basketball League (26:22) How to find out what entry level jobs are available in the TBL (33:30) What’s a good way to get your foot in the door (34:03) What was Dream Hoops and what does it mean to be in charge of player development (45:30) How is coaching in the TBL different from coaching at other levels (49:30) What advice he would give his younger self (58:12) How Carlnel welcomes emails from young people interested in learning more about professional basketball: [email protected]