The Grounded Theory Podcast

Basketball, life and other rabbit holes we find ourselves going down

The Grounded Theory Podcast is a sports podcast hosted by Malachy Simpson, with 39 episodes on record and a Required Pod Score of 80. PitchCentric scores this show on Booking Probability, Listen Score, and live audience signals refreshed every 24 hours.

Malachy Simpson hosts The Grounded Theory Podcast, a sports show with 39 episodes published.

Our AI reads these to draft pitches. Use them as grounding for a pitch that cites a real guest and a specific topic.

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  Episode #40

  040 with Freeze Calipari: Developing Young Talent, NIL Landscape and Red Pills of the Music Industry

  Aug 17, 20262h 34mS1

  Freeze Calipari aka Jarell Graham is currently the assistant coach at Confluence Prep Academy here in St. Louis. Freeze has coached some of the best talent St. Louis has had to offer throughout the years when they were kids and has coached multiple nationally ranked AAU teams. Being in the mix for so long, he's coached with and against lots of NBA guys like Cam Boozer, Darius Acuff Jr., Thompson twins, Cooper Flag and more. Freeze has been on the front lines in a way that gives him a really interesting perspective on basketball in St. Louis as well as nationally. We talk about the And 1 mixtape era, the differences between developing young talent vs trying to win right now, the differences in play styles from state to state, the importance of being able to effect the game by more than just scoring, AAU politics, the NIL generation of athletes and a lot more. Lots of St. Louis basketball name drops and a little peak behind the curtain of the music industry at the end. Very entertaining conversation.Go tap in with Freeze on IG: @freezycalipari

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  Episode #39

  039 with Dwayne Polk: Vashon Basketball, Developing Buy In with Players and Enjoying the Process

  Aug 10, 20263h 1mS1

  Dwayne Polk is currently the head coach at Lutheran North high school here in St. Louis. He played, then later on came back to coach at, Vashon high school. After being highly recruited and ranked top 30 in his class, he chose to play at St. Louis University in college. After playing professionally in the PBL (premier basketball league), he began his coaching journey as the head coach at McCluer North for the girls. A handful of state championships at Vashon later, he is going on year 3 at Lutheran North. We talked about the strong culture and tradition of Vashon basketball. Going undefeated his senior year, him playing against future pros like Lebron James, Chris Paul, Monta Ellis and Adam Morrison. Being coached by Rick Majerus at SLU and how that's developed his ability to create buy in from his players as a coach, and a bunch of St. Louis basketball pulls along the way. First pod to reach the 3 hour mark and rightfully so. Great convo with a great human. Go tap in with him: Instagram, Twitter and Facebook: @teampolkwinning Also on Instagram @lncrusadersbasketball to follow along with their season and get some Xs and Os breakdowns throughout the season

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  Episode #38

  038 with Greg Gentry: College Coaching, Mental Health for Athletes and Dad Life

  Jul 23, 20262h 28mS1

  Greg Gentry is currently an assistant coach at Clayton high school (St. Louis, MO). Growing up in California he played his freshman year at Taft high school in Los Angeles along side Larry Drew II then finished high school at Durango high school in Spring Valley Nevada. After a cup of coffee at Cosumnes River Junior College in Sacramento, Greg went on to finish his playing career at Fontbonne University in St. Louis. After graduating and going back to California to coach at Calabasas high school, he came back to Fontbonne and joined the coaching staff as a graduate assistant. After 9 years with the Griffins, he joined the staff at Clayton high school where the team just made it to the final four in the 2024-2025 season which was the first time they've made it that far since 1975. In this conversation we talk about the California hoop scene, differences between there and St. Louis, mixtape culture and how that effects the on court product, the JUCO grind, mental health for athletes, a deep dive into his process for cooking up scouting reports as a college coach and a lot more. G is a former coach of mine and someone I've always had a lot of respect for so it was awesome to get to chop it up with him. Instagram: @youngcal_24And to follow along with the Grey Hounds next season: @chsgreyhoundbasketball on Instagram

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  Episode #37

  037 with Andrew Keck: Getting Drafted to MLB, Controlling The Controllables and The Art of Coaching

  Jul 2, 20261h 51mS1

  Andrew Keck graduated from Vianney High School (St. Louis, MO) in 2018. From there he caught at SEMO for 4 years before getting drafted by the Atlanta Braves where he spent 3.5 years in their minor league system. He currently is the owner of AK12 Baseball Performance Lab where he helps current players with their catching, hitting, pitching and overall game including mindset. Tons of fun insight chopping it up with someone who played and coaches a different sport. As a catcher it was awesome to hear AK break down the game within the game of baseball as we got fairly deep in the weeds with things like sign stealing and what actually goes on during mound visits during a game as well as what to expect during the process of being recruited as a baseball player. We talked a lot about the similarities and differences between the sports when it comes to the mental game, how analytics effects teams' approaches, play styles within college conferences, travel ball/AAU, and a lot more. Crazy fun to get into my baseball bag, this easily could've been a 3 hour episode. Instagram: @keckacademy Website: ak12sportsgroup.comFacebook: https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=61557980674222

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  Episode #36

  036 with Aurelio Stucco: Coaching Philosophy, Girls Hoops Scene and Rediscovering Faith in God

  May 2, 20262h 30mS1

  Aurelio Stucco hooped at Whitfield high school in St. Louis, Missouri as part of a team that was probably the best in their schools history that included then Mizzou commit Torrence Watson. After graduating in 2019, Stucco decided to forgo playing in college and began passing on his knowledge of the game to the next generation. He did private and group training as well as team coaching for Larry Hughes Basketball Academy for 6 years and is now a varsity assistant for Fort Zumwalt South girls team as well as head JV coach. An hour and a half turned into 2.5 real quick. This was a great conversation covering a wide array topics. We talked St. Louis hoops, the girls scene, his decision not to hoop in college, how he got into coaching and training, some torching NBA takes, and his journey to rediscovering his faith in God. Go tap in with my guy: Instagram : @stuccoooooFacebook: Aurelio Stucco Basketball Training: stuccosbasketballtraining.com

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