Leon Rice once turned down owning a business to become a volunteer basketball coach. People thought he was crazy. But he stuck to his goals of becoming a head basketball coach, and he knew that he had to become a superstar at every job he held.

That’s what he’s trying to teach his players--to become a superstar in whatever role they hold.

In this episode, you’ll hear from Boise State Men’s Basketball Head Coach on his life story and how he Watered the Bamboo all the way to where he is now. 

Don’t miss this incredible story!

Episode Highlights:

02:26 - Who’s in Leon’s Bamboo Circle 05:58 - How Leon is growing his team at Boise State 10:57 - Why players come back 12:41 - Advice for leaders on how to build a great culture 16:40 - What kind of “pandas” show up for Leon 19:48 - Leon’s advice to a young Leon Rice 25:19 - Leon’s routines on his best day 31:15 - Why Leon turned town the opportunity to own a bar in order to volunteer as a coach 34:54 - Why it’s important to focus on the essentials 36:33 - How do you help your team overcome a heartbreaking loss? 41:58 - Leon’s approach to coaching his son 46:38 - Advice to Bamboo Nation 54:00 - Why Leon approaches coaching basketball like he watches his son’s Lacrosse games

Order the Water the Bamboo Book at https://amzn.to/3mPxcZu

Order the What's Going Well? Book at https://amzn.to/3rBePLy 

Guest at a Glance

Leon Paul Rice is the head men's basketball coach at Boise State University. In his first season as head coach, he led Boise State to the finals of the 2011 WAC Men's Basketball Tournament and to the semifinals of the 2011 College Basketball Invitational. He is the first Boise State head coach to win 20 games in two of his first three seasons and has 20 or more wins in eight of his ten seasons. In 2013, he guided the Broncos to their first ever at-large bid to the NCAA Tournament. In 2015, he led the Broncos to their first ever Mountain West regular season championship, and first conference title for Boise State since 2008, and was named the Mountain West coach of the year. On February 13, 2021, Rice won his 214th game to become the winningest head coach in Boise State history. Rice was a part of Mark Few's first coaching staff at Gonzaga. Rice is cited by Few as being instrumental to the Bulldogs current and past success as a program.

Learn more about Greg Bell

More than just a motivational speaker, Greg Bell is a Portland, Oregon based thought leader, business consultant, and leadership coach. His popular books, What’s Going Well? and Water The Bamboo: Unleashing The Potential Of Teams And Individuals, have inspired an array of organizations, from Fortune 500 companies like Nike, Disney, and Comcast, to the Portland Trail Blazers and Division I NCAA athletic teams like the Oregon Ducks Football and the Gonzaga Bulldogs Basketball. 

Visit Greg’s website.

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