🏆 Hooping Without the Hype: One Coach’s Crusade

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Damany Hendrix is the Assistant Men’s Basketball Coach at San Jose State University. A Vallejo, California native, Damany has built a coaching journey as unconventional as it is inspiring. After playing at Gonzaga, Santa Rosa JC, and Lamar University, he turned to coaching with a mission: to teach the game the right way. Over two decades, he’s held roles at the grassroots, international, collegiate, and professional levels — from running his own development school in Northern California to coaching in China and in the NBA G League with Raptors 905 and the Northern Arizona Suns. He also served as an assistant under Jerry Stackhouse at Vanderbilt before joining Tim Miles’ staff at San Jose State.

From Vallejo to the Business of Basketball

Damany’s basketball journey began in Vallejo, where he starred on a high school team that won over 30 games and sent multiple players to Division I programs — including one to the NBA. He earned a scholarship to Gonzaga and redshirted during their legendary 1998 Elite Eight run, but the program didn’t renew his scholarship. “That was my introduction to the business side of sports,” he says. “At 18, I learned that this isn’t just fun and games, it’s an industry.” He found his footing at Santa Rosa Junior College and later transferred to Lamar University, where he developed not just as a player but as a thinker of the game. After graduating, he returned home to volunteer coach at his old high school and later launched Bridge Builders Basketball School, focusing on foundational skills like jump stops and pivoting — what he calls “real basketball” before the training boom took over.

Despite his dedication, Damany spent years chasing college coaching opportunities without luck. That changed at the 2017 NBA Summer League, when a chance encounter with Jerry Stackhouse led to an invite to Atlanta. “I didn’t even know what the job was going to be. I just packed a bag and went,” he says. Stackhouse was testing him; and he passed. Damany joined Raptors 905, reached the G League Finals, and later coached with the Northern Arizona Suns before reuniting with Stackhouse at Vanderbilt. After two seasons there, he moved back west to join Tim Miles at San Jose State. “This was a chance to learn something different,” he says. In year two, the team won 21 games, Omari Moore took home Mountain West Player of the Year, and Coach Miles was named Coach of the Year. “It showed what was possible,” Damany says.

Be a Good Human and Grind

For Damany, success in basketball, and in life, starts with character and commitment. “The most successful people I’ve worked with are good humans and grinders,” he says. “Coach Rooney, Coach Miles, Stack — they’re relentless, but they’re also grounded.” That balance of intensity and integrity is what Damany aims to model. “I’m not a transactional human being. I want real relationships with my players and my peers. I’d rather succeed on merit than be cutthroat,” he says.

He’s seen how those values translate to players too. Moore, one of his standouts at San Jose State, was the team’s best player but carried himself with humility. “He just wanted to be one of the guys,” Damany says. “We had to remind him: you make this thing go.” And with Gabe Vincent, it was the work ethic. “I loved working with Gabe. Every rep mattered. He never cheated anything.” In a business that rewards flash, Damany believes the long-term wins still come from being consistent, committed, and kind.

Bringing Hooping Back

Damany’s “why” used to be about helping players navigate college and being the coach he never had. But that’s changed. “My new purpose is this: I’m on a crusade to bring back hooping.” He sees a generation of players trained to death but rarely playing. “They don’t love basketball the way we did,” he says. “They love training. They love social media. But they don’t love hooping. They don’t just go find a gym and play five-on-five.”

That, to him, is a problem. “We’re in the most skilled generation of basketball, but so many kids don’t know how to play. They’ve skipped the step of actually playing the game,” he says. Players don’t know how to set a screen, how to cut, how to play off the ball; because the focus has shifted to individual drills and curated highlights. “I want to bring basketball back to its essence,” Damany says. “No refs. No cameras. No rankings. Just hooping for the love of the game.”

Next Gen Advice

Damany advises the next gen to show people your worth before worrying about your paycheck.” He lived it. At 33 years old, he took out $25,000 in loans to be a graduate assistant at Cal State Northridge. “I wasn’t getting paid. But I had to show what I could do,” he says. That hustle eventually led to his name being in rooms, his phone buzzing at 2 a.m. with coaches asking for ideas. “People want to be valued before they’ve shown value. But this business doesn’t work that way,” he says. “Get good at your craft. Be undeniable. The money will come when people see what you bring to the table.”

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