Tennessee State's Dana Ford thriving as college basketball's youngest coach

At 32, Dana Ford is a millennial, for better or worse.

But the youngest head coach in college basketball feels like his age gives him an inside edge of reaching his Tennessee State players.

"Being on the tail end of that generation, I definitely feel more in the loop with how to get to these guys faster," said Ford, last season's Ohio Valley Conference coach of the year. "As a head coach, I realize that sometimes it's not just about what I'm saying, but how I'm saying it and who I'm saying it with. It's how I relate to them. Being a younger coach, it's easier for me to tap into what they're going through because that was me not too long ago."

Not too long ago, Ford was a player at Illinois State specializing in defense. He started his coaching career as a graduate assistant under Gregg Marshall at Winthrop before moving with Marshall at Wichita State, where Ford went onto recruit two-time All-American guard Fred VanVleet. After assistant jobs at Chipola (Fla.) Junior College, Tennessee State and back to Wichita State, Ford returned to his alma mater, coaching the Redbirds under current coach Dan Muller for two seasons.

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In 2014, at 29, Ford got the call to take over a woeful program in need of a revitalization. Last year Ford quietly spearheaded the program to one of the best turnarounds in Division I history — going from 5-26 in 2014-15 to 20-11. This season, Ford has the Tigers (7-1) rolling. They're off to their best start since prior to joining D-I in 1977-78.

"I've taken something different from each coach I've been with and implemented that into our program," Ford said. "With Gregg Marshall at Wichita, it's holding players accountable. With John Cooper at Tennessee State (from 2009-11), he taught me the importance of being a good family man because at the end of the day the players are watching you being a good husband and father. And at Illinois State, Dan Muller taught me the importance of building relationships with players. You can have a vision and the best culture, but if you don't have those personal relationships with guys it means nothing."

When Ford arrived in Nashville, his first season was as tough as they come; he had one returning player and in turn needed to add 12 players in eight weeks. That forced him to turn to transfers and freshmen and simply trudge through 2014-15. Granted, it is a long season, but nevertheless The Tigers' fast start is success that the program needs desperately.

In Year 3 of the reclamation project, Ford believes his team team can contend in the Ohio Valley in pursuit of transforming into a March Madness darling like say, Middle Tennessee, last season's Cinderella the Tigers beat this season. The rest of their non-conference slate will prep them well for that, with upcoming matchups at North Carolina State (Saturday) and then at Duke (Dec. 19).

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"We wanted to get to a place where in our conference we consistently compete against everyone, and we wanted to play against the best competition," Ford said. "We're transitioning to a point where we can expect to win.

"The biggest thing we emphasize with this program is character. Bad character can drive a team down, and good character can drive a team up. The most talented player in the world could have bad character, and we wouldn't want him."

The Tigers start three fifth-year seniors — elite guard Tahjere McCall (13.1 points, 6.0 rebounds and 4.5 assists per game), double-double machine forward Wayne Martin (13.1 ppg, 10.0 rpg) and guard Jordan Reed (11.1 ppg, 8.1 rpg). All three transferred from other programs to play for Ford.

"Our goal is to be relentless in getting better," Ford said. "In order for them to peak in March, they have to pay attention to detail. We can't get complacent. I believe in consistently re-inventing ourselves."

Ford, who credits his success to associate coach, Randy Peele — a former head coach who has led two different Big South teams (UNC Greensboro and Winthrop) to the NCAA tournament — has re-invented himself on a regular-day basis as such a young coach, he concedes. And he certainly prefers his head coaching duties over assistant duties.

"This is such a perfect place to cut your teeth into head coach," said Ford. "Our league allows me to not be overwhelmed and learn on the fly. So while the players are growing, I'm growing, too."

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