5 Questions with Capital City Go-Go coaching associate Rob Dosier

This weekend, I had the opportunity to talk to Captial City Go-Go coaching associate Rob Dosier.

Dosier grew up playing AAU. When he was 13 years old, he was invited to a Nike Basketball Camp in Saint Louis. At the camp, Dosier met coach Drew Hanlen and future NBA superstar Jayson Tatum. Many years later, with the help of that camp, Dosier spent two summers working alongside Hanlen and Tatum, as well as Kevin Durant, Joel Embiid, Bradley Beal, and many more.

Additionally, Dosier was the head coach for the 15U and 16U Illinois Bears in 2016 and 2017, respectively. He was also the assistant coach for the Bears 17U team.

Dosier served as a graduate assistant for two years at Southern Illinois in 2019 and 2020. Dosier contributed to the development of Southern Illinois’ top players and helped the program exceed expectations.

Dosier has always had a passion for the game of basketball and was hired as a coaching associate for the Capital City Go-Go (the Washington Wizards G League affiliate) in 2021.

Here’s the interview:

Q: Something interesting I saw is that you worked two summers alongside NBA skills coach Drew Hanley in LA and were able to work with players like KD, Jayson Tatum, Bradley Beal, and more. What was that experience like and how did you land that opportunity?

A: So I am from Southern Illinois which is about an hour and a half from St. Louis which is where I would do all of my basketball stuff as far as camps and AAU. When I was 13, I got invited to a Nike Basketball in Saint Louis, and one of the people running the camp was Belmont sophomore Drew Hanlen. On my team at the camp was 12-year-old Jayson Tatum. From there I become close with both of them and always stayed really cool with the both of them coming up and I always had the open-door policy when it came to going to LA and learning from the best trainer in the world, in Drew and train with some of the best players in the world, like Jay. So early on, being around Drew so much, I knew player development was what I wanted to do.

Q: The Capital City Go-Go is only your second professional coaching gig. How did you land that job?

A: Between Drew Hanlen and Bradley Beal is how I got brought up to the wizards and then went through interviews at the summer league before I got the job.

Q: The G League is seen as a place for development. How does the coaching staff find the happy medium between winning and development?

A: I think the beautiful thing about the G League is that so much about it is growth. And that goes for us as coaches and players. So I think the best way to tell if things are working is if our play is translating to the court and then on the flip side hopefully these things are translating to winning. I think we were a prime example of that this year. We started out kind of slow but as our guys got better so did our team and our record.

Q: There is no question the G League hosts tremendous talents. Yet, it still lacks the popularity it deserves. Why do fans sleep on the G League, how can they get more involved, and how important is it for fans to be involved with their local G League team?

A: I think the G League is moving in the right direction. They are trying things as a league and getting the national viewership on the showcase games, as well as playoff and finals games, more attention. As well as the NBA’s new two-way rule, which ultimately lets those guys play in the G League more. I think you see more support for the teams that don’t have an NBA team in the same city. Such as Rio Grande, Wisconsin Herd, Grand Rapids, and Maine. Those cities that don’t have the big club super close to them, so the fans watch and take more pride in the pro team that is in their city.

Q: I frequently see you working with many young players. You posted photos of a session with Isiah Todd. What does a normal development session look like? What do you guys work on?

A: A typical workout with me varies. During the year they are shorter because it’s more to just clean up and get reps at what they are good at. After the year and during the summer, that’s when we evaluate their season and see what they need to really focus on in the summer to take the biggest step they can the following year. We will then make a plan for the summer and try to follow it as best as possible knowing we can adjust the plan at any time.

Thank you so much to Rob Dosier for these fantastic responses. I encourage all fans to support their local G League team and try to attend games because the talent there is truly remarkable.