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Ryan Daly officially joins coaching ranks as Albany assistant

10/03/2022, 12:15pm EDT
By Jared Leveson

Jared Leveson (@jared_leveson)

During one of their daily phone calls, Brian Daly noticed that his son, Ryan Daly, talked about his Ontario Clippers team with diminished enthusiasm. The elder Daly said that his son usually relished the opportunity to get shots up before practice, but he’d been less motivated lately. On that phone call, Ryan told his father he likes his teammates, but their focus is self-centered, and everyone goes their separate ways after games, win or lose. 

The locker room had turned into a break room, the court morphed into a cubicle, and there was no pride in wearing the logo. He was not a part of something bigger than himself. Professional basketball was not fun anymore. A professional career was always the goal, or at least he once thought. 

Impossible to imagine a world without the game that raised him, that runs in his blood, Daly reached out to old contacts in the coaching world. His impressive resume brought him to a new home rather quickly. 


Archbishop Carroll and St. Joe's product Ryan Daly, pictured playing for St. Joe's in 2019, was officially announced as an Albany men's basketball coach last week. (Photo: Josh Verlin/CoBL)

Dwayne Killings, the University of Albany men’s basketball head coach, officially announced he’d hired Daly as an assistant coach last week, after quietly bringing on the former Saint Joseph’s and Delaware standout earlier this summer as a supporting staff member. Ending his professional career earlier than most expected, the 24-year-old Daly has transitioned into coaching and has joined Killings’ program as one of the youngest assistant coaches in Division I college basketball.  

The Archbishop Carroll graduate grew tired of the professional game and saw his basketball career going down a different path. 

“I found myself not really enjoying the game, playing it and everything that went into it as much because it was my job and there was a part of me that really missed the team environment,” he said. 

“Why go play in a different country or the G-League, when there is an opportunity to hop into a career, and a more stable career?”

Killings was a significant reason why Daly ended up at Albany. He was the first name Daly called when he stopped playing. The two’s relationship goes back to when Daly was in middle school and his father, Brian, coached on the Boston University staff with Killings.

Albany provided that team environment and pride that Daly missed during his time in the pros. 

He began as a supporting staff member and worked over the summer. The former Archbishop Carroll standout and 2016 Catholic League MVP invested everything into his support staff role. He dedicated hours to tediously breaking down and organizing film, conducting unofficial visits, working out players, creating scouting reports, and anything else the coaching staff needed. 

Killings did not initially consider Daly for the assistant coach spot. But when another assistant could not travel on the summer recruiting circuit because of a wedding, Killings brought Daly along. On the road, Daly turned many heads. 

“He knew players, people knew him,” Killings said. 

“I think word got out truthfully that I was a little advanced for just beginning in the profession and, you know, that’s when other schools in July and August had some turnover and I talked to people,” Daly said. 

Then, assistant coach Hamlet Tibbs left Albany for a job at the University of Notre Dame, opening a position on Killings’ staff. Daly accepted an offer from Killings and Albany over other opportunities, including one at the NBA level in player development, as well as an assistant job at another Division I program. 

“You’re constantly looking for the right people and sometimes it’s right under your nose and you gotta take a chance,” Killings said on Daly’s promotion.  

“I just watched him his entire basketball career prove people wrong,” the former Temple assistant, now in his second year at Albany, continued. “He believes in himself, he’s confident, he works, he’s got grit, he’s got toughness. That’s what we want to create and that’s the kinda people that I want here, and I picked my head up one day and was like why would I not hire Ryan.” 

“There was no question of where I was going to go when this opportunity presented itself. I’ve known coach for a while, I trust him with my life, he’s like family to me,” Daly said. “I could not look more forward to working under him and learning from him because I believe he is one of the best.”

Daly always knew he could become an assistant coach, but at first, he did not realize it could happen soon after he stopped playing. Most people his age serve as support staff or graduate assistants for a while before finding a seat on the bench. 

His youth and inexperience in coaching are some concerns surrounding Killings’ recent hire. The former St. Joe guard knows that his proximity in age to his players may make accountability and respect hard to come by; after all, he played against Great Danes senior Da’Kquan Davis when Davis was at Roman Catholic, and now he’ll be one of his bosses.

Daly is embracing the challenge. 

“We have a good relationship and they understand the respect and the boundaries that need to be there because I’m trying to get them where I was,” Daly said. “It’ll be a work in progress, but i think I’ve done a pretty good job of maintaining my distance and also allowing them to get close to me because they wanna relate to kinda what I did and we’re all on the same page with that.”

Brian Daly dismissed any concern that Ryan would struggle to influence his teammates. 

“He’s clear on the dividing line between being a coach and being a kid that’s their age,” the former Bonner-Prendergast standout said. “That’s one of the least things I am worried about there.” 

Rather than a hindrance, Killings and Brian Daly see Ryan’s youth and recent playing experience as an advantage to his new role. Killings believes that Ryan will play an integral role in recruiting and the transfer portal because of his connections, knowledge, relatability, and experience transferring from Delaware to St. Joe’s.

Ryan’s youth makes him an asset in practice too, where he’s able to jump right in and demonstrate the proper fundamentals, attack angles, and decision making. Ryan holds his own and then some at practice. 

“There have been some days where he has been the best player in practice,” Killings chuckled. “I don’t know what that tells you about our program, but when he gets it going, he gets it going.” 

Daly’s youth, connections, and knowledge of the game will remain critical for the Great Danes’ preparation for this upcoming season. The program is looking for its first NCAA tournament appearance since 2015. 

To help Killings’ squad reach the big dance, Ryan looks back to his former coaches as a guide. Phil Martelli, who coached him during his redshirt year at St. Joe’s, taught him how to treat people and adequately care for and invest in players. His coach at Carroll, Paul Romanczuk, whose demanding coaching style pushed and prepared him for his collegiate success, heavily influenced Ryan.

But Ryan attributes his knowledge and confidence to his parents, Brian and Tracie Boyle Daly, daughter of the late St. Joe’s head coach Jim Boyle.

“I’d be a fool if I didn’t mention them,” he said. “They’ve been with me playing through my highest highs and lowest lows and now this is a really big special day for us. All credit has to go to them as well. “ 


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