Basketball Coach News features Coach Irvin Harris and Peter Mingils as they interview the best coaches!
Welcome to a special edition of Building Fortunes Radio on the BasketballCoach.News segment – the show where we go beyond the wins and losses and talk about building programs, building people, and building a future. Here are notes from Irvin Harris… No one does it better.
I’m your Basketballcoach.news host Irvin Harris co-hosting with Building Fortunes Radio Founder Peter Mingils, and today we have a guest who embodies what it truly means to be vested in student-athlete success.
Our guest is Joe Cabral, Assistant Director of Athletics, and Head Men’s Basketball Coach at Dean College in Franklin, Massachusetts – Home of the Dean Bulldogs.
Coach Cabral is entering his SIXTH season leading the Bulldogs in 2026-2027, and what he’s building is remarkable.
This past season, his Bulldogs went 15-11 and earned their THIRD consecutive postseason appearance. For the first time in program history, THREE seniors – (I will allow him to honor his players and their success) they each eclipsed 1,000 career points in the same season.
The year before that? A historic 16-11 season, hosting a first-round playoff game and winning it in storybook fashion over Anna Maria College.
But the wins only tell half the story.
Coach Cabral’s teams have earned the prestigious NABC Team Academic Excellence Award. He’s produced GNAC All-Conference players, a GNAC Man of the Year, and a USBWA Division III National Player of the Week. He previously led Dean’s Cross Country program to back-to-back conference championships and was named Coach of the Year.
He learned the game as a four-year letter winner and three-year captain at Mount Ida, a GNAC 500-rebound club member, a three-time Academic All-Conference selection, and a business administration honors graduate. He coached under his father Rico Cabral at Dean, built winners at Lasell University and Rhode Island College, and came home to Dean.
And in the summer of 2024, Dean made it official – naming him Assistant Director of Athletics to go along with duties associated with being Head Basketball Coach particularly recruiting, Because when someone is that invested in the legacy of Dean College, you put them in charge of the future.
Today we are going to talk about coaching philosophy, culture, recruiting what matters, and why Dean College may be one of the smartest investments a student-athlete and their family can make – where you get a great education, compete at a high level, and learn from a coach who is truly vested in your personal success long after the final buzzer.
Please welcome to Building Fortunes Radio/Basketballcoach.news, Joe Cabral!
Coach, welcome to the show!
SEGMENT 1: The Foundation – The Man and The Mission
1. Coach, entering year six as Head Coach at Dean and now also Assistant AD and Recruiting Coordinator – what does Dean College mean to you personally? This isn’t just a job for you, is it?
2. You served as Associate Head Coach under your father, Rico. What was the most important lesson you learned coaching alongside your dad that you still carry into your program today?
3. You were a three-year captain, a 500-rebound club guy, and a three-time Academic All-Conference business honors student at Mount Ida. How did that student-athlete experience shape the kind of coach you are now?
4. You also had tremendous success as Dean’s Cross Country Head Coach – back-to-back NECC Championships and Coach of the Year in 2019. What did coaching a completely different sport teach you about building endurance, discipline, and team culture?
SEGMENT 2: Building the Bulldog Culture – Winning On and Off the Court
5. Let’s talk about last season – 15-11, third straight postseason, and three guys over 1,000 points in the same season for the first time ever. What made that group special?
6. And the 2024-25 historic season – 16-11, hosting a playoff game and winning it in storybook fashion. You surpassed the win totals of the previous three seasons combined. What clicked?
7. You’ve coached All-Conference players like AJ Weston twice, Billy Ray Barnes, and you helped develop GNAC Man of the Year Jordan Lynch-Rexroth. What is your philosophy for developing players beyond just X’s and O’s?
Break after Q-7
8. Your program won the NABC Team Academic Excellence Award in 21-22 and 22-23. In an era of the transfer portal and NIL, how do you keep academics at the center of your culture?
9. Every coach talks about “culture.” How do YOU define Bulldog culture, and what does a player feel on Day 1 when he walks into your locker room?
SEGMENT 3: The Recruiting Real Talk – What You Look For
10. As Recruiting Coordinator for the entire athletic department now, you see the big picture. When you are recruiting a young man for Dean Basketball, what are you REALLY looking for beyond talent? What makes you say “That’s a Dean guy”?
11. For a parent listening in New England right now – what’s your message to them about why Division III at a school like Dean can be a better long-term investment than chasing a D1 or D2 bench spot?
12. Let’s address the elephant in the room: A lot of kids think if they’re not D1, they’ve failed. How do you help them understand the value of a place where they will actually PLAY, actually EARN their degree, and actually be COACHED?
13. You were instrumental at Lasell in recruiting guys like Clyde Niba, Pat Marchand, and Armin Omanovic – all All-Conference, one a Jostens Trophy finalist for National Player of the Year. What do you see on film that other coaches might miss?
14. What’s the biggest mistake you see high school players and their families make during the recruiting process today?
15. When you walk into a gym to recruit, are you watching how a kid acts when he’s on the bench as much as when he has the ball?
SEGMENT 4: The Dean Difference – The Investment That Pays Back
16. Paint the picture for us – What is the student-athlete experience at Dean College in Franklin, MA? Small school, big opportunity?
17. You have a business administration background from Mount Ida and Sigma Beta Delta Honor Society. How does Dean prepare these young men for life AFTER basketball – for business, for careers? 18. You have stayed and built at Dean. You’ve been there since 2012-13 as an assistant, you came back, you built. Why? What is it about the legacy of Dean College that keeps you invested?
19. This is what I tell our audience: If Joe Cabral is recruiting you to attend Dean, he’s no doubt invested in your success. Because his reputation IS Dean’s reputation. Can you speak to that responsibility you feel when a family trusts you with their son for four years?
20. For that 17-year-old listening who is talented, is coachable, wants a great education and wants to be part of something special – what are the next steps to get on your radar? What should he do right now? 21. And what would you say to that young man who is on the fence – maybe considering not playing in college – about why becoming a student-athlete at Dean will benefit his investment in himself for the next 40 years, not just the next 4? 3
Show Closing Statement: Coach, this has been phenomenal.
Folks, this is why I wanted Coach Joe Cabral on Building Fortunes Radio.
In a world of transactional athletics, we just spent an hour with a transformational leader.
At Dean College, you’re not just getting a roster spot. You’re getting a program that has made three straight postseasons. You’re getting a proven developer of All-Conference players and 1,000-point scorers. You’re getting an NABC Academic Excellence culture that proves you can win in the classroom and on the court.
But most importantly, you’re getting a coach who is vested. Vested in the legacy of Dean College. Vested as Assistant Athletic Director. Vested as Recruiting Coordinator. And most of all, vested in YOU.
Because at Dean, you’re not a number. You’re Christian, Xavier, AJ, Billy Ray – you’re a young man whose family made an investment in a great education while competing as a student-athlete, and whose coach is invested right back in your personal success long after you hang up the jersey.
If you are a student-athlete, a parent, a high school coach who has a player who needs to be SEEN, not just recruited – I encourage you to reach out.
Contact Coach Joe Cabral at Dean College – Email is jcabral2@dean.edu – that’s J-C-A-B-R-A-L-2 at dean.edu – or call (508) 541-1784. Visit dean.edu – Home of the Dean College Bulldogs in Franklin, Massachusetts.
Coach Joe Cabral, thank you for building men, thank you for building a program, and thank you for being with us today on Building Fortunes Radio on BasketballCoach.News.
For everyone listening, remember: Fortunes aren’t just built in your bank account. They’re built in the investments you make in yourself, your education, and the people you choose to surround yourself with.
Choose wisely. Consider Dean.
I’m Irvin Harris with Peter Mingils, we will see you next time on the Building Fortunes Radio Basketballcoach.news segment
The Basketball Coach News Radio Show Hosted by Irvin Harris can also be found on BasketballCoach.news
To listen to the complete, inspiring archive of Patricia Allen’s interview with Peter Mingils and Coach Irvin Harris, visit the official Basketball Coach News audio vault on the Building Fortunes Radio Network.
