It's The End Of The Road For Utah Player Development Director Donny Daniels

Following a long and successful career as an assistant coach and player development director, Utah's Donny Daniels announced that he will be calling it a career and retire following the conclusion of the 2020-21 season

It wasn't all good news following Utah's 98-59 dismantling of Arizona State during the regular season finale on Saturday afternoon.

Despite the victory clinching the Utes' spot as the No. 7 seed in the upcoming Pac-12 tournament and some much needed momentum, it was made public that whatever games remain in the rest of the season will be the last ones for Utah player development director Donny Daniels.

“It’s the only place I would have come back to,” Daniels said. “I’ve always enjoyed my time here. The people were outstanding. We won when we were here. So we had a great time with the Final Four, championships. I’ve always had a special place in my heart for Salt Lake City, and the people of Salt Lake City.”

Donny Daniels, Men's Basketball Director of Player Development — Courtesy of Utah Athletics

Daniels is in his second stint with the Utes, first serving as an assistant coach for the Runnin' Utes under then-head coach Rick Majerus from 1990-2000. 

During that time period, he was instrumental in Utah's success on the basketball court as the Utes reached the NCAA Tournament eight times during his 11 seasons on staff. 

The most prominent season of his tenure at Utah was during the 1998 season when Utah fell in the national championship game. As a No. 3 seed in the West Region, Utah got all the way to the title game before falling 78-69 to Kentucky. 

Under Majerus, Daniels was the key recruiter in getting both Andre Miller and Keith Van Horn to red and white — two of the top five players in program history.

After his first stint with the Utes, Daniels moved on to be an assistant coach at Cal State Fullerton, UCLA and Gonzaga. 

During his nine-year tenure with the Bulldogs, they went from upstart underdog to nationally-relevant powerhouse. Gonzaga went 277-49 overall, winning eight West Coast Conference titles and appearing in the NCAA tournament nine times — which included five Sweet Sixteen appearances, three Elite Eights and a berth in the 2017 national title game.

He then elected to return to the program last season under new head coach Larry Krystkowiak that gave him so much, serving as the player development director.

“I’m not sure if you can measure it,” Krystkowiak said. “He’s one of the finest human beings I’ve come across in the game and many years that we weren’t on the same staff together. But you cross paths in the recruiting circles, he always has time for everybody. He’s got one of the biggest hearts that I’ve come across in coaching. He’s got a remarkable family. That’s ultimately, the most important thing is his family. But he’s always been a father figure. Having him in our program, he’s been able to speak to everybody. He’s been around a bunch of great players.

“He can speak from experience, and he speaks from the heart,” Krystkowiak added. “That sounding board with our players and the relationships that he’s developed, it’s really immeasurable. The fact that he wanted to come back and help this school, he’s always had Utah very close to his heart and this is where he’ll retire and the fact that he wanted to come back here and lend a hand, I think is pretty dang cool. We can’t speak to how much everybody values his friendship and his basketball acumen and everything. I could sit here and keep rambling because really there’s not enough time and not enough words, but it’s real. Everybody that Donny Daniels knows that he’s real and I think he’s got a lot of the characteristics that a lot of us basketball coaches that would like to have.”

Mar 6, 2021; Salt Lake City, Utah, USA; Utah Utes head coach Larry Krystkowiak and forward Timmy Allen (1) react on the way to the locker room at halftime against the Arizona State Sun Devils at Jon M. Huntsman Center. Mandatory Credit: Jeffrey Swinger-USA TODAY Sports

Utah will now turn its attention to the Pac-12 tournament, which is set to begin on Wednesday, March 10. The Utes have secured the No. 7 seed and will play No. 10 Washington in the opening round. Tipoff is set for 5 p.m. MT from T-Mobile Arena

The winner will advance to Thursday's quarterfinals round against either No. 2 Oregon or USC at 6:30 p.m. MT.

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