September Quick Hitters!!!

- In a convo with a local coach, he spoke of the results of SA area teams at the  state semifinals. His observation was that every local team that has made a recent state trip (Wagner, Jay, Reagan, Steele), has had to overcome double digits deficits in the first ten minutes of the game. The local teams typically dig themselves a hole early and play evenly afterwards. Is it because local teams often speak about "going to State" but not "winning State" ? Or intimidated?

-  In homage to football season, here is an observation. Wide receivers have become more important than running backs in the NFL. Why?  Spacing! Wide receivers only have to beat a few defenders and have more room to operate than running backs. A good running back must attempt to beat 11 players on every hand off. This pertains to basketball in the ability to score in transition as opposed to the half court. Every good team must be able to score in the half court(run the ball) but, the ability to score in the open court and maximize spacing(wide receiving) is playing a prominent role in local basketball.

- The city is the deepest its ever been in terms of talent. At least 9 schools have multiple D1 players:
 Johnson(4), Wagner(3/4?), Reagan(2), Stevens(2/3?), Judson(3/4?), Steele(3/4?), Jay(2/3?),
Brennan(4/maybe 6), Madison(2)

-The WNBA has 132 players on 12 Teams. Division 1 basketball institutions have approximately 5100 total players. That equates to a 2.6% chance of D1 players making it to the WNBA. Now add international players, D2, NAIA and D3 players. The odds of playing in the League are astronomical.

My Daddy Said.......

Recruitment advice comes from all walks of life, a lot of the times, from sources that have no clue. Some advice is tainted with self serving agendas. Frequently, club and high school coaches tend to support college programs that pay them "proper respect", or in some cases, pay them with jobs. Getting the goods on programs is not easy to do. Choosing between very good options and really good options is not as easy as one may think. I have a suggestion for you; find a couple Daddies to talk to.

To paraphrase Joe Keller in his infamous book on AAU ball, 'Played their Hearts Out', "I like dealing with single parents". The thinking goes that a single mother will be less informed and less involved in an area like amateur(college) basketball. This allows for unchecked power. I am learning that a lot of unscrupulous college coaches have the same sentiment. They complain that "daddies living vicariously through their kids" are ruining the game. A more true statement would be "Daddies, with knowledge of the pitfalls in recruiting process, are not falling for okey doke these days."

(Must respect to all the single mothers, including mine!)

Daddies look out for the best interest of their seed. The concept of team denotes the will of a collective whole. Individualism is counter productive to TEAM, yet is important to the success of a team. Without excellent individuals, a TEAM can not excel. Most Daddies feel that their kid is the missing piece for any team. They are quite biased. However, somewhere between their biased views, they will sniff out true fallacies in a program.

If their kid was lied to, they will tell you so. If the coach cheated, they will say such. If the team  is full of bad kids, you will hear about it. If players are treated only as commodities, a Daddy will let it be known. Usually, a Daddy will speak about these things because they all affect his Baby Girl. Yes, his disgruntled rants will be based on the biased premise that his child should be playing more, shooting more, and scoring in droves. But, his smoke will reveal a fire, some smaller than others, yet still a fire.

Find a Basketball Dad and build a trust with them. They will recognize the obstacles you are facing and in most cases, be willing to give you a heads up to the bumps in the road. Know how to filter his personal disappointments from things that truly matter. Things like truthfulness, integrity, responsibility, accountability, culture, and respect. Things like program prestige probably do not matter that much in the long run to a concerned Poppa. If his seed is in fertile soil, a Poppa will know. If she is planted in barren land, he will eventually let everybody know!

Thanks to all my Basketball Dad's, helping me navigate the rough waters: Charlie Harper, Wayne Simmons, David Jones, Simmie Colson, John Roberson, Larry Gholar, Kelvin Gumbs, Derrick Cloman.

Motivation!!!

I felt the familiar hand pushing me on my head, interrupting my beauty sleep. I need all the beauty sleep I can get. It was Her. After a month of mandated break, she has resumed waking me up at 5am to workout. She is not waking me up to get praised, encouraged, or rewarded. She awoke the grumpy rebounder knowing to expect criticism, constant correction and unrealistic expectations to perform.

Fast forward 10 hours and to the mailbox I go to collect bills! Instead, it is HER reward. It is her reminder that her hard work is not being ignored. 43 pieces of mail. In one day! 2 Boxes, 16 large envelopes, 25 regular envelopes. Upon opening 1 box, 5 more letters were found.

This scene is repeating itself across the country. A few kids went to the mail box to collect more recognition and some not as much, but a shout out to all of the deserving young female ballers getting the proper attention they deserve.

The grumpy guy almost hates the music on the radio these days. The commercials are despised as well. It seems that music and media put an emphasis on praising the young women who do wrong. The, as the old heads say, "Fast" girls get all the love seemingly today. The dirtier a girl acts, the more popular she is. How refreshing September 1st was for so many young women. These girls have set on a positive course and believed the supposedly impossible. They are the 3% of players that will have their education paid for through their sacrifices. Good for them! Keep waking up to grind and pay the naysayers no mind! Spoken like an old head!!!

Distinguished Visitors Coming Soon!!

Local high school coaches are being bombarded with phone calls and emails from college coaches requesting workout schedules. September 16th is the first day that college programs can visit prospects at school. I will be reporting my "Distinguished Visitors" posts as usual and this may be the most busy fall in the city's history.

We are still a little behind places like New Orleans. In places like New Orleans, high school coaches provide open gyms where prospects from different schools can go to hoop against each other and be viewed by visiting college coaches. Dallas is another city where this is common practice. This spirit of collective good is hopefully something that our city eventually progresses towards.

Mackin 101

Young Female Ballers,

In dance clubs across the country, some color coordinated dude, down to his matching Gators, is sliding up to a precious honey and whispering straight GAME into her ear.

Or, in every cafeteria in America, a fresh young playa, draped in the finest gear, new Jordans and fitted cap is making his move. Drenched in a cologne that he can not properly pronounce, he spots her and starts his SPIT.

 Here is a dumbed down version of the creative vernaculars of these playas extraordinaire.

1. You are the only girl for me.

2. I am the best man for you.

3. That other dude won't love you like me.

4. I was the first one to express my feelings for you.

5. Without me, you will not be happy as you deserve to be.


Sound Familiar?


Going through this recruiting process as a former player, club coach, and parent, I am coming to the conclusion that a lot of college coaches spit game that would make Pretty Tony and Huggy Bear proud!

T-Bird Talent!

While viewing the out-of-state D1 kids that SA has produced recently, I was reminded that Tina Camacho and her Wagner crew are well represented. Here is a list of Wagner's D1 kids from 2008-2013. No other school comes close to this type of D1 success. (Steele is next in D1 players over the same period with 4 by my count: Meighan Simmons, Olivia Patterson, Taylor Calvert, Elena Gumbs.

Wagner D1 Players-
Breanna Brock('08)- Mizz
Sajoyia Griffin('08)- SDST
Jessica Sommers('08)- SELA
Amber Roberson('08)- Texas (Volleyball but had D1 opportunities in Basketball as well)
LenNique Brown('10)- NC State
Arielle Roberson('11)- Colorado
Eboni Watkins('11)- UTA
Michelle Rodriguez('10)- UTA
Tesha Smith('13)- Undecided

SA Exports

"Texas kids don't leave home" goes the old saying among college coaches. While the entire state proves that recruiting philosophy as out dated, San Antonio is proving to be an export city. This is just a quick recap of the SA area kids that have left the state to play D1 basketball in recent years. This is not a complete list but a snap shot of over 30 players that have decided to leave the state for college.

2008
Christine Flores(Mizz)
Breanna Brock(Mizz)
Krystal Stirrup(Tennessee Tech)
Jasmine Malone(Mizz St)
Jessica McQuin(Tulsa)
Chanice Scott(Tulsa)
Amber Holmes(SE Mizz St)
Jessica Sommers(SELA)
Sajoiya Griffin(San Diego St)


2009
Monica Engleman(Kansas)
Lyndsey Cloman(Oklahoma)

2010
Olivia Patterson(Southern Illinois)
CeCe Harper(Kansas)
Stephanie Whittman(Kansas St)
LenNique Brown(USC/NC State)
Kiante Ageous(Arizona/Transferred)
Meighan Simmons(Tennessee)
Victoria Willems(William and Mary)
Ciara McLee(Jacksonville)
Chelsea McMeans(Liberty)
Genise Pressley(Long Island)

2011
Arielle Roberson(Colorado)
Erica Donovan(NC State/Bowling Green)
Danielle Blagg(Tulane)
Alexis Govan(Western Kentucky)
Taylor Calvert(Winthrop)

2012
Raven Reyes(SELA)
Erica Hernandez(SELA)

2013
Brooke Allemand(New Mexico)
Leslie Vorpahl(Tulane)
Kayla White(Wichita St)
Breana Jones(Wichita St)