Visit to AAU Nationals

I was in Orlando this past weekend to watch the 17 & Under AAU National Tournament. This tournament represents serves as one of the biggest recruiting weekends of the July period, which means that there are hundreds of coaches in attendance. Coaches that are there are not allowed to talk to the players or to me, the high school coach, so we are reduced to text messaging. It was a great weekend, as I had a chance to see the Heritage players perform on a nice stage. Eloy Vargas, Ray Taylor, Bak Bak, and Darren Stewart were all playing, with the 4 of them playing on 3 different teams. I spent a good amount of time before I went up there analyzing the schedule, and I came up with the most efficient and best way to see our players - there were 19 different court venues that were used. This is what I have learned: I learned that our players know the right way to play. Sometimes emotions get carried away and we don't play that way, but the Heritage players know how to play. 2nd - our players play on good teams that win. It is important for me to coach players that want to win and enjoy competing. I have learned that we are a work in progress when it comes to deciding what is a "good shot". I am critical of my players when it comes to shot selection, as I think that is one of the factors that determines wins and losses when it comes to basketball. I have learned that our players are coveted by the college coaches - and for that I am especially proud. I work hard on that part of my job (probably harder than any other part of my job), and it makes me feel good when things work out for our players. I love how the coaches ask about the character of the player, how they ask about the parents of the player, and of course his relationship with teammates and coaches. I have a rule that I follow - I always tell the truth. I know that if I lie to a coach, I will lose his trust and probably his intent to recruit my players in the future. So - if a kid has a bad attitude, I will tell the college coaches. If a kid has parents who are difficult to deal with, I tell the coaches. If the kid is a poor teammate, I will tell the coaches. But - on the other hand - if the kid has a good attitude, I tell the coaches. Likewise if the parents are supportive of the program, and if the kid is a good teammate - I will tell the college coaches. By the way, while we were in Orlando we were able to secure several scholarship offers from coaches for our players. That made me happy. I have returned to South Florida, as American Heritage requires my presence at the book sale which began today.

Katz's Car Troubles

I was in the Atlanta airport last night when I received a phone call that made me think. I was told that one of our players was involved in a car accident. Thank goodness he is OK - Jordan Katz is fine today. It really hit me hard last night as I realized that I have been coaching for 10+ years, and this was probably the sixth or seventh time that one of my players was involved in a wreck. Sure - some of them were passengers, but some were drivers. Some were not at fault, but, some were completely to blame. Driving a car definitely takes some experience, and, believe it or not, sometimes we learn the lesson after something bad happens. I remember my mom telling me as I waited in line for my license on the day I turned 16 years old "A car is a weapon. It kills people." - You know what - my mom was right. Jordan (pictured above doing a great job at our point guard camp earlier this summer) is OK and I am so happy to say that. But - I really would prefer that we never have to discuss players and car accidents ever again.

Summer League Thoughts

We are in the midst of playing in the NCAA certfiied summer league that is usually held at Dillard High School. This year Dillard is undergoing renovations in their gym, so the games have been held at Boyd Anderson High School. I love this league for several reasons. It is always great to play against teams that you usually don't play - this year we are only playing teams from Dade County and Palm Beach County - no Broward County. This league usually has the best teams from the are in it, so we play good competition night in and night out. We are reminded annually by the league that it was home to Udonis Haslem, Tim James, Keyon Dooling, Steve Blake and James Jones, so the league has been home to great players. I like it for other reasons, though. I have never placed too much importance on how our team does in the win / loss column, because there are several factors that are in play that impact that. For example - currently there are 3 players that play for Heritage that are in Las Vegas competing in an AAU tournament. I love the fact that these kids are getting an opportunity to compete in front of the NCAA coaches. But I love it more that I get to see other players compete in this league at Boyd Anderson. I have learned so much about our players during this month, both good and bad. I have learned from parents of our players, both good and bad. But more importantly, this league has helped us prepare for the season ahead. Look - I know our record in this league isn't stellar, but I also know our players are good enough for us to win more games. I think our players sometimes are just playing basketball for the sake of playing - similar to what they would do in a pickup game at the park or at L.A. Fitness or Sunset Lakes. They are not competing to win. They don't have the fire to win. I also know that the competitive fire must improve for our team to have an outstanding season in 2007 - 2008. As a coach it drives me crazy when our players don't get upset when the player they are guarding scores, it drives me crazy that they don't get upset enough when they make turnovers to not make the same mistake again, and it drives me even more nuts when the other team gets the rebound over them - missed block out or not - and it doesn't bother our guys. It bothers me when our guys don't play in every game - meaning they are not out of town at an AAU tournament, yet for some reason or another do not play in the game. We have had kids miss due to suspension, we have had kids miss because they were unable to make it to the game on time. Bottom line is we have too many games missed by players. That is really not a good thing - and I wish for it to cease. We have 2 games left this coming week, and maybe we can play they way I know we are capable of and compete as hard as I know we can. If we do those 2 things, then everything else will take care of itself.

Academic All American Camp in Boston, MASS

I am in Boston this weekend to work the Academic All American camp. I am really looking forward to a great weekend for a couple of different reasons. First of all, my cousin Niki is in Boston and it gives me a chance to spend some time with her. One of my closest high school friends lives here, too, so I have plans with him. The camp is being held at Brandeis University, which is where former American Heritage Patriot Depriest Ivey will go to school, so he and I came up and will spend time working the camp together. So for the very fact that I get to spend time with a couple of people who I care about, this trip is a good idea. The 2nd reason I really wanted to work this camp was the chance to make contact with the higher end academic schools and their basketball coaches. I know that at American Heritage is always going to have good players and good students, so it is important for me for continue to make contacts with these coaches so that they can learn a little more about our players. Happy Friday the 13th, Have a good weekend.

Summer Tour Thoughts

WOW - what an amazing summer tour! We just returned home from 2 weeks together on the road, which followed 2 weeks here in Plantation, Florida.


Our road trip included our flight to Pittsburgh which saw us play in (and win) the University of Pittsburgh team camp. From there we visited Duquesne University, The Pro Football Hall of Fame, Cleveland Ohio (we were at Jacobs field for the walk off home run on June 26th), Ohio State University, University of Louisville, and Indiana University (we finished in the Final 4 of their team camp).

Check out ALL of our pictures from the trip on the website.