This Saturday Core Skills Training will resume. I am always amazed when talented players skip the event. That’s because don’t tell me a kid that plays games from March to August. Then plays weak grammar school basketball all winter needs to travel the East Coach to play games for 3 months before there high school career starts. But that’s the culture that some kids have to live with. They are learning how to navigate the politics of basketball. Some learn to and some don’t. But it’s s those who are willing to be ”LED” regardless of what road they take who are successful. Coaches today I want to introduce Daniela Maletsky to you because she wants to led and she wants to excel. It’s why she is going to be the biggest surprise in the 2026 class next year.
THE 2026 CLASS is special. There is so much talent in this class from top to bottom. I think it’s a class that has a chance to develop into something special. But as I told a good friend of mind who is a D1 coach in the NEC. The improvement curve in this class is breaking my heart. Too many games and a lack of proper training is holding some special talent back. When your cheat sheet goes from 22 D1 players to 17 in a winter its disappointing. But one player who is not disappointing and seems to be growing by leaps and bounds is Daniela Maletsky. That’s because she has clear eyes and open ears. A young lady who is a Sponge with a Ferocious appetite for coaching… she is a coaches “DREAM” because every time you watch her she gets better. BELIEVE IT OR NOT THAT MAY BE HER BIGGEST STRENGTH AS A PLAYER… the ability to improve. Please don’t under estimate that when it comes to young players.
Last year there were a lot players with hype entering high school. But I told college coaches Christina Liggio would be FRESHMAN OF THE YEAR. She is making me look very smart these days. I thought this last spring because her improvement curve ran DEEP after January. Well guess want? The improvement curve of Daniela Maletsky is running real deep these days as well. She was at at Core Skills training this week. I couldn’t believe what I was seeing. That’s because her jump shot had taken a major leap forward. You see two weeks ago at SATURDAY CORE SKILLS. I told Coach Bob Dubino and Coach Gema… ”that’s the one“. The one being …the player who is going jump over everyone in the 2026 class. The one who is going to get better every year. The one who is going to pay attention to the details. Daniela Maletsky Is going to be the one College Coaches crawl on bloody knees begging for her services. How do I know this? Because nobody is better at predicting such things as me … NOBODY!
You see most talented at this age focus on stats and performance in meaningless games this time of year. They can’t see the big picture. They don’t ask the “BIG” question. How am I doing it? Will it work next year? Do I understand how to be glue or when to be a star? Have I discovered what matters most? Coaches!!! Now I give you the kid who has figured all that out… Daniela Maletsky. Its called a basketball understanding of who you are and when to be who you are. Daniela Maletsky can play any role you ask her to play and she can play it ego free. It’s what makes her so coachable and “Dynamic”. Its why come next season you will see her special talent on full display.
Players today would call Daniela Maletsky old school. But I call her the “RIGHT SCHOOL”. Yes she is athletic and quick. Yes she is that rare young player who doesn’t turn the ball over, That’s because there are no extra’s when it cones to Daniela, it’s straight Fundamental basketball. The type of basketball that will allow her to be productive next year. When the size, quickness and the challenge of playing against older players kicks in. She is that rare young player who can already finish in the lane at a high percentage … now COACHES PAY ATTENTION… she has the baby left hook in traffic against Size and athleticism… she has the pace of play and power to get to the rim vs size and score. Yet she is able to stay under control. Its why she never takes a bad shot. She is by far .. by a country mile the The best interior young passer I have seen in years. THINK LOLA MULLANEY TYPE GOOD… yes strong words but I have seen them all folks and her vision in tight spaces is elite.
I like tough kids who get along with their peers. There is a art to being competitive but not ugly. i like kids who smile and work hard. Because coaches don’t want to be cheerleaders. I like kids who want to led and embrace teaching. Because who wants to tell kids the same things over and over. But you know what I really like? Kids who get better and kids with the most important thing in our sport as a young player … A BIG IMPROVEMENT CURVE AND Daniela Maletsky has a curve that few can navigate these days💪🏀
BACK THIS WEEKEND💪🏀
