THEIR GREATNESS: HAS NOTHING TO DO😉🏀

Tomorrow NBS kicks off the Fall 2022 session. The amount of talent in the gym is a coaches dream. It’s really no surprise because for the past 20 years, NBS has been the home of hundreds of great players. Each kid who attends NBS leaves there own mark in some way. Some move on to D1 schools, D2 schools and D3 schools. But most importantly I like to think that the kids who have attended NBS over the years made friends and memories. NBS can be a tough place and each kid has to find there way. Each kid has a different story and journey. That’s why you will never see a list of names of players who currently or have attended NBS in the past on our website. You see, no one player at NBS is more important than another. Just like some player who is currently a great player now or in there past….IT HAS NOTHING TO DO WITH YOU🙏🏀

Last year I invited a young lady who is currently at a D1 school to come to college pickup games. She would be off to college this year. Her father respectfully said she had other plans. I said OK and keep getting on with my day. A few weeks later I ran into her dad at a aau game. For 30 mins he went on about how his how his daughter was training with a current college superstar. I listened and thought why is that so important to him? Did he believe that somehow this gave his daughter or her workouts credibility? Recently I spoke to her college coach. She is struggling in a big way. Besides not being prepared, her college coach felt she was in awful basketball shape. I wondered to myself, how important was training with her superstar friend was now. Rather than bragging about who she was training with maybe she should have focused on her game. Because WHAT DOES THAT CURRENT STAR HAVE TO DO WITH HER FUTURE NOW?

I don’t have a problem with programs bragging about the ex players who have came though there program. It’s just letting people know they have a track record of sucess. But when kids start choosing programs because other great players where there before them. I think they really don’t understand those ex players cannot help them reach there dreams. Those players will have zero impact on there future success of failure. That will be based on there work ethic and commitment. WHAT SOME BRAND NAME PLAYERS ARE DOING…..HAS NOTHING TO DO WITH THEM

Yesterday after we had after school shooting. I said to a talented freshman, “you need to stay for point guard”. You see I know her pace of play and ball handling skills are real issues in her development. But she said, she and a AAU teammate were off to another to another workout. I jokingly said your ducking the smoke as both kids are hard working and dedicated. Both young ladies have big futures! But then the young freshman responded with this statement “they have good players there”. She then mentioned that a certain great player attended and then another talented player who attended as well; all in the same breath. As if somehow that gave her training credibility. I then turned to her…NOT JOKING and DEAD SERIOUS. I said

“Do you know why we don’t brag about or list the other great players who have come though this damm program? Because it don’t got shit to do with you or your future”

You see my point was who cares who is in the gym. THE ONLY THING THAT SHOULD MATTER WAS IF SHE WAS IN THE GYM. I wanted to ask, are you playing against that great player? Is this great player defending you? Are you defending her? Does that player have the same weakness as you? I wanted to ask, just because your in the same gym as some great player or brand name D1 kid. Do you really think that somehow is going to make you better? You see to often kids today want to be tied to a name. But in the end …

WHAT DOES THAT HAVE TO DO WITH YOU….NOW IF YOU BELIEVE THEY CAN SHOW YOU THE WAY. …I SAY GOOD LUCK🤞

I have seen it all over the years. I watched a kid spend hours and money with a ball handling coach last year. She and her mother thought it would win favor with her high school coach who recommended this coach. It didn’t and she transferred schools. The problem was she needed next level competition. I have seen kids spend hours with shooting coaches and all they needed was a massive amount of reps. I watch them shoot on tape after games and go opps…someone has made a big BOO BOO. It’s lost time they can never get back. But hey who am I to tell her a kid what to do…. WHATS THAT GOT TO DO WITH ME.

The fact of the matter is kids need not worry about who is in the gym. But worry about, if they are in the gym and are they working on the right things. Not bragging about who they train with, who is recruiting them or trying to win favor with a coach. In the case of NBS the TRACK RECORD can stand on its own. It’s a place that delivers on it’s promises and doesn’t need to lean on the reputations, names or success of others currently or in the past.

BECAUSE WE KNOW THEY HAVE NOTHING TO DO WITH YOU😉

I leave you with this story. Around 10 years ago the very 1st Academic Elite took place. A young lady arrived in the gym. She showed up with her trainer. They kept asking me and everyone else in the gym, over and over what players would be in the gym. I explained I have no idea as we did registration at the door the first year. Well low and behold a young lady walked in. She was not a superstar. She didn’t look like anything special. Immediately the young and her trainer felt they were too good to play against such players. So the trainer made up some weak excuse and asked for a refund. DC the office manager gave them a refund and they left. Meanwhile led by Current U PENN Head Coach Mike McLaughlin and Mary Chambers entire CJ HAWKS team (who gave the event credibility) Academic Elite was a hit and the rest is history. That unassuming young lady well she went on to score 1500 points in college and break dam near every record at the University of BUFFALO… that kid and her trainer you ask?… well she went on to have a solid D3 career… her trainer, well he is