I Want to Be FREE!

Orlando, Florida is the site of the Super Showcase and the AAU Nationals, but also a softball championship, the MEAC officials’ camp, the IBO officials’ camp and the training camp site for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers of the NFL. As you can see there was and there is a lot going on in Orlando. They not only have the Milk House to hold the hoop tournaments but they have a building adjacent to it that has 6 more full courts. That is 12 total full courts between the two buildings right next to each other and every court was occupied everyday all day. The AAU was setting a precedent by not charging coaches for the coaches’ packets that normally come with the AAU events. The cost for a coaches’ packet normally runs anywhere between $125-$275 and the packets on the women’s side running as high as $900. I won’t go off on the women’s side cause that is off the charts, but on our side the Super Showcase and AAU Nationals have been the only events where we didn’t have to pay for a coaches’ packet. Bobby Dodd is the president and he did a good job of stepping out first and giving us the packets but a lot of coaches complained that the information in the packets weren’t correct. Well what would you expect when it’s free! LOL! Naw….I’m just serious! Hey we’ll just get the info from the AAU coach anyway. They did charge us for parking though…which they never did in the past! It was referred to as priority parking…wink, wink! You still had to walk 3 miles to the gyms! Not really, but it seemed like it. Hey, let me stop, because I'm not complaining because I really enjoy the summer recruiting and I really appreciate the Orlando events as well. I predict that Disney Wide World of Sports complex will take over AAU and youth sports in general. They have every sports complex available for every sport, resorts and parks for the whole family. Makes sense huh?

Sleeping is Over Rated!

Red light...green light! After a morning of watching some AAU games I went to Valley high school to watch Team USA practice. Team USA is the Olympic team of NBA players trying to recapture the gold medal in basketball for the United States. The practice was cool and it was good to get a chance to see Jason (Kidd) and some of the other players participating on the team. Gary Payton was there taping a segment of the "Best Damn Sports Show" and I got a chance to rap with them. I attended the practice with two buddies, who were in town. Brian Ellerbe, who lives in Vegas now, and Charles "Mookie" Payne, who lives in Oakland, Ca. and I sat and talked with Clem Haskins ( formerly of U of Minn., Western Ky). The one point that I will make about the practice is, that after a three hour practice, Kobe Bryant spent about another hour or so getting up extra shots. The "cat" is relentless and it's no accident that he was the NBA's MVP this past season.

It was my last day in Vegas and I wanted to drop my bags off at the airport at around 4 p.m, so I could just drop my rental car off an go straight to the gate when it was time to catch my flight. (Red light) The airline said I couldn't do that, and that I'd have to do it at least 4 hours before my 11:45 p.m. flight. I dropped my bags off at the airport early...four hours early to be exact (Green Light) and then went to Green Valley high school to watch a game at the adidas tournament. After making a stop by the Nike tournament at UNLV I headed to the airport. As I walked to the gate with Mike Anderson (Missouri Univ., who said he was going to Orlando also), his gate was on the A concourse and my ticket said B concourse , so we assumed that we were on different flights going to the same destination. Well long story short....after walking all the way to the last gate on the B concourse the agent informed me that there was a gate change (Red light). Because I checked my bags in early...I had the original gate on my boarding pass but the flight was now leaving from the A concourse and the same gate as Mike's flight.

Upon arriving at the gate (Green light) it seemed as though all the college coaches that were in Las Vegas were at the Vegas airport to board USAIRWAYS flight 564 to Orlando! A day or two before the Las Vegas tournaments end, the Super Showcase in Orlando, Fl begins and a boat load of college coaches jump on red eye flights to take advantage of being able to see the last games in Vegas and then be able to catch the first games in Orlando. (that was a run on sentence but you get the point....:) )Anyway...it seemed as though all the flights were delayed going back east. Our flight was now delayed til 12:30 a.m (Red light). It appeared to be a NABC (National Association of Basketball Coaches) meeting at the gate with Paul Hewitt (Georgia Tech), Gene Cross (Toledo), Bruiser Flint (Drexel), Scott Bollwage (NC A & T), Jay Wright (Villanova),Chuck Driesell (Maryland), Shaheen Holloway (Iona), Mike Rice (Robert Morris), John Thompson III ( Georgetown), Byron Samuels (South Florida) and probably 30 other coaches. A lot of flights were delayed and JT III (John Thompson III) told me that his Pop's (John Thompson) flight was delayed also. The gate was around the corner and I decided to go say hello to Big John and hang out with one of the guys who paved the way for guys like myself to have an opportunity in this business. (Green light)

At around 1:15 a.m they started boarding flight 564. After futile attempts to get someone to give up their seat (Red light) for a free ticket anywhere (how about also throwing in a hotel room), our flight took off sometime around 2 or 2:30 a.m. (Green light) Thank God nothing happened to this flight cause the college basketball world would have been upside down with so many college coaches on board: Bob Huggins (West Virginia), Andy Kennedy ( Ole Miss), John Beilein (Michigan), Syndey Johnson (Princeton) and the list could go on and on. We arrived, hence "Red-Eye", around 8 a.m eastern standard time, collected our luggage, proceeded to our respective car rental locations and reconvened at the disney complex to evaluate to 400 some odd high school players on their AAU teams. Red Light! Green light! Red-Eye!!! Summer recruiting....gotta love it!

Hoop Fest! Hoop it Up! Get your Ball on!

I got a basketball jones, I gotta basketball jones! There are over 400 teams here in Las Vegas. Every corner of this country is covered and USA basketball is here as well. Every University in the country is present as well! There is a lot of good basketball, it's just spread out all over the city and extends into Henderson, NV as well. Reebok has a tournament but also has a separate event called a super bracket, where all the top teams in the Reebok family compete for a championship. There are marquee teams from D.C Triple Threat, Worldwide Renegades (Georgia), Franchize (Dallas) that's how they spell it and Belmont Shores (Long Beach), which makes for an exciting tourney! The championship is tonight at 8 p.m. at Foothill high school and I will be in the house.

The other tournaments are in bracket play now. That means they have finished what is called pool play. Pool play is where 4 teams, from different areas, play a round robin (or play each other) and the team with the best record after completing the round robin advances to bracket play. There are seedings like the NCAA tournament and if you lose early in bracket play you go into another bracket or losers bracket. In other words you can keep playing in front of the college coaches and all the recruiting services. Now, if the team loses again...it's sorry charlie, "you don't have to go home....but you got to get the...out of here!"
The format is called double elimination. Man...let me get on the 95 or the 93 or the 515, 215 East/West, North/South. By the way...all of the previous highways are the same. It's confusing but if someone here is giving you directions, they will refer to a highway as the 95 and the sign might abbreviate and say the 93. It's crazy and alittle more detailed than that, but you get the point. It's cool though since I come here every summer. Man, let me get to the.....highway...game. I'm Jonesing!

Viva Las Vegas! Let the Hoops begin!

All right people...we back at it again! The five day break was cool and I needed the rest but man...I love the recruiting trail. Next stop is Las Vegas and it starts today. We were allowed to use yesterday as a travel day. Most coaches and teams got in last night. The Las Vegas airport was off the hook! Teams every where, college coaches breezing through and that's with the normal crowd of folks looking to hit it big in the casinos. There were three teams on the flight I took. Gary Williams from Maryland, Gee Gee Smith from Loyola and myself were the college coaches on the flight. I hit it big when the airline needed to clear space and bumped me up to first class. It made for a more comfortable flight, that's for sure. Hopefully that's a sign of how the recruiting will go out here! Stop laughing...I'm always looking for positives in everything!

After this July period is over I have a golf outing that I attend every year with some buddies in Myrtle Beach and then I have another session of camp. TBBS II (The Todd Bozeman Basketball School) starts on August 10th at 1 pm. On August 9th from 8am-5pm the Maryland Basketball Club, run by Mel George, is conducting an Elite Grade School Combine at Good Counsel High School in Olney, MD. The combine is in it's third year and is growing in popularity every minute. They actually have check in on the 8th from 3-7 pm and start the full one day of intense work on the 9th 8am-5pm. If you are interested you can visit their web site at www.nbelitegradeschoolcombine.com. I highly recommend it! Every participant receives a pair of New Balance shoes, a reversible jersey and a t-shirt. The free shoes is not the reason I recommend it but that's cool though. The entry fee is around $125 or so and your youngster receives a pair of shoes, 4-6 fundamental stations, three games, awards, an NBA style combine player analysis and an NCAA regulation presentation. Hey, it's first class!

Ok, back to our regularly schedule program...summer recruiting! I've got some games I need to see! Good thing I have a GPS system in my Blackberry!

Time Out! What's Next?

I know...where have you been Boze? It’s Wednesday July 16, 2008 and this is the day we come off the road for recruiting for a couple of days. We return to the trails on July 22nd. We can travel on the 21st, but can’t actually watch games until the 22nd, so I’ll be home filling out my expense report and plotting the next recruiting trips through Las Vegas and Orlando before finishing up on the local scene. Last week we covered West Virginia, Richmond, VA and the Agent Zero tournament held at Hoop Magic in Chantilly, VA. Curtis Simons owns Hoop Magic and is really making his mark in the local basketball scene. The tournament was very good and all the local teams from Baltimore and D.C were in attendance. The Agent Zero tournament and the West Virginia tournament were the last two events before the first recruiting period ended.

Las Vegas will have over 400 teams and three different events and will require the entire staff from every institution in the country if the goal is to cover Vegas and leave no stone unturned. We generally follow the local teams from Baltimore, D.C and Virginia and will come across talent from other areas as well.

Orlando has two events happening back to back. The Super Showcase is the first event and the AAU Nationals are held immediately following the conclusion of the showcase. Both will have their base location as the Milk House at the Wild World of Sports complex at Walt Disney, but will have some games at local high school gyms.

The GPS systems are needed for sure but where is my baggie with all those receipts……

Double Takes! Haven't I seen you Before!

Hold up......Wait a minute! Those old enough to remember or fill in the blanks when someone shouts out...."Hold up", will understand! LOL! Well, that was my thought as i sat in the stands at Reebok U yesterday. I'm sitting there watching the talented campers compete in games being held on two courts at Philadelphia University and of course, the summer scene is where coaches get to mingle and see each for the first time since the past season or the Final Four. For some coaches, it's the first and only time they will see some of their counterparts and get a chance to network face to face. Now, the camp started on the 6th but college coaches weren't allowed to attend until the evening of the 8th and a lot of the coaches came down from Eastern Invitation in Ewing, NJ. Anyway, I'm sitting there watching these youngsters go at it and coaches from every major school in the country walk by, hand slapping, jousting for position so the campers can see them and making contact with the important AAU coaches etc., who are in attendance and I think..."What am I doing here?". See, the camps are a great way to see an abundance of talent at one location but the real recruiting is done after camp, during phone calls, making the right contacts and finding out who the decision makers are. So, while it's good to have the opportunity to evaluate the talent, being in that setting too long doesn't necessarily make sense for the smaller schools. While the campers walk by and marvel at the coaches from schools they either grew up dreaming about attending or watching on T.V, the smaller less visible schools can only evaluate and gather valuable information to be used at a later date. See, sometimes when you are in that setting it's like being "Ugly Betty", they can't really see you through all the "gorgeous" others around or, so folks won't think crazy about that analogy, think about not being one of the popular kids in school but wanting to date one of the most attractive kids in school. Most of ya'll will relate to one of those analogies. Well I decided to leave and return to the team camp being held at the 2008 Hoop Group Elite Team camp in North Plainfield, NJ. There are 64 high school teams participating in two divisions with each team guaranteed at least three games. The games are spread through out numerous sites so you have a chance to be the only school watching a particular kid. This setting also give coaches a chance to see a campers in their regular high school setting. Camps are tough for some because guards dominate the ball and if you are not aggressively going after ball, you could get lost or not get noticed. Oh....campers and coaches go through the same thing! If you work hard enough, you can get a great prom date because you've found a diamond in the rough! And the "Nerds" and "Ugly Betties" start to look more attractive as you peel back the layers. Get it? LOL!

Brotherly Love for Campers too! See you at Reebok U!

Still in Ewing, New Jersey attending the Eastern Invitational today. This camp ends today with Playoffs and All-Star games. There will be all-star games for each of the three divisions, an underclassmen all-star game, a senior all-star game and a top 20 all-star game. A lot of basketball and a lot of campers leaving camp with a good feeling. I will spend the evening in Philly, watching the Reebok U camp held at Philadelphia University. This camp actually started on the 6th, but college coaches aren't allowed to attend until this evening. Cooperation between Eastern and Reebok worked out well. The campers at Reebok attend classes for SAT prep and other seminars to help enhance the youngsters experience and prepare them for college. The next couple of days the campers play games for the college coaches and scouts rating them for recruiting services. Route 295 and route 1 will be very busy for the next couple of days with colleges traveling back and forth to Reebok and the Eastern Invitational team camp which starts tomorrow. The summer life of a college basketball coach baby!

Let the Games Begin!

The NCAA 2008 summer recruiting period started yesterday! I spent the day in Ewing, New Jersey attending the Eastern Invitational. Most NCAA institutions had coaches here to see the more than 800 high school players participating in the four day camp. That's a lot of campers, huh? It looks it too! The camp is held at New Jersey College, a small division 3 school near Trenton, New Jersey. There are 4 full courts in the Rec center and 8 courts outside on the tennis courts. The campers rotate on and off the courts all day and mix in guest speakers, lunch, dinner and drill sessions. Oh it's a full day for both the campers and the coaches! The coaches start arriving around 10 am everyday to watch the games and the rotation begins. There are 3 divisions, the NCAA division, the NBA East and the NBA West. The better or more highly rated players are generally in the the NBA West division, I think. It's one of those NBA divisions.The NCAA division is made up of rising eighth graders and high school freshmen and sophomores. The better underclassmen play in the NBA East division. All the players wear the jerseys given to them on the first day of camp and there is nothing negative being number 800 or nothing significant being number 1! There is a packet that the coaches buy for $125 and it has each camper's name, jersey number, camp team, home town, high school and high school classification. There is a daily schedule posted and passed out for each of the three sessions. A camper will play three games a day with coaches from all levels surrounding the courts scowling for the next player to elevate their program. The Fun has just begun!

Giving Back! Camp!!

Man….I know I’ve been out of Blog for a minute! I’ve been in the first session of my summer camp. The camp started Sunday 6/29/08 and ended Thursday, 7/03/08. Camp is tough because it’s intense instruction for youngsters of age 5-13 years old from 9-4pm. They are tired at the end of the day and so am I. The camp is held at the Bowie City Gym in Bowie, Maryland and is a great location. My goal, when I initially moved back to Maryland, was to really focus on sharing my experiences and knowledge of the game with as many young people as I could. I also planned to increase the level of fundamental play in the Maryland, D.C and Virginia area. I started running camp while I was the Head Coach at the University of California and continued to run a camp here in the D.C area upon my return to Maryland in 1996. This was part of my plan to give back to the community once I received the 8 year sanction from the NCAA and knew I wouldn’t be allowed to coach college basketball for a while.

New Era! Yeah Boy!

It’s official! Mike Bozeman is the Head Women’s coach at George Washington University! Good Luck Mike! You’ll be great there. The press conference was cool and the people at GW are very supportive. He handled himself very well and I’m happy for him. I took my son, Blake and my nephew Okoye, to the press conference to share their uncle’s special day with him! He’s a role model for them and they are very proud of him.

Hey the NBA draft is tomorrow! It’ll be a great day for a lot of families! It’s like hitting the lottery for folks! You can really see the exhaling from the mothers, aunties, etc. It’s like watching the show, “Who wants to be a Millionaire.” I really enjoy seeing people reach their dreams and goals! It’s the dream of a lot of youngsters to walk across that stage and shake hands with David Stern. Now, just because a guy doesn’t get drafted, doesn’t mean he can’t make it because there are countless examples of how guys were undrafted but still made teams. No one can and shouldn’t be able to steer you away from your dreams and goals! I would still encourage all the youngsters to get a degree because at some point they will transition into another phase of their lives and they need to be prepared. I’m all for young people working towards a career in the NBA. Sure the odd are long but the odds are long for a lot of professions. You need determination, sacrifice, a little luck and hard work but you need that in most everything you do, if you want to be successful. I just think that most struggle with the transition into life after hoops. The hoops life line is different for each person. The average length of an NBA player’s career is 3 years even though some enjoy the fantasy life for 10-18 years. Go for it fellas just be prepared when you have to re-position yourself.

Good luck to a couple of young fellas I’ve had the pleasure of coaching at some point in their young careers. I had the opportunity to coach Mike Beasley a couple of summers with the D.C Assault AAU program and O.J Mayo, who I had an opportunity to coach during the Reebok ABCD camp a couple of years ago. Mike actually worked as a counselor at my camp in Bowie, Maryland for a couple of summers. He still holds the record for being the worst referee in camp history. I had a lot of fun coaching O.J in camp...oh yeah, good luck to Bill Walker too he was on my camp team also. Those two had played together for years and put a show on during camp with alley oops and exciting plays. Mike and Bill played at Kansas State and O.J at USC. I remember those green room days during draft night with Jason, Lamond and Shareef, all three went in the lottery. Jason (2nd) went to Dallas, Lamond (7th) to the L.A Clippers and Reef (3rd) to Vancouver (now Memphis). Ed Gray went in the first round too but he was the 21st pick by the Atlanta Hawks. It’s exciting for sure so Congratulations to Mike (D.C Assault’s first potential #1 pick), O.J, Bill, Fatima (Mike’s Mom), Curtis Malone (mentor/Coach), Delonte Hill (College Coach), Joel Bell (Agent) and everyone else participating in tomorrow’s event. It’s a dream come true and lots of people play a role in these young people getting to this point. Enjoy people….but as my man B.I.G said …”More money, more problems” and it’s just begun!

Exam time! New women's coach at GW is familar!

Just took my NCAA certification test today. All coaches have to take a 40 question multiple choice exam once a year. You have to score 80% or better to pass and all coaches at every level have to be certified in order to recruit off campus. There are a lot of rules and each test is different. It is an open book test but you only get an hour and 20 minutes to take it. So you have to know where to look to find the answers if you don't know them. We have four coaches, myself included that have to be certified. Director of basketball operations can recruit off campus within a 30 mile radius. Your certification is good for a year, so it takes you through the spring of the following year. If you fail the test, it has happened to some coaches, you must wait a certain number of days before you can take the test again. You must pass before you can recruit off campus. Oh yeah...I passed!

Press conference scheduled for tomorrow at 1 p.m on the campus of George Washington University! My brother Mike will be introduced as the Head Women's basketball coach for the Lady Colonials. It's a great opportunity and he will do extremely well! I'm really happy for him and only wish our father was here to attend the press conference and the games. I say it that way because I know he looking down and guiding both of our steps. We all miss him A LOT! Mike was the Head girls coach at Bishop McNamara High school 5 years ago. One of his teams went undefeated until the last game of the season and that one lost cost them the girls high school National championship! They were the number one ranked team in the USA Today girls high school basketball poll all year until the end. It was tough but they had a great season. I felt really bad for the girls. My niece Nikki was on the team and all the girls use to, and I guess still, call me Uncle Todd. Seven or eight of those girls went on to play division one basketball and the majority received scholarships. He's had players at Georgetown, Louisville, Maryland, UNC Chapel Hill, Purdue, UNC Charlotte, NC Central, UNC Greensboro, Winthrop, George Washington and Bowie State. You want to know why he went into women's basketball...he has six daughters! He's the "Kang" of the house for sure. I spelled it right...it's King in other circles but "Kang" at his house! LOL!

Good Luck little brother! You're prepared so take your exam...Plan your work and work your Plan! Go Lady Colonials!

Morgan State Golf Tournament!

Great job Morgan State golf tournament committee! We played a modified Florida scramble where the captain selects the best ball then everyone plays their own ball to the hole. No re-peat today! The outing really went well, the weather was great and we had a lot of fun, but the champs didn't repeat! Our foursome or threesome, which included Dallas Evans, Don Hill and myself, shot a 67. The winners shot a 63. When I say we laughed and had a good time, we laughed and had a good time. There was a foursome playing behind us and they were all dressed alike! We thought they were going to Kings Dominion...or were auditioning for the Five heart Beats minus one or the Four Tops review! Just having fun fellas.....thanks for being good sports! They got some laughs on us too but I can't possibly share that! LOL We weren't dress alike though! Hill and Dallas carried me the majority of the day, although I had some good shots too. Turf Valley is a nice course and the greens were fast. Congratulations again to the tournament committee for a successful outing!

Celtic Green! And possible Re-Peat!

First of all….Congratulations to the Boston Celtics! Doc Rivers, KG, Paul Pierce & Ray Allen, man they got it done! I really respect how Boston kept pushing and playing hard when they were still up by 30 points. That’s how you are supposed to do it. Play until there are zeros on the clock! I blogged about that earlier, so I’m glad that recent history has given us another example. That game, although a blow out and is not fun to watch, should be a great lesson in how to stay in the present. The Lakers shouldn’t harbor any ill feelings by being blasted like that either because as the saying goes, “Go Hard or Go Home!” Yeah, I picked the Lakers and they didn’t come through. All the fellas picked Boston and I salute the Celtics. I wasn’t hating on them I just thought that Kobe had reached a point that he was going to take a step into history and I really appreciated the huge hill he had to climb to restore his image! I’m happy for the whole crew! I actually know quite a few of those guys, Doc, KG, P.P, Leon Powe, Eddie House (even though he was mad that I didn’t recruit him when I was the Head Coach at Cal…we had quite a few cats and he had a great career at ASU), Sam and assistant coach Kevin Eastman (He was the Head Coach at Washington State when I was the Head Coach at Cal). So I am extremely happy for those guys!

Info came out about Tiger’s knee, which makes what he accomplished in the US Open even more incredible. A tore ACL and 2 fractures, like I said before, whew! And someone had the audacity to suggest that he was faking or over dramatizing the injury. Kills that theory! Take a rest Tiger, get healthy and come back swinging. The tour is going to suffer a little while he’s out, for sure.

Morgan State University Golf outing is tomorrow! We are playing at Turf Valley, which is a nice course and we always have a lot of fun. I’m playing in a foursome with the Chairman of the Board of Regents, Dallas Evans, Don Hill (Morgan State’s Head Football Coach) and another soon to be winner yet to be announced. Now Hill and I won last years outing and are looking for a re-peat! Did the champs just get the # 1 pick in the draft? I hear my man can play! Stay tuned!!!!

History and Growth!

Wow! Tiger did it today! The dude is off the charts! The playoffs lived up to the hype! NBC and NIKE made out big this weekend. The decision to put the US Open on prime time was a big hit! Great sports drama, as Tiger and Rocco battled for 19 holes. I’m glad I am living to see this kind of history!

Hey, the Hill Fieldhouse’s floor is almost done. It looks really good! What happens is, every so often, you are suppose to have the gym/arena floor re-done and no one can remember the last time the floor was re-done at the Fieldhouse. The guys were putting the tape down to line the floor. They were also putting down the 3 point lines. There will be two different lines, the women’s line is right inside the men’s 3 point line and will be a different color. It takes awhile for the work to be completed. In the meantime, the guys that are around and in summer school are playing pick up games at UMBC, Loyola and Towson. They are also lifting weights 3 times a week. When players are around in the summer, playing pick up together, lifting and bonding, it makes your team grow. Some guys are rehabbing injuries from the season and some are just around to have a consistent place to workout and play. This is a good sign, because good teams and programs have players that really dedicate themselves during the summer. The Kenner summer league will start on July 5th and we will have a team in the league but only two returning players from the same team can play together. Our team will consist of two returnees and the list of incoming players and some players from other local programs. I know the fellas are looking forward to it.

Boubacar retuned from his workout with the Detroit Pistons today. He said it went well and I’m sure it did. He is a hard worker and will definitely have a chance to make a living playing basketball somewhere. It says a lot for the growth of the program when guys can at least get invited to workout for teams before the draft. I wish Boub and Jamar Smith the best.

NBA Finals Game 6 tomorrow! Don’t hate, it ain’t over!

Until manana! Peace

Father's Day!!!!!

First, I'd like to wish all the Fathers....a Happy Father's Day! Great day over here baby! First of all, I woke up this morning.....Thank you Lord. After dropping my son off (with his assistant coach from his high school team) for his ride to a basketball camp, I went to church(8:30 service and had some great thoughts about my Dad....I really, really miss the cat), played golf with some buddies at 10( we had great weather!), went to a cookout for fathers at my buddy's house, watched The Tiger Woods show (he's the baddest cat on the planet) and then watched the NBA finals! Can't get any better than that! T tried to text message and call as many of the fathers that I know.

Doc Rivers is setting the standard for former players coming out of the T.V booth to coach. People are surprised when guys get head coaching jobs without having coached a team before......but hey, if a guy wins a championship....there's not much you can say! He's doing a great job! A great example of how you should push through tough times. Awful year last year....to the greatest single season turn around in the history of the NBA. I always say, that life and sports mirror it other. Remember that old saying, "Tough times don't last....tough people do!"

Now........back to Tiger! WOW! The cat has been off 9 weeks or so and has a chance to win the first major he's playing in...right off the bat! The BADDEST!

That was the first time I've seen that commercial with his dad talking about his mental toughness! Great commercial and perfect for father's day! People that don't play golf don't understand how good he really is! He has transformed Golf! Everyone is watching golf now. His mental toughness is off the charts! He gets my vote as the best athlete EVER!

For those who still have your fathers around, man, cherish them and enjoy them! God gave me a GIFT for 42 years...and I am truly thankful! Ten years ago I started playing golf to have something to do with my dad.....and the last thing we did together was......play golf. Playing with some of your clubs Pops....Heros live FOREVER! Hope I qualify one day!

Even if you hear the BIG Lady humming.... it doesn't mean it's over!

WOW!! Ok…..The Boston Celtics have the momentum on their side now…lol…up 3-1…Last night’s game was history for sure! The Lakers blew a 24 point led? Yes, even in the NBA, a team can blow a huge lead. This example gives credence to the fact that it’s never over til it’s over. For a stretch in the 3rd & 4th quarters, the Lakers looked out of sync. They couldn’t run their offense, couldn’t score and took bad shots! I know Boston was playing great defense, but man……the Lakers looked awful! Props to Doc Rivers for not cashing the chips in and for continuing to motivate his team! And to the players, for not quitting! Oakland cat…Eddie House was a huge lift. Guys like House, Leon Powe (also from Oakland) and Sam Cassell are great examples to young players, of how to be a professional. They don’t always play or are not always in the regular rotation, but are always ready when called upon! Always be ready young guys….you never know sometimes, when your opportunity will come.

Keep fighting Kobe….”It ain’t over til it’s over”! LOL

It’s funny because we had a similar situation, this year at Morgan State, when we played at FAMU. We were up 21 in the first half and squandered the lead minute by minute. I called timeout after timeout, but couldn’t stop the bleeding. We went into the half time up 14 and the slide continued in the second half. So I’ve seen that movie before and know first hand that it can happen.

It’s a life lesson as well….when things are going bad, never give up cause it can always get better and when things are going great…stay focused cause you can always lose it! Stay on your P’s and Q’s is the lesson learned! As coaches always preach….Play til there are Zeros on the clock!

“It ain’t over til it’s over”! Life’s joy is in the journey, not the destination!

Staying Focused! Staying In Touch!

Ok....the Lakers are now down 1-2 in the NBA finals! Kobe has drawn some blood now! Game four is a must! It's funny how every time a team loses a game...people start to think negative! What ever happen to strong belief! Never wavering! Staying focused! It's never over til it's over! Game four is on tomorrow!

Yesterday I had a conversation with a friend of mine, who happens to be a Morgan State grad, and I was sharing my thoughts about my Blog and the fact that alums etc. could follow along as I roam the recruiting trail this summer. Afterwards, I thought I might need to explain that as a college coach, you can't make comments about players in the media. It's deemed as a recruiting advantage. Therefore, I will share my thoughts at each stop this summer. I can't name specific recruits but I can discuss how the tournament is going or how the talent level is at a particular event. The summer recruiting calendar starts on July 6th and ends on the 31st.There is a break however, from July 16-21st, which is called a "dead period", where coaches can't evaluate or have contact with recruits. The NCAA started this a couple of years ago because before, once you left home in July....you didn't return until the end. The break is better for everyone, the players get a break, coaches get a break, families don't have to travel behind their sons for a couple of days and coaches families get to see dad for a minute! Gotta love the summer recruiting!!!!

Game four @ 9pm! The series will be tied 2-2 the next time you hear from me! :)

Golf Outing Starts the week off!

Tuesday morning.....I played in the Mark Mosley/ NIH Celebrity golf tournament held at Raspberry Falls Golf and Hunt Club in Leesburg, VA yesterday. I hit the ball pretty good, it's tough sometimes in those settings tho! I played with some cool guys from Southern Management Group.....we shot 6 over but had fun! I won closest to PIN on the 15th hole...not sure what I won cause i left after dinner to get back on the other side of town. This was my 2nd time playing in this event and I had fun even though it was very HOT out there.....whew! Also got a chance to meet some of the old Redskin players, Pat Fisher (that cat still has a lot of energy and I would have never guessed that he was that small), Roy Jefferson (big cat! Didn't know he was drafted by the Steelers 1st), Ron Saul and Mike Bragg. The Morgan State Golf Tournament is next....scheduled for June 20th! Looking forward to it for sure!

The NBA finals continue tonight and I know the Celtics are up 2-0 but I still got the Lakers winning the title in six! Game 2 was really crazy....I won't say the officiating was questionable but....the officiating was questionable! Great story on my man Leon Powe...he's a good cat and I'm really happy for him, that he's getting his props now! My man B Ward gets big props for supporting the big fella from the beginning!

The fellas are doing what they are suppose to do in summer school and are about to finish up the first session. The Kenner league will start soon as well! Have fun fellas!!

Preparing for the next couple of Months!

Staff meeting yesterday.....planning our summer schedule. My staff, which consist of Kevin McClain, Darryl Prue, Sam Brand and Keith Goodie, met to discuss the rest of the summer's schedule which will include finishing up next years schedule, recruiting, monitoring the guys in summer school, our summer league team (the Kenner league), getting our video editing equipment serviced, stocking office supplies and preparation for our foreign tour on Labor Day weekend. Our program is growing and we are excited about going on a foreign tour for the first time in the program's history.

We are going to Montreal, Canada for, I think, five games. We get to practice before we leave and that will give our returning guys, our new guys and the guys we had sitting out a chance to get introduced to how we want to play. I've been on foreign tours before and it is not only a great experience for the guys....it's a great opportunity to bond as a team. The teams I've had in the past had a chance to work out kinks, experiment with line ups and gain some valuable game and international experience.

Needless to say, we completed the staff meeting, had lunch and shared our thoughts about the NBA finals!

All right! It's on now in the NBA finals.....Boston got the first one but "Two-four" is right there! Paul Pierce pulled a Willis Reed imitation......they better get the next one tho! I watched the game in a downtown B more sports bar with my man Don Hill, the head football coach at Morgan State, after hanging out with the rest of the hoops staff at the Jazz Summer's first Thursday.

HISTORY Today!!

Wow! Barack Obama is the Democratic Presidential nominee! It is truly a historic day and time.....An African-American presidential candidate! I am thankful and feel blessed to have lived to see this day! I really wish my Pop could have lived to see this day! Man!

It feels really good to have someone with the capabilities to Unite this country! Someone that can bring all races together and who can genuinely relate to the majority of folks. Someone I can relate to, not just because he is a black man, but because he has experienced some of the same things I have and has shared those experiences with the public. Man....the way folks are coming together, more people than ever being involved in politics....it energizes you! It gives you HOPE!

He over came the "so called" odds without publicly blinking. I could go on and on about the cat so I am going to simply say......that.....we are not where we want to be, but we damn sure are NOT where we were!

Hey......It's on tomorrow! The NBA finals! Looking forward to a great series!