Relentless Hoops Podcast

I went to the Northside Media Day at the Westminster School yesterday and had the chance to sit down with the majority of the head coaches of the attending schools to talk about their teams and the upcoming season. A lot of these programs are expected to have successful seasons and I enjoyed getting to hear each of their perspectives.

Our Select 80 Camps for 2024 & 2025 prospects were held last weekend at Life University. In this episode, I am joined by Greg Blythe, Travis McDaniel, and Reed Dungan, and we go over what we saw during the weekend. All-Camp Teams were released yesterday, so we dove into those while also giving some general thoughts from the camps and highlighting some of the biggest surprises and guys who made the biggest impressions. This year of the Select 80 Camps was another fun & successful one, and we had a good discussion on a lot of different players in this episode.

Another college head coach came on for this episode; UGA HC Mike White sat down with me & went into detail about a variety of things. He spoke on his start in coaching & journey since then, his 1st year at UGA, why he believes the UGA program can have sustainable success, the Bulldogs' strong incoming recruiting class, and more. This was a very enjoyable episode and Coach White made a lot of good points. He & his staff are going about things the right way in building their program.

We're back with a player guest in this episode. UConn's Alex Karaban joined me to discuss winning the 2023 NCAA National Championship with the Huskies, his path as a high school prospect, how he made an impact as a freshman, what he plans to improve on as a sophomore, and other topics. Although he's not a Southeast kid, I was able to watch Karaban at the 2018 CP3 Rising Stars Camp and track him since then. Every step along the way, he's just gone about his business and produced against top competition consistently. I'm excited to see what the future has in store for him.

Next up is Myers Park assistant & Team Curry 16U Head Coach Nick Jones. In this episode he joined me to talk about how he got into coaching, Myers Park's state championship season, his involvement with Team Curry, player development, and more. Various things that are important in today's grassroots landscape were touched on.

Upward Stars Director & 17U Head Coach Curt Wheeler is our latest guest, we sat down & discussed a variety of things before Upward took the floor in Atlanta this weekend. Curt has been in the grassroots space for a long time; he took us through his path thus far, went into detail on the Upward program, and gave his thoughts on grassroots basketball overall. He also touched on the Greenville Winter Invitational, a college basketball event that he runs, which takes place in December each year now. I really enjoyed getting to talk with Curt & listen to his perspective as he can provide valuable insight.

Our first college coach guest in a long time, University Of North Georgia Head Coach Dan Evans sat down with me to discuss a variety of topics. The Nighthawks are coming off of their best season since joining the Division 2 ranks as they won 21 games and beat UNC Pembroke in the NCAA Division 2 Tournament. Coach Evans goes over his Midwest roots, different aspects of UNG's program and improvement, along with touching on recruiting & D2 basketball in the Southeast as a whole. This was a great conversation & it shed light on why North Georgia will continue to have success in the future.

Last weekend was our 3rd year partnering with Hargrave Military Academy for the Relentless Hoops Military Circuit. In this episode, a recap of the event is given, along with a review of our recent Georgia Player Rankings Update. There was a lot to sort through on both topics and some fun details to discuss. The first 20 or so minutes focuses on the Military Circuit with the final 15 minutes diving into the rankings.

Last weekend I went to the 2nd annual Grayson New Year's Classic, which featured 7 games throughout the day and finished with a heavyweight battle between Grayson and Kell. In this episode, I go over the results & top performers from the day, followed by a recap of last night's Marist-St. Pius rivalry matchup.

With the calendar reaching 2023 that means we're getting ready for the bulk of region play in Georgia, but there were also lots of quality holiday events during the break as expected. In this episode, I go over the different local events that I attended, along with a few out-of-state tournaments. There were a handful of good available seniors that performed well and some underclassmen that rose to the occasion.

We're about a month into the season in Georgia; in this episode I'll be going over some observations & developments from the action I've watched so far. There are numerous teams having success early on and a multitude of players performing at a high level in the Peach State. This episode starts with a brief rundown of team performance across classifications before moving onto player notes. After Christmas events the next few weeks, I'll be back to discuss those tournaments, and our player rankings will be updated following the New Year.

November means it's time for college & high school basketball to get going. We got an early start on things with the 1st Relentless Hoops Halloween Bash last weekend in partnership with TSF. In this episode, I go over the 6 different teams that participated in the 6-game event, along with giving a few other notes on the start of the season. There were some fun matchups at NYO and Core4 at the Halloween Bash, a lot more are expected at different events in November. 

We took a week off after the recap of our Select 80 Camps but we're back this week with our 1st episode of October. In this episode, I give recaps of the Upward Stars Combine, the Southern Hoops Report Jamboree, along with touching on some recent college practices I attended and a couple 2025 prospects who have caught my attention the last 2 months. The high school season is right around the corner and lots of guys are ending the fall strong.

Our Select 80 Camps took place last weekend and it was a great 2 days filled with exciting action & prospects who performed at a high level. In this episode, I brought on 3 camp coaches to help me go into detail on our All-Camp Teams from the weekend. A few more were supposed to join us, but I had Coach Greg Blythe, Coach Tarrik Mabon, and Coach Donta Eberhardt come on to discuss the All-Camp selections & the weekend in general. Thank you to everyone who was involved in making Year 3 of our Select 80 Camps a great one; we hope to keep building on these and enhancing our camps as much as possible.

In this fall episode, I go over my most recent workout stops, followed by a summary of NY2LA's Camps from last weekend, and then concluding with a preview of our Select 80 Camps that are happening this weekend. Last week was a little lighter with my workout stops as I just went to Grayson, Norcross, Wheeler, and Kell before going to the Ryze Fall League again on Thursday. The weekend took me all the way up to Wisconsin for NY2LA's Futures Camp & Junior Showcase. The Futures Camp took place on Saturday for 2025 & 2026 guys while the Junior Showcase was on Sunday just for 2024 prospects. To end, the preview of our Select 80 Camps goes over some of the state-ranked Georgia prospects who will be in attendance, along with mentioning some of the out-of-state prospects who are making the trip.

There is a lot to unload in this episode as last week was busy with various things both in Georgia and outside of the state. I began the week with a trip to North & South Carolina to catch various high school workouts, in addition to a few college stops as well. I got back to Atlanta late Wednesday, went to Week 1 of HoopSeen's Fall League on Thursday, and then caught all 3 of TSF's teams on Friday to start the fall open period for college coaches. On Saturday, North Atlanta's Fall League got going and I went there to finish my week. 

In our next fall episode, I go over some of the high school workouts that I've started with as well as giving some thoughts on Week 2 of the Ryze Hoops Fall League and Young Harris' 3rd Elite Camp. The schools mentioned from workouts in this episode are Centennial, Etowah, and King's Ridge. This week I made a few stops in South Carolina and North Carolina, which will be discussed in the next episode. Coaches can get out to open gyms & workouts starting tomorrow, which is always an exciting time. I'll be hitting a lot more of these over the next month or so.

The Relentless Hoops Podcast is back this fall; I plan to start getting episodes up consistently again as I get out to different events this fall. In this episode I dig into our Georgia Player Rankings that were recently updated while also going over the CP3 Rising Stars Camp, The Platform Camp, and giving some info on our upcoming Select 80 Camps and other plans this fall. There will be a lot to see before the high school season begins and I'm excited to catch a variety of action.

We're going to continue with the State Playoff theme in this episode; Georgia's 1st Round & Sweet 16 matchups took place last week with tons of surprises and exciting action. I went to 5 different games last week and I give a recap of what I saw in those in regards to both the matchups overall and some of the top performers. Those matchups were: Berkmar-Etowah, Collins Hill-North Forsyth, Wheeler-Westlake, North Cobb Christian-Stratford Academy, and Walton-Archer. Guys like Damoni Harrison, Isaiah Collier, Josh Dixon, Ethan Davis, and more stood out. This week should be just as fun as Elite 8 games are going down tomorrow & Wednesday before Final 4 matchups on Friday & Saturday. This is the time of the year for hoopheads.

We start off this episode with an interview we conducted with King's Ridge Head Coach Bob Martin yesterday following the Tigers' Region Championship victory over Mount Pisgah this past weekend. He talks about that game, their season so far, along with the King's Ridge program as a whole and what it has taken to build it up. After the interview, we also highlight 5 different Peach State seniors who might not be the biggest names but are having stellar seasons and will be key pieces in determining how far their teams go in the state tournament. With the State Playoffs starting tomorrow in Georgia, all the best teams & players will be in action but there are always lesser known guys who sneak up on people this time of year. The 5 prospects included are Kyle Keener (Sequoyah), Keshawn Evans (Druid Hills), Patrick Shelley (Darlington), Major Freeman (Archer), and Brandon Kincaid (Salem).

Last weekend we partnered up with Hargrave Military Academy again for the Relentless Hoops Military Circuit, which featured 17 games over 3 days. It was a great weekend of competition with a wide range of quality prospects and some very good battles. We have already released All-Tournaments Teams and will be going into more detail on individual players on the Relentless Rundown soon, so we wanted to highlight the participating teams in this episode, especially those who went undefeated. We have also included short interviews with Thomas Messinger of Hargrave and Thomas Carr from Word Of God.

For our 1st episode in a really long time we bring on 2 guests from TSF Prep, Head Coach Trey Scotti and Xavier Signee Kam Craft. TSF's Post-Grad teams have been very successful in recent years, but now they also have a High School team that is in its inaugural season. Trey and Kam both give us some insight on what to expect from TSF Prep this winter; Trey also gives us insight on his coaching background and the TSF program as a whole, while Kam talks about heading to Xavier next season and how he is growing as a player. TSF Prep gives us a new twist to the HS basketball scene in Atlanta but they are doing things the right way and should have lots of success this season and beyond.

Our latest guest is Ryan Bernardi, Head Coach at The Burlington School in North Carolina. TBS is coming off a State Championship in the 2020-21 season and hope to repeat this upcoming year. Coach Bernardi is just 23 years old but already has a lot of experience as a head coach and is one of the most energetic young coaches that I've been around. He provided insight on the points of emphasis in his program, this past season, and what's ahead for TBS, but also went into detail about his path as a coach thus far, which started at 15 years old. The Burlington School has some new faces for 2021-22 and will get a chance to impress college coaches during the June Live Periods before playing in a lot of big games this winter.

Ohio University assistant coach Lee Martin joins us for our latest episode, Coach Martin & the Bobcats are coming off of a great season in which they defeated Virginia in the NCAA Tournament. This year was Martin's 1st at Ohio after having lots of success at Hargrave Military Academy. Martin addressed a lot of different topics, including his coaching journey thus far, the Virginia game, Ohio star Jason Preston, and the Hargrave program. Martin is quickly ascending within the coaching ranks after paying his dues early on at Hargrave.

Bryan Burrell is our 1st guest this spring; he's the Head Coach at Trinity Academy of Raleigh in addition to being the Owner/Founder of New Age Elite Sports. The Trinity Academy Tigers are coming off of a successful season and have their eyes set on a state championship next season. Bryan spoke with me about the Trinity program and its outlook, learning from successful college coaches, what New Age Elite individual player training is about, and more. He is a bright young basketball mind with a great future in both coaching & training.

Zach Corliss, an assistant coach at Lenoir-Rhyne, joined us as the first college coach guest in a while earlier today. He is in his 4th season with the Bears and they are having a successful season while working through coronavirus issues. Coach Corliss has some strong Georgia ties and he discusses those in this episode, along with talking about the LR program, the SAC, and the energy he brings as an assistant. We wish Coach Corliss and Lenoir-Rhyne the best as they come back from quarantine to finish the 2020-21 season.

It's the start of 2021 and we're right around the mid-season point in Georgia as we get ready to ramp up region play. There has been a lot of good action and tons of good events to take in through the first month & a half of the season; the teams & their players have performed at a high level so far this winter. In this episode we start with a few short storylines before diving into some 2021, 2022, and 2023 prospects who have impressed & boosted their stock. The rest of the 2020-21 season is sure to be exciting and unpredictable.

Georgia high school practices have  gotten going this week, but last weekend I went to Alabama and Texas for the Alabama Top 150 Camp and the Wootten's Top 150 Camp. These events gave me the opportunity to see some familiar faces and get a look at a few guys I hadn't seen in the past. I focused on available 2021 prospects and 2022/2023 guys at both of these events. In this episode I go over the different players who stood out last Saturday & Sunday.

We're back for Episode 21 after over a month off while finishing up the travel season. The fall means a lot of open gym and workout viewings; I took a trip up to the Carolinas last week to hit a few different spots and I highlight these here. Included are Dorman, Lake Norman Christian, Greensboro Day, Trinity Academy of Raleigh, and Myers Park. I really enjoyed getting around to see these different programs, they featured high-level players and high-level coaches. I will be going over some local schools that I recently watched soon, as well as giving a rundown of some Fall League action that I caught last Saturday in upcoming episodes.

We're staying on the travel ball side of things in Episode 20 as TSF EYB Director Adam Gibbs joins us. Gibbs oversees the TSF EYB grassroots teams and has helped develop them into one of the top programs in Georgia and the Southeast. He discusses the program's recent event (TSF Day), the upcoming Battle For Georgia, the progress of TSF's travel teams, and a few other topics.

We've been going strong with travel tournaments for over a month now and it looks like we'll have another month or so of events left, so I thought it would be a good time to go back over some of the action from July. Even though it's different, a lot of guys are benefiting from these events and it has been great to see. 2021 Stock Risers, 2021 Sleepers, 2022 & 2023 Prospects are all highlighted, along with some discussion on Travel Team Power Rankings. Our Updated Player Rankings will be released soon as well.

2021 W Matthew Cleveland joined us for our first episode since June 4th to briefly discuss his recent Top 5 list of schools, his recent showing at The Opening on June 27th, and what he's been focusing on during the coronavirus pandemic. Cleveland has flown up the national rankings over the past year and showed last weekend why he may be due for another bump up into Top 10 territory.

Next up is Wofford Head Coach Jay McAuley, who recently completed his 1st season leading the Terriers after previously being the Associate HC at Wofford. Coach McAuley is a Georgia native who graduated from Pope High School and then the University of Georgia. He brings tons of energy and intensity to coaching and has been a huge part in helping me in what I do. Earlier today, he spoke on the transition to being a head coach, Wofford's brand, and how their team has gone about addressing the current racial issues in our country.

Coach Justin Bradley from Dartmouth is the next college coach guest and spoke with us about a lot of different things. He has been a 30-Under-30 honoree and has gained vast experience early in his coaching career. To go along with touching on his coaching path, recruiting in the Ivy League, and Division 3 basketball, Coach Bradley provided valuable insight on Coach LeVelle Moton & his voice in addressing racial injustice in our country, and how we can ignite change and progress as a nation.

Coach Aaron Parr from St. Pius joins us for Episode 15. We haven't had a high school coach in a while so Coach Parr is a great one to bring on. He is going into his 10th year as the head coach at Pius and has already surpassed 200 wins. His Golden Lions teams are known for their defense, speed, and competitiveness each year, which has led to tons of playoff success. He went into detail about building the Pius program, what they're about, how they've maintained success, and more.

Chris Kreider is the next college coach to come on the podcast. He just finished his 1st season at Georgia State after most recently being at Rice. Coach Kreider has been at a variety of spots during his coaching career, including numerous in-state Georgia schools. He is a genuine, honest guy who is one of my favorite coaches to see out at games. He talked about how his coaching experience at different places has helped mold him, gave a lot of recruiting insight, and gave some details on Georgia State's program.

Adam Blake from North Georgia is the next college coach to join us.  The 2019-20 season was the 1st for the current UNG staff, led by Dan Evans, and accompanied by Coach Blake and Austin Burnette. Blake is originally from Ohio and has made a few coaching stops prior to coming to UNG. He is a very passionate and energetic young coach who demands a lot from his players. Coach Blake reflected on Year 1 at UNG, the Nighthawks' impressive recruiting class, what he looks for in players, what it's like being a young coach, and more. There is a positive outlook on North Georgia's program and I'm excited to see what they do in the coming years.

*Due to some internet difficulties, there are portions of the episode that had to be removed.

Ryan Greer of Northwestern is the 1st current college player to join us. I first met Ryan when he was in 8th grade while helping with his travel basketball team when I was a senior in high school. Now entering his junior season at Northwestern, Greer started out at The Lovett School in Atlanta, and then went to Northfield Mount Hermon in Massachusetts after his sophomore season. He spent one year at NMH and then reclassed back up to 2018 and moved on to Northwestern in the Big 10. He spoke with us about his unique high school path, his recruitment process, the importance of academics, majoring in journalism, and more. 

Another high school player jumps on for Episode 11 as Sutton Smith joined us after recently receiving his 1st Division offer from Navy. Smith is a player who I first watched when he was in 7th grade and he has developed a reputation as one of the best true point guards in Georgia.  He gave us details on receiving the offer from Navy, the variety of things he brings to a team, what it's like being a high-academic prospect, and more. Smith is an extremely bright, mature kid who has done great things in each of his 2 seasons at Denmark so far.

Director and coach of Team Dickerson, Demond Stephens, joins us for Episode 10. Stephens has been around the Atlanta basketball scene for a while and was a long-time coach of the Atlanta Celtics. This year he decided to form his own independent program, Team Dickerson, to honor the late Derrick Dickerson, who had a great impact on Atlanta travel basketball during his time. Stephens has a very talented 17U group to go along with 16U and 15U teams that are on the rise. He described what Team Dickerson is about, his training methods, his roster, and more.

For Episode 9, we are joined by 2 guests- Greg Blythe and Tarrik Mabon, the co-founders of Inspire Atlanta. Along with the Inspire travel basketball program, Coach Mabon is the Head Coach at Mount Vernon Presbyterian, and Coach Blythe is an Associate Head Coach at Pace Academy. They spoke with us about their unique coaching paths so far, starting and building Inspire Atlanta, the CP3 Rising Stars Camp, and the outlook for their high school programs. Coach Mabon and Coach Blythe are tireless workers who do things the right way and have helped countless high school players through their coaching and mentorship.

Virginia Tech's Mike Young joins us as the 1st College Head Coach to be on the podcast. Coach Young recently completed his 1st year at the helm of the Hokies program after a long & successful run at Wofford. He reflected on his inagural season at VT, recruiting & building the program in Balcksburg, and his journey at Wofford, while also touching on a lot of other things that both players and coaches should listen to. His resume speaks for itself and his time & insight are valued greatly.

Another college coach, Jonathan Mattox from Morehead State, joins us for Episode 7. Mattox is a Georgia native who attended Oconee County HS and finished his playing career at Emmanuel College. He came to Morehead State in 2013 and has served in numerous roles while working his way up to an assistant coach on the Eagles' staff. He went in-depth with us on his coaching path, the Morehead State program, and his approach to recruiting. The thoughts and experiences that he shared in this episode should be very helpful to both young coaches and high school players who are hoping to elevate their recruitment once the coronavirus pandemic is over.

In Episode 6, RJ Keene joins us as the first high school prospect to come on the podcast. Keene is a 6'7" Texas-based prospect who plays with Houston Hoops and attends Concordia Lutheran School. He is getting a good amount of recruitment already, but would have had a good chance to take another step up during the April Live Periods if we were able to play. He speaks with us about his recruitment currently, playing with Houston Hoops, and why he thinks coaches would have been impressed with him this travel season.

Our 1st college coach guest, Drew Gibson from Navy, joins us in Episode 5. Gibson played at Wofford where he was a 1,000-point, 500-assist and All-Conference player for the Terriers, and then played overseas for multiple years before transitioning into coaching. He started his coaching career at Wofford as the Director Of Basketball Operations, then was the top assistant at Augusta for 2 years, and now just completed his 1st season at Navy as an assistant coach. Gibson speaks with us about his coaching path so far, gaining experience and learning from well-respected coaches, the Service Academy aspect of Navy, how he's adjusting during the coronavirus pandemic, and concludes with some advice for HS prospects.

Next up is our 2nd player guest, Fletcher Magee, who holds the NCAA's all-time record for 3-pointers made in a career. Magee played in Spain's top professional league this year but is now back in his hometown of Orlando during the coronavirus pandemic. He speaks with us about his career at Wofford, his work ethic, his recruitment as an HS prospect, and how to get better during this time. Magee also speaks about his recently started Fletcher Magee Academy, which combines online videos and summer camps to help younger players. 

Episode 3 brings on our 1st player guest, Brandon Robinson, who just recently finished his playing career at the University of North Carolina and also attended Douglas County High School in Georgia. He had an uncommon path to UNC and experienced a ton during his time as a Tar Heel. As he now gears up for his professional career, he spoke with us about his rise as a high school prospect, his work ethic, his experience within college basketball, and why he believes Georgia basketball is among the best in the country.

David Bentley joins us for Episode 2 of the Relentless Hoops Podcast. Bentley currently works with the Upward Stars and Hargrave Military Academy's basketball team. He had successful years with a few Upward Upstate teams after starting out at Anderson University and plans to have an Upward SE Select team this summer. Bentley is well-connected within the high school & college basketball scene and brings a lot of good insight to the podcast. In this episode he talks about his stops at different spots, his previous Upward teams, how he gets his guys seen, and networking as a coach.

In our very 1st episode, I am joined by Sim Frazier, 17U head coach of Team Curry of the UAA and the director of PSB Elite Charlotte. Sim has helped build PSB Elite into one of the best independent programs around over the last 5 years and the program was rewarded with a full UAA sponsorship this winter. Team Curry is the result of this sponsorship, which is sponsored by NBA Star Stephen Curry. Sim discusses with us what it's like to rise as an independent program, this year's 17U Team Curry roster, how PSB has found its niche, and other topics.