The Player's Podcast

Coach Freeman joins me to answer some of your questions about the game. If you have questions that you want answered send one in at [email protected]

00:48 How do you balance team expectations with personal goals during the season?

10:57 What’s something you wish you had learned earlier about taking care of your body, physically or mentally?

23:53 As a parent, how do you encourage your child during a tough season?

32:30 What was the moment you realized your basketball career was over and how did you process it?

38:17 What do you wish (as a coach) that players understood about coaches decisions?

45:40 Discussing the NBA season

Nelson Lomax played at Chemeketa CC and Willamette University in the early 90’s. Coming from New Orleans, LA, he made Salem his home and has become a fixture in the Salem basketball community. He shares stories and lessons from his lifetime as a player, coach and parent.

00:19 Growing up in New Orleans, LA and making his way to Salem

06:34 Getting into basketball as a child

07:38 Switching high schools as a sophomore

10:41 Finding his way to Chemeketa Community College

17:12 Playing in the parks during the summers in New Orleans

21:37 Learning from Coach Rob Chavez at Chemeketa as a freshman

30:32 Working at Willamette’s basketball camp his first week in Salem

33:55 Moving on to play at Willamette with Coach Gordie James

38:00 Coaching at Willamette alongside his former coaches

46:50 Moving from assisting his former coach to assisting his former player

52:28 Developing life-long relationships through the game

55:16 Reliving the glory days of Willlamette Pro Hoop camp

1:02:50 The evolution of the Salem basketball community since he came here in 1990

1:17:02 The top 5 players he’s seen in Salem

1:29:15 The only coach to ever use a clip board as a dinner plate

“The Dobber“ talks through his career as a high school basketball coach at Sprague HS and, most recently, at Cascade HS. Now a father or athletes, he also shared some valuable insight on being a parent while also being a coach at heart.

00:54 Transitioning from coaching 6A basketball to 4A basketball

02:20 State tournament experience at a high school campus

07:12 Growing up in Lebanon, OR and competing against the Salem schools

11:31 Moving on to Willamette University and playing for Coach Gordie James

19:00 Playing against an elite 8 Oregon Ducks team at Mac Court

21:20 The legendary Wally Wing and his coaching presence

24:15 Joining the Willamette Coaching staff as a grad student and then transition to the Sprague HS coaching staff

29:45 The changing of the game from 2005 until now

34:30 Looking back on his Sprague groups

39:39 Being a parent while also having a coaching mindset

46:33 The importance of good coaching at the younger ages leading up to becoming great teammates

49:09 The changing of the CVC through the decades

55:00 Listing off some of the greats from Salem in his time as a player and coach

Willie Freeman coached North Salem High School to two league titles. Through a huge life lesson, he had to find his next steps in his basketball journey. Listen in as Willie talks about his international playing career and all the way to coaching the NBA G league and drops some valuable advice to young players.

Skinny talks about growing up at The Hoop and putting in a lifetime of work to become the player he was. He holds many records at South Salem HS and went on to become the all-time assists leader at St. Martin's University.

Kip Ioane just finished his first season as the leader of the South Salem boy's basketball program. We talk through his time at Willamette University and how he is creating a new culture at South Salem. We also discuss our run together at Willamette Pro Hoop camp and learning from legendary coach Gordie James.

00:25 Making the transition from college to high school basketball

05:55 Exectations of student athletes at the high school level vs college level

09:38 The current state of AAU, training and off-season development

12:32 Building skills and transferring them to life

14:45 IQ versus skill for today’s generation

25:30 Growing up in Billings, MT

27:50 Coming to Willamette University from Billings

30:29 Playing and learning from Gordie James

35:25 Adjusting to becoming a head coach

38:30 The D3 struggle of not being able to offer athletic scholarships

44:18 Remembering the glory days of Pro Classic Hoop Camp

51:23 Being in charge of an overnight camp

54:00 The evolution and future of Teams of Men

1:01:20 Listing off some of Salem’s best players in his time here

1:06:15 The best of our Pro Hoop Camp debates

1:10:38 Coach Ioane’s favorite story from Coach Gordie James

Jorge Garibay graduated from McKay HS in 2014 and was part of group that competed for a league title while he was there. It took a lot of time in the gym to get there, and his leadership was a big reason for that. Jorge looks back at the process to getting there and what it meant for him to make McKay basketball competitive.

00:42 Developing his competitive drive

02:20 Learning to compete at the varsity level as a sophomore

06:23 Gaining confidence and feeling like he belonged on the court

07:30 Getting involved in sports as a kid

10:00 Gaining motivation by watching McKay HS games during the Martino-era

14:15 Developing his work ethic

16:09 Learning from and through his family history

18:30 Learning the blocker-mover system into his junior year

26:46 Off season workouts at McKay

29:00 Stepping up junior year and being a competitive program as juniors and seniors

46:00 Lessons learned through sports and hard work

49:48 Being able to play for Coach Sanderson and live up to his expectations

Cruz Veliz just wrapped up his career at Woodburn High School with a 2nd team all state earning. We talk through his upbringing with 2 older brothers and learning how to compete. Big brother RJ joins us as well to provide some context to what's help Cruz succeed, and we also hear about their new venture V3 Athletics which is set to impact the Woodburn community in a big way.

01:04 Being ready for big plays in big moments

02:24 Developing his passion to put in the work

04:35 Being the youngest in a family of athletes

11:35 Playing for his dad at Woodburn HS

12:44 learning to become a great high school player

15:48 Veliz bros 1 on 1 battles as kids

17:40 Developing into a leader at Woodburn HS

19:55 Looking ahead to college basketball

21:45 V3 Athletics is coming to impact the Woodburn community

27:52 Cruz’s starting 5 of opponents he’s played against

32:50 Getting prepared for the next level

Former head coach of the Sprague Olympians reflects on his journey through basketball after finishing this season with the best team in the history of the school.

00:43 reflecting on the success from this years seniors at Sprague HS

1:44 State Tourney experience

5:08 Developing a love for the game as a kid

10:30 early lessons in high school practice

14:05 growing into a league title team his junior year

17:15 Coach Litch and developing work ethic in his teams

20:10 Counter top box jumps are not a recommended training method

22:30 being one win away from the state tourney back to back years

28:10 post-high school

32:20 Coaching a bad team versus coaching a great team

39:00 Learning scouting and preparation from Coach Litchfield

44:45 the benefit of set plays in addition to motion offenses

48:10 Coaching your team to do what they need versus what you want as a coach

53:30 the future of high school basketball

1:05:45 Favorite sayings from Coach Litchfield

1:08:04 All-time Salem starting 5

Enrique Sandoval has decades of experience in the game as a player and coach. Most recently, he led the Gervais girl’s program the the 2023 2A State Title. We discuss his upbringing and how it helped shaped him as a player and person. We also get into the impact of the Oregon Latino Basketball Tournament as well to why he did not recruit me when he was coaching at Chemeketa.

2:38 Developing his love for the game

5:50 Memories from the Oregon Latino Basketball Tournament

11:03 His state runner-up team as a senior at Woodburn HS

16:50 Battling through failure in high school

19:30 Encouraging our kids through failure rather than keeping them away from failure

25:10 His path to college basketball

31:48 An all-time George Libbon story from Chemeketa practice

35:53 Being able to handle intensity from coaches

38:05 Playing for legendary coach Bart Valentine at Warner Pacific

43:10 Returning to Chemeketa CC to start his career as a basketball coach

46:23 Transitioning to coaching at Sprague HS

48:40 Returning home to coach at Woodburn HS

51:30 Leading the Gervais girl’s team to a state title

57:50 The changing of youth basketball through one generation

59:40 All-time Woodburn starting 5

1:06:06 All-time Salem starting 5