Excellence In Action

In the “Excellence In Action” feature, Murray Athletic Development acknowledges the accomplishments of those who have either trained directly with MAD, or who have trained with MAD Director John Murray during his career. Congratulations for the efforts as well as the accomplishments of all those acknowledged below!

"We are what we repeatedly do. Excellence, then, is not an act but a habit."

― Aristotle

Soon Ja Elzy, due to her dedication and determination all summer long, increased her strength by 200 lbs. As a result of conflicts with academic classes in which she was enrolled, Soon Ja was only able to attend 16 of the 23 S.I. Girls Varsity Basketball, off-season workouts. However, Soon Ja more than made up for her absences by attending MAD’s Institute of Physical Culture workouts in the evenings. Congratulations to Soon Ja for both her efforts as well as her successes in both her academic and athletic endeavors!

Phil Handy, who along with the Golden State Warriors, has competed in the last five N.B.A. Finals, was lured away from the N.B.A. Champion Toronto Raptors by the Los Angeles Lakers to be their new Assistant Coach. Prior to winning the championship with the Raptors last season, Coach Handy had accompanied the Cleveland Cavaliers to the last four N.B.A. Finals, also savoring victory in 2016. MAD Director John Murray first met Coach Handy when Murray was consulting for Skyline Junior College Men’s Basketball Team of which young Phil was a member. Murray went on to coach him throughout Handy’s professional basketball career in the N.B.A. and Europe. Sharing similar coaching philosophies, since Handy’s retirement from professional basketball in 2000, the two have collaborated on many coaching ventures. Coach Handy has developed a reputation as one of the best skill development coaches in the NBA. credited with the development of the games of such N.B.A. luminaries as LeBron, Kobe, and Kyrie, to name a few.

Rico Hines, the renowned skills coach who runs the legendary games on the U.C.L.A. Campus which each summer become the center of the basketball universe, has been hired by the N.B.A.’s Sacramento Kings as a Player Development Coach. Coach Hines played for the Bruins under Coach Steve Lavin who recruited him to help coach The Red Storm at St. John’s from 2010 to 2015. In 2015, the Reno Big Horns of the N.B.A. Developmental League hired Hines as an Assistant Coach. In 2018, the team became the Sacramento Kings G League affiliate and were renamed the Stockton Kings as the team also relocated to Stockton, CA. Despite all the changes, Coach Hines has remained a constant with the team since 2015. During his tenure as the Strength and Conditioning Coach for the Golden State Warriors, MAD Director John Murray had the pleasure of working with Coach Hines for several years. Coach Hines’ first coaching job was as a Player Development Coach with Golden State from 2006 to 2010.

Caeden Hutcherson attended Warriors’ Basketball Camp in July and received the award for Camper of the Week. Caeden was recognized for his standout performance both on and off the court demonstrating great sportsmanship toward his teammates, opponents, referees, and coaches alike, and interacting with everyone in a friendly and welcoming manner. Caeden is entering seventh grade at St. Ignatius’ Father Sauer Academy and has been training with MAD for the past year and a half. He trains at MAD’s Institute of Physical Culture (I.P.C.) and has attended various MAD clinics such as the Ali Thomas Shooting Clinic.

Grace Hovan, a senior on the Marin Catholic Girls Varsity Volleyball Team, worked very hard and was able to gain 155 lbs. of strength during her summer program. In the off-season, Grace plays volleyball for Absolute Volleyball, and she and Absolute teammate Lucionna Washington trained together with MAD during the summer. They remained committed to their MAD training all summer, and by the end of Absolute Volleyball’s summer tour, the two friends and teammates helped Absolute achieve a top 10 national ranking.

Kourosh Kahn-Adle (far right), a senior guard on the S.I. Boys Varsity Basketball Team, excelled during the team’s trip to Taiwan in June, and he was selected as one of the top 5 players in this year’s Song Shang Cup International Tournament held in Taipei. Against a very high level of competition, under FIFA rules, and playing as senior leaders in international competition for the first time, Kourosh and his Wildcat teammate Malcolm McCray-Hill stepped up to the challenge. As part of the S.I. Boys Varsity Basketball Program, Kourosh has been training with MAD for the past two years.

Malcom McCray-Hill, a senior forward for the S.I. Boys Varsity Basketball Team, dominated play during the team’s recent trip to Taiwan in June and was named to the Song Shang Cup International Tournament All Tournament Team. Against a very high level of competition, under FIFA rules, and playing as senior leaders in international competition for the first time, Kourosh and his Wildcat teammate Kourosh Kahn-Adle stepped up to the challenge. As a member of the S.I. Boys Varsity Basketball Team, Malcolm has been training with MAD for the past two years.

Justin Mei, a senior on the S.I. Boys Varsity Volleyball Team, rallied from an early summer injury to gain 105 lbs. of strength during his off-season training and returned to full health by the end of his summer program. Unfortunately, Justin suffered a mild calf strain during an A.A.U. Tournament in June, but he remained committed to his training and post-rehabilitation workouts. The translation of his hard work in the weight room to his performance on the court was so dramatic that Margi Beima, the Director of Sláinte, the team for whom Justin competes in the off-season, called MAD Director John Murray to report Justin’s impressive improvement and inquire after the nature of his training. As part of the S.I. Boys Varsity Basketball Program, Justin has been training with MAD for the past six months.

Aaron Miles, who served as the Head Coach for the Santa Cruz Warriors for the past two seasons, has been promoted to Head Coach Steve Kerr’s staff as a Player Development Coach. Over the past two NBA G League seasons, Miles posted an impressive 57-43 record, including a league-high 34-16 record and Pacific Division Title in 2018-19. While the Seadub’s Head Coach, Miles shepherded five players to NBA G League Call-ups. Before joining Santa Cruz, Miles served as an assistant coach at Florida Gulf Coast University, where he helped guide the Eagles to a 26-8 record and a berth in the 2017 NCAA Division I Men’s Basketball Tournament. Miles was a basketball standout at the University of Kansas, where he led the Jayhawks to a 110-28 record and to back-to-back NCAA Tournament Final Four appearances in 2002 and 2003. Coach Miles still holds the Jayhawk’s and the Big 12 career assists record with 954. In 2005-2006, while serving as Golden State’s Strength and Conditioning Coach, MAD’s Director John Murray had the pleasure to meet and work with Miles during his rookie season with the Warriors.

Lucionna Washington wanted to improve her athleticism this summer while competing at various national level tournaments for her club team Absolute Volleyball, and she was able to gain 210 lbs. of strength as a result of her off-season training. Lucionna and her Absolute teammate Grace Hovan trained together with MAD during the summer. They remained committed to their MAD training all summer, and by the end of Absolute Volleyball’s summer tour, the two friends and teammates helped Absolute achieve a top 10 national ranking.

Kris Weems, who has served as an Assistant Coach on the Golden State Warriors G League affiliate for the past two years, was named the new Head Coach of the Santa Cruz Warriors. Former Seadub’s Head Coach Aaron Miles, who has been promoted to the N.B.A. Warriors as an Assistant Coach for Player Development, credited his former assistant coach with much of the team’s success over the past two seasons. Weems played his college ball at Stanford where during his four years with the Cardinal, he averaged 10.0 points, 2.4 rebounds and 1.9 assists over 124 games leading the Stanford Men’s Basketball Team to four consecutive NCAA Tournament appearances and a trip to the Final Four in 1998. MAD Director John Murray had the pleasure of working with and getting to know the Warriors’ new G League coach at Stanford when Coach Weems worked as an Athletic Development Associate for the Cardinal, and Murray was Stanford's Director of Strength and Conditioning for Men's and Women's Basketball. The two worked together again when Murray directed Brandon Rush's post surgical rehabilitation, and Weems collaborated with Coach Ali Thomas on Rush's skill development.

Murray Athletic Development

Make excellence a habit!