St. Rose Hosts High-Profile Basketball Clinic

Saturday, September 27 was certainly a memorable day in the Capital Region.  As the weather outside brought back memories of summer, it was inside air-conditioned Nolan Gymnasium at The College of Saint Rose where great basketball minds came together to teach and enlighten those in attendance. St. Rose was honored to host the Howard Garfinkel Coaches Clinic and to have some of the most respected basketball coaches in the country on hand.

The clinic was headlined by a number of high profile basketball coaches, including Syracuse University head coach Jim Boeheim, University of Florida head coach Billy Donovan, University of Kentucky head coach John Calipari, ESPN analyst and former Virginia Tech head coach Seth Greenberg, as well as NBA commentator and former coach Mike Fratello.

The stands were filled with coaches from all different levels. Recreational coaches, high school coaches and even college coaches alike, trying to absorb as much information from these guests as they could and hopefully be able to apply what they’ve learned to their respective teams.

The 8-hour clinic gave each coach about an hour to talk and show the crowd their different philosophies.  Boeheim taught his offensive ideologies which he’s used for players like Hakim Warrick and Gerry McNamara, Donovan focused more on defense and his turnover-inducing full court press, while Calipari emphasized quick and precise ball movement in many of his drills.  Each providing a unique and brand new perspective to many of the coaches in attendance.

In relation to the day’s overall theme, giving back has always meant a lot to these coaches.

“Somebody helped me,” Donovan said, “Somebody took time with me, I think you always have responsibility to give back as much as you can.”

All these coaches were here to do what others had done for them; further the game of basketball and spread their well sought after knowledge and experience.

“Well someone helped me, and get me where I am,” Greenberg said, “There is nothing more enjoyable to me than being around coaches and to share the little bit that I have learned with others.”

St. Rose head basketball coach Brian Beaury was another coach who provided his expertise in the clinic as well, and whose players had the chance to learn from the guest coaches at the clinic too.

“It is a great day for basketball and The College of Saint Rose when we can have these kinds of people come here and spend some time,” Beaury said, “To get to be on the floor and learn from coaches of this caliber,  the players are certainly winners today too.”

Both members of the St. Rose men and women’s basketball teams were present for the clinic, but it was the men’s team that participated in drills that the coaches were teaching.

St. Rose sophomore forward Anthony Russell was frequently involved in many of the drills and was taking in the whole experience of learning from these coaches as well.

“It’s great. It’s great for the area, for the school, and we learn a lot from it. We always listen to our coach every day and hearing a different perspective and voice, it’s awesome,” said Russell.

Same can be said for the women’s team as well.  Senior forward Mariah Lesure was very excited to see what the coaches had in store as well.

“It’s cool, we don’t get to play against these high profile coaches so you see them and it’s a big deal but the fact that they are willing to take the time and coach us, we are blessed with the opportunity,” said Lesure.

Organizer of the event, Rene LeRoux, was truly the perfect individual to put the clinic together and did a fantastic job in doing so.

“We had as famous as basketball coaches there are in the country. It’s amazing that they all came today and they did so willingly, happily, they loved it and had a great time. They were great,” said LeRoux.

Boeheim was perhaps the biggest drawing card to the clinic, considering the location of Syracuse to Albany and the large following of Syracuse fans in the northeast.  Boeheim has been tied to the area before.  In 2003, the Carmelo Anthony led Orangemen won 2 NCAA tournament games at the Pepsi Arena, now the Times Union Center, en route to their only national championship. Boeheim has also been to a Final Four in each of the last 4 decades, thus proving his longevity as a winning coach.

Donovan has been the coach at Florida since 1996, taking a weak program and transforming it into one of the most dominant in college basketball.  Donovan is also a national championship-winning coach as his Gators went back-to-back in 2007 and 2008.  Donovan’s style of coaching is one that we’ve seen for a while, as he learned from current Louisville coach Rick Pitino.

“In coaching you are going to be directly affected by the people that you play for and that you work for,” Donovan said, “I was fortunate to play for and coach under Coach Pitino.”

Calipari may be the most popular coach in college basketball today.  Year after year, his team is consistently nationally-ranked, which is more impressive considering the amount of freshmen he has had over the year.  Calipari has coached stars like guards Derrick Rose and John Wall, forwards Anthony Davis, Demarcus Cousins, and center Marcus Camby.  The 3-time national coach of the year, Calipari has won a championship as well and been to 5 Final Fours, and winning it all in 2012, while leading his eighth-seeded Wildcats to the National Championship game in last year’s NCAA tournament.

Greenberg was the former head coach at Virginia Tech, leading them to multiple NCAA tournaments.  He is now an analyst for ESPN, and says that New York basketball is still thriving.

“Let’s face it, you have multiple universities right here that have been very good. The job you guys have done here, what the coaches have done here is incredible, look at these banners, it’s insane,” said Greenberg. “To me, I am honored to be asked to speak here and it’s good to be around coaches and to spend time.”

Then there is Fratello, who was a former head coach in the NBA for the Atlanta Hawks, Cleveland Cavaliers, and Memphis Grizzlies.  Fratello ranks 18^th all time in wins and games coached in the NBA, while being named coach of the year in the 1986-87 season.  He is currently head coach of the Ukrainian national team as well as a broadcaster for YES Network and Turner Sports.

Even with the big names that were on campus, the day was about 2 people: the coaches in the stands, and Howard Garfinkel.

“Garf”, as those close refer to him, is a New York native is more commonly known for running the Five Star Basketball Camp for over 40 years.  The camp has hosted star-studded high school talent such as LeBron James, Chris Paul, Vince Carter, and Dominique Wilkins.  Campers were coached by college athletes, coaches, and coaches-in-waiting at the camp.

Garfinkel has helped several players at his camp, and many of which have gone on to be coaches.  Coach Beaury, who not only was a participant, but a coach in the camp in the camp as both a player and a young coach, confirmed Garfinkel’s legacy and what he has meant for basketball.

“The idea of today was about Howard Garfinkel, who helped pave the way for a lot of these big time coaches to get to where they are through Five Star Basketball Camp. The clinic is a tribute to Howard Garfinkel and the Five Star Basketball family because as coaches we are all in a fraternity,” Beaury said.

The coaches on hand varied from level to level and with a variety of coaching experience themselves.  There were a number of notable collegiate coaches on hand from schools like Binghamton, Siena, and University at Albany.  But it was the local high school coaches that outnumbered the rest.

One of the over 200 coaches in attendance, Walter Lesure, father of St. Rose player Mariah Lesure, was there looking to improve his own team.

“I came here because of the defensive coaches; Billy Donovan’s full-court press and Seth Greenberg’s 1-3-1 press, both very unique and they work, I am really excited about it,” said Lesure.

The significance of the experience was noticeable for everyone involved, including the coaches themselves.

"To me, I am honored to be asked to speak here and it’s good to be around coaches and to spend time,” Greenberg said.

Greenberg, along with the other coaches whose busy schedules were put on hold for this trip to St. Rose, helped create a day that those in attendance will value for the rest of their lives.  The expertise and experiences these coaches provided to the crowd will certainly leave a mark on basketball in the Capital Region.

“What a great job they have done here, just phenomenal, the turnout, and the ownership, and the passion it speaks volumes for NY basketball,” said Greenberg, “This is a great area for basketball.”