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I really enjoy stories of perseverance…
Steve Megargee
Rivals.com College Basketball
With the confidence of a coach and the passion of a preacher, Zach Lipson has spent much of his teenage years telling anyone he meets about his plans to join one of the nation’s elite college basketball programs.
It didn’t matter to him that he’d never played a minute of organized hoops. Or that he stood little chance of ever being more than 4 feet tall. He still gave the same speech to just about everyone he met, whether he was chatting at a dinner table full of strangers or sitting across from a skeptical guidance counselor.
He was born with a spinal deformity, so he already had overcome long odds. What was to stop this Nashville resident from proving people wrong once again?
Zachary Lipson's passion has him headed to Kentucky as part of the basketball program.
Lipson’s story proved inspirational enough to earn him a spot as a student-manager at Kentucky. He is expected to live at Wildcat Lodge – the same building that houses the players.
That represents a stunning turn of events for someone who has overcome more obstacles in his 19 years than most people face in their lives.
Lipson was born eight weeks premature and weighed less than 2 pounds. He required CPR in the delivery room. He has undergone more than 30 surgeries. And if that weren’t enough to make him curse fate, Lipson also has a twin brother who is healthy. Lipson doesn’t need to wonder what might have been: He has a walking reminder in his home.
Lipson has resisted the temptation of self-pity. He instead has faced every challenge with the same upbeat approach that has helped him serve as an inspiration to friends, family members and classmates. Kentucky’s latest recruit won’t develop into the next Tony Delk, but he just might become the next Tony Robbins.
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THIS IS REALLY GOOD. You’ll see, even though it is “anonymous”, it’s still not 100% accurate… but it’s pretty good. Coaches will still be self-serving and self protective even when being anonymous. It’s as close as I’ve seen to the “truth” though.
By Dana O’Neil ESPN.com
The image of college basketball has taken a beating in recent years, with rumors, murmurs and innuendo about cheating spreading like wildfire. Cynics believe no one is trying to follow the NCAA rulebook and that the game has fallen victim to the begging hands of agents, runners and hangers-on looking to collect on the next NBA star.
Is it that bad? What are the real problems? And is the NCAA doing enough to fix those problems?
To get the answers, ESPN.com went to the sources. During the EYBL Peach Jam last week, we interviewed 20 high-profile head coaches, representing each of the six power conferences. With the promise of full anonymity, we asked them to tell the truth about their sport.
And they did.
No one likes the constant travel, the bad basketball and the emphasis on individual skills instead of team play.
Coaches travel everywhere to watch high school kids in July, but can’t keep an eye on their own.
But of the coaches surveyed, many — eight of the 20 — cited the time away from campus and their own players as the biggest problem with the summertime.
“I have my team over for a barbecue before I leave in July,” one coach said. “Little do they know it’s a farewell, not a welcome barbecue.”
“You walk into a living room and promise a mother that you’ll be there for her son,” said another. “And as soon as they get on campus, you’re gone.”
“They’re all on campus and I’m on the road,” added another. “If they do something stupid, I’m going to get fired — but I can’t be there to see what they’re doing.”
Some other popular grievances:
“What don’t I like? All of it. I don’t think there should be summer recruiting, period. They want to clean it up? Get rid of it.”
“I’ll tell you another problem — 70 percent of the kids we’re sitting here watching should be in summer school. They shouldn’t be here.”
“What don’t I like about summer? Everything. The babysitting, the ass-kissing. Does that cover it?”
ANTON MARCHAND
For those that haven’t been up around NYC, especially in Brooklyn… you are missing out. You have to swing through and see the Rose Classic at JHS 113 on Adelphi Avenue and Anton Marchand.
You can read all about the history, the players and the exceptional things Anton is doing for that community is the Daily News articles below.
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