There are no promises in sports, just because you work hard, doesn’t  mean your dreams will all come true. It’s the risk you take, when you invest time, sweat and energy. What is promised is this… if a player does all they can and squeezes everyone ounce of talent out of their body, they will improve their chances of fulfilling those dreams. Nicole Stanford is trying to do just that….


Nicole Stanford is no hot shot freshman entering high school. Her name won’t be mentioned as Freshman of the Year candidate. Most likely she will not even play varsity this season. But she has not let that stop her for focusing in the task that is ahead of her the next 4 years . She certainly does not believe in taking shorts cuts. They is no other reason to explain why she decided on such a hard journey.  She could have gone to a number of weaker high school teams and played varsity this season.  But yet she decided to attend RBC and play for future Hall of Fame Coach Joe Montano. Why? Because getting better was more important to her than anything else. When is the last time a hard worker with talent has not improved under Joe Montano? You simply cannot name one player. Nicole also plays with one of the best 9th grade AAU TEAM around in the Allen Shortshots. She is not the best player on that team, but that has not sent her packing.. The college coaches don’t send her letters or call about her….YET. I say yet because, she is one of the hardest workers and a gym rat of gym rats. Do you know how hard it is to be a gym rat, when you rarely get love? When you hear, that your peers are playing varsity or receiving letters from college coaches…. Try it sometime it’s not exactly fun.


Nicole is a 6ft long athletic type player. I remember the first time I saw her play. She was playing with her back to the basket. I thought it was a mistake, because she is clearly more of a stretch four. She can put the ball on the floor and she can shoot the ball. I asked her coach, why she was playing with her back to the basket. …CRIKETTS WAS THE ANSWER! But what I did notice was every time I saw Nicole in the gym, she was working. She worked on post moves, she worked on her handle and her shot. She would spend hours in the gym. She was my kind of kid. She was committed to her long term development.


Now let me tell you about kids today, the hardest thing for them to do is to SHOW UP. Now when you do, what I do, you know the gym rats. You know the kids who talk the talk and walk the walk. Nicole Stanford walks the walk everyday. I beg guards everyday to attend point guard school. It’s funny but it seems only the good ones seem to show up. Nicole Stanford is not a point but attends point guard school. Mike Rice runs a post workout on Tuesdays. Nicole Stanford attends the workouts, she is developing her post skills more and more. Core Skill meets twice in the middle of the week, it one of the best things a young player can do…Nicole Stanford attends Core Skills, many times right after her hour post workout.. Finally every weekend Nicole Stanford attends NBS and trains with the best. Try attending NBS where the focus is rarely on you, and the talent is off the charts. It’s not exactly a place to find love always.  Now you may be asking, how does this kid have time for all this and still able to do homework, get rest and eat? The answer is simple some kids have a burning desire and excuses are not acceptable. Some kids are on a real mission. There are kids who dream and there are some  kids who WORK…NICOLE STANFORD REFUSES TO BE OUT WORKED BY ANYONE..


There is zero question what Nicole Stanford future looks like. WHY? Because there will always be kids, hat who nobody pays too much attention too. That kid who will have to out work everyone every step of the way. That kid who doesn’t have a ego but does have a work ethic. That kid who decides to travel that risky road to greatest. The road that looks dark and scary. That road that could lead to pain and disappointment. But that road could also lead to unimaginable rewards and a sense of real accomplishment.  I BETTING THAT NICOLE STANFORD IS THAT KID 100%!…..




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