Book Private Basketball Lessons with Coach Emory

1994-98: Winton Woods High School (Cincinnati, OH)

1994-1995: Starting Center for Freshmen Team. Led Team to League Title. 21-2 record.

1995-1996: Starting Center for JV Team. Moved up to Varsity and played both ways by midseason.

1996-97: Played Varsity. Team won League title, Sectional Championship, & District Runner Up. Selected 2nd Team All QCC

1997-98: Starting Center on Varsity. Led team to "Back to Back" League Titles, Sectional Championship, & District Runner Up

Selected 1st Team All QCC, QCC Player of the Year

2nd Team All City

3rd Team All District

Player of The Week in The Cincinnati Enquirer, The Cincinnati Post, & Channel 12 Papa John's Player of the Week

Led city in rebounding with 14rpg

Career Accomplishments: Single Season Record for most rebounds

Career Record for most rebounds

Inducted into the Winton Woods HOF

1998-2002 University of Charleston (WV)

1998-1999: WVIAC All Freshman Team, Voted "Most Promising". Helped lead team to "3rd Best Record" in program history (26-6), WVIAC Tournament Champions

Made 1st NCAA Tournament in history of the program

1999-2000: Led Team in Rebounding. Helped lead team to "2nd Best Record" in program history (28-4), WVIAC Regular Season Champions

Made 2nd NCAA Tournament

2000-2001: Led Team in Rebounding, WVIAC Regular Season & Tournament Champions, 23-7 record

Made 3rd NCAA Tournament

2001-2002: Made 4th NCAA Tournament, Led Team in Rebounding, finished #19 in the country in rebounding (9.9 rpg), WVIAC All Tournament Team

Career Accomplishments:

3rd All Time in Rebounding (976)

1st All Time in Games Played (126)

7th All Time in Blocks (82)

1st Player with 100 wins in a career (102)

Only Player to play in 4 NCAA Tournaments

Only Player with 4 "20+ Win Seasons" in Program History

Highest Winning Percentage in Program History (102-24/ 81%)

Professional Career

2004-2005: Dayton Jets (IB9L)

2005-2006: Indiana Alleycats (ABA/CBA)

2006: Louisville Lightning (KIBA)

2010-2011: San Diego Surf (ABA)

First by finding out exactly what the player is looking to improve on for themselves. Next, I evaluate them through a number of drills to see where their skill level is currently at in order to establish a starting point. The most important thing however, is that they are fully "COMMITTED" to wanting to improve their game for themselves. No matter how much I want to help, I can't want it more for them, than they do for themselves.

Start with stretching. Pending what specific skills the player may be looking to work on, I split the session into 30 minutes of offense and 30 minutes of defense. Water breaks when needed, with free throw shooting between changing drills.

The best coach I ever had was my high school assistant coach named "Calvin Johnson". The reason I say he's the best coach I ever had is because what he did for me went beyond the realm of just helping make me a better basketball player.

Growing up, I was bullied and teased quite a lot. In fact, due to that fact it almost made me quit basketball permanently when I was in 7th grade. However, I would go on to make my 8th grade and Freshman team the following 2 years. During my freshman year, there were these retired jerseys that hung on the wall outside of the gym. Every day, I would always stop and stare at them on my way to gym class. One day, I was staring at them and our school's A.D. walked up to me and said "I see you staring at this wall, all the time." I turned and asked him "How do I get myself on this wall?" He replied "You have to break a record."

I looked at the jerseys and the records listed below them, then noticed the rebounding record. I felt I was pretty good at rebounding so I turned to him and said "I'll break the rebounding record." He simply stared at me for a moment, and in retrospect, he probably thought I was crazy or lying. Nevertheless, he responded saying, "You break that record and I'll get your jersey on that wall!"

I remember walking away excited initially from what he told me, when the reality hit me that I had no idea "HOW" I was going to break the record. Still, I wanted to do it because at that time I felt it would prove that I was a "SOMEBODY" and more than the criticism I was used to hearing for years.

The following year, I made the JV team which is when I first met Calvin. He was the head coach of the JV team and assistant for Varsity. He initially wanted me to play football, cause he coached that as well, but I told him, "I'm a HOOPER"! After one of our practices, we had a meeting in the school lobby, which was next to the gym. After the meeting was over, my teammates all started heading to the locker room while I slowly walked behind. I stopped and stared at the wall remembering the promise made to me the year before, still not knowing how I was gonna break the record.

Out of nowhere, Calvin walked up on me and asked me what I was doing. I had never been close to any coach I played for, and to this day, I still don't know why I told him. (Truth be told, I never told anyone about going for the record at that point.) But for some reason, I told him what the AD promised me if I broke the record. We just stared at each other for a moment and I went back to looking at the wall. Suddenly, I heard 3 words that would end up changing my life: "I'LL HELP YOU". He walked away as I looked at him kind of shocked. I didn't ask him for his help. Honestly, I thought he was lying so I ignored it.

After our next practice finished my teammates and I were all heading to the locker room. As I walked off the court, I heard Calvin yell "EM DOG"!

I turned around and he was standing under the basket holding the ball. "If you're gonna break this record, we got work to do!" he said. I couldn't believe it. By this time, all my teammates are getting ready to go home, and I slowly walked back onto the court. That day would be the GENESIS of the next 2.5 years of my relationship with Calvin Johnson.

Calvin trained and challenge me helping me not only improve my skills as a player, but helped me discover a CONFIDENCE in myself that I had never had before. From workouts after each practice, to taking me around the city playing against grown men who were much better than me, we got to WORK! Going into my senior year, Calvin decided it was time for me to learn how to "lift weights". I never done it before, but Calvin's advice was GOLD to me by this point having seen my development over the previous year and a half.

My first day in the gym was AWFUL! Though I was one of the biggest guys there, I couldn't lift much. In fact I could only bench press the

"bar". Guys laughed at me, not that I wasn't used to that anyway, but still I was embarrassed. What made it even worst was when I got home, my body was SO SORE, I had to cry out for my mom to help me even move. I decided then, I'm not going back to the gym.

Over the next couple days I would sneak my way to the bus to go home hoping no one would notice, until one day, the doorbell rang at my house.

My grandmother answered the door and yelled upstairs that Calvin was down there. I was so nervous. When I got downstairs, Calvin was standing in the door and he was NOT HAPPY."

He asked me immediately, why haven't I been showing up to weight lifting. I couldn't even look him in the eyes so I kept looking down, but he demanded an answer. Finally, I just told him, "MAN IT HURTS!" I explained what happened to me after that first day and how I had to have my mom help me move. By the time I was done, the expression on his face had completely changed from when he got there.

Calvin looked at me and said, "Give me 1 WEEK and I promise the pain will stop, if not, then you don't have to do it anymore." I looked at Calvin and thought about how everything he had ever taught me to that point, always helped me. With that, I agreed to go back. When I got back, it was exactly how it was before. I couldn't wait for that week to be over, until unexpectedly, something happened. By the middle of the week, things started to get easier, and as Calvin said, the pain started to go away.

As summer started, you couldn't keep me out the gym. Not only was I getting stronger, but it made me feel better about myself in general. By the end of the summer, I had started from bench pressing the bar to bench pressing "315".

In conclusion, Calvin Johnson is the best coach I ever had not only because he helped make me a better basketball player but he helped me discover a confidence in myself that I would go on to develop and carry with me to this very day.

Also, I did go on to "break and set" a couple records by the time I was done ;-)

They should know I that I'm very easy to talk to. I'm fully dedicated to helping make their child better. The only thing I ask is that the athlete comes ready to "work and be challenged." I truly love this game and I love seeing an athlete, not only get better, but discovering for themselves that they are getting better.