Hoops with a higher purpose
Mind on Basketball, San Diego’s newest professional basketball franchise, hopes to be about more than just the game.
Written by Sam Barney-Gibbs, Edited by Maya Srikrishnan
Every day, for the past five years, Jeremy “Jay” McGee has woken up at 5:30 a.m. to head to the basketball court or gym. There, he shoot hoops, lifts weights and hones his basketball skills.
“I used basketball kind of as my muse,” McGee said. “I just dedicated my life. I'm going to make the most out of what I have right now.”
When Mind On Basketball began tryouts earlier this month, it piqued McGee’s interest.
The team launched just over eight weeks ago. As San Diego’s newest and only American Basketball Association League team, the organization aims to not just be a winning basketball team, but also a space to develop young talent and build community.
Shawn Pablo, the owner of the team, said he created the new franchise to develop professional basketball by bringing in athletes who typically wouldn’t have the access or opportunity to play professionally. Anyone who wants to join the team can play with them or hold another role in the organization. He also wants to develop resiliency, consistency and tenacity in their personal lives.
“No matter where you’re from, no matter how good you are, we're gonna help you better your life,” Pablo said. “Besides basketball, we're trying to instill great traits in people, to push themselves and take them to the next level, to heights that they never were able to reach.”
The American Basketball Association was the primary league until the 1970s, where some of the future stars in the National Basketball Association played. The NBA, which is now considered the premier basketball league in the world, bought out the league in the late 1970s with what Pablo said was better marketing, resources, and finances that lured players.
One goal of Mind in Basketball is to make the American Basketball Association into another primary league in the United States, the team’s head coach Shaun Manning said. But he also wants it to be a space where kids and young men can further their careers and support their families.
Manning, the team’s coach, has more than 45 years of experience playing and coaching professional basketball and coaching in the San Diego area. He said he fell in love with the sport at a young age and wants to share vision with the community.
“Basketball is really just the caveat to pull people in, to get to know them better,” Manning said. “Then I'm able to get into their individual lives and really find out what they need and help them determine what being successful is to them.”
Manning said he wants Mind on Basketball to teach people how to act, whether they win or lose — and the roughly dozen men who tried out were open-minded about that.
The team has financial and operational support from San Diego-native Alex Perez who played in Turkey and Boogie Ellis of the Stockton Kings, among other community leaders.
McGee said his tryout went horribly. He didn’t feel like he showed what he does best on court as a shooter.
But what stuck with him was the way Manning spoke with him afterward. He told McGee that his professional career started later in life and that he needed the opportunity to grow with a team that won’t shame him. Mind on Basketball would do just that.
“It sounds crazy, but I want to be a legend,” McGee said. “I'm just a guy, but if I can turn this into something special, I will literally change my favorite color to blue.”
Standing Out From the Others
McGee played for another American Basketball Association team in his early 30s, but was turned off by their leadership, feeling they didn’t prioritize investing in new talent. That made him initially skeptical of Mind on Basketball.
But McGee kept seeing Pablo. He was in the news, on social media, consistently standing behind his team and their mission. That’s what made him lock in and try out, he said. Now as a new team member, he has experienced how the Mind on Basketball leaders have already taken steps to help him succeed through coaching and encouragement.
Born and raised in San Diego, Pablo said he and his new organization have a community presence that they hope to nurture.
Owning a basketball team has always been Pablo’s dream. He became the first CHamoru and Pacific Islander to own an American Basketball Association team franchise. He wants to draw more of his community to the game to make it an entertaining and inclusive space.
Treyvon Davis, the youngest player on the team at 18, said he’s thankful that the franchise is in Pablo’s hands as a way to uplift the CHamoru and Pacific Islander communities, but he wished it had happened sooner.
Davis said he wants to make a name for himself in basketball. Though he will attend college, Mind on Basketball is investing in his professional basketball career now. He said he’s learning about more than just the sport, though.
“I’m trying to learn how to use my skills as part of the team with other people,” Davis said. “Growing up, you usually play your own age group, so everybody's thinking the same, everybody going through the same stuff. But playing with all these older people, it's a lot different, and I'm very grateful for it.”
Pablo said people will continue to support the franchise because they are genuine in supporting their home of San Diego and the people.
He said their short term goal is to change the lives of young athletes allowing them to be better people on and off the court. Their long term goal is to build a large following, eventually coming out with an NBA expansion team.
“They see what we're doing and love it because it's for the city, something else, something different,” Pablo said. “I'm the one to really make it right for the city.”
