Coach McCarthy

Favorite Pro and College team: Houston Rockets and Notre Dame

Coaching philosophy: “Hard work beats talent when talent doesn’t work hard”

Highlight from playing days: Got dunked on by Steve Francis 

Coach McCarthy grew up in Texas playing high school ball for LaPorte high school in Houston. A great memory Coach McCarthy has from playing basketball was in high school.  He got to play a high school game with his favorite rapper Master P in the stands rooting for the other team. Coach McCarthy was guarding Master P’s nephew and got heckled by him the whole game. After high school he played for Arlington Baptist University right outside of Dallas, Texas. 

 Coach McCarthy has been a registered nurse for 16 years mostly in the ER. He currently works for Avera as a flight nurse. He is also a member of the BBA coaching staff helping many of our young athletes in their journey. Coach McCarthy credits basketball  for who he is today. It taught him teamwork, work ethic,  how to remain calm under pressure, conflict resolution and all of the important skills he uses in his daily life. These skills were all taught to him growing up and he sees coaching as a way to repay in helping his athletes. 

A fun fact about Coach McCarthy is that he once played pickup ball with Matt Bullard. (former Houston Rockets Player also one of his favorite players as a kid)

Coach Habtemariam

Favorite pro or college team: Philadelphia 76ers and North Carolina Tar Heels

Coaching philosophy: “Hard work beats talent when talent fails to work hard”  – KD

Career Highlight: Earning 2012 all-state basketball first-team as a senior at Washington High School and making an NAIA national tournament appearance in 2013 as a freshman at Northwestern College

Coach Joey started playing basketball when he was about seven years old and it has been his passion ever since. After graduating from Washington High School, he was fortunate enough to receive an athletic scholarship to continue his basketball career at Northwestern College (IA) and Bethany College (KS) where he ended his playing career. Shortly after graduating from college, he began coaching and training at Bartlett Basketball Academy. He is passionate about helping young student-athletes improve their game and teaching them how to do things the RIGHT WAY. Coach Joey loves what he does and is extremely happy to give back to a community that has helped him succeed in so many ways on and off the court. Fun Fact about Coach Joey – he is bilingual! His native language is Tigrinya which originates in Eritrea (East Africa). His parents migrated to America from Eritrea about 30 years ago, five years before he was born.

Book a workout with Joey.

Coach Vasecka

Favorite pro or college team: Minnesota Gophers

Coaching philosophy: I like teaching the basics and ensuring players understand the basic fundamentals. This leads them into better players. 

Career Highlight: In High School I was All-Conference and Captain of team; College injury and Covid-19 have limited normal game schedules

Played High School ball at New Prague, MN and was also a dual sports athlete by running cross country and high jump in track. I currently play at Dort University for my junior year. 

Coach Park

Favorite College Team: University of North Carolina

Coaching Philosophy: “Try your best and lead by example”

Highlights from playing days: Free throw percentage has gone up every year he has played

 

 

Coach Addison played at Lincoln High School here in Sioux Falls winning a state championship. After graduating he went on to play at Minnesota State University in Moorhead. He was a key contributor in winning two conference championships with his team in moorhead. After college Coach Addison decided to continue playing in Armenia and the Czech Republic. His last year in the Czech Republic his team won the league championship. While Coach Addison is not practicing to get ready for the next season he is a substitute teacher here in Sioux Falls. He also coaches a team and helps with camps for BBA. He likes coaching because it gives him a chance to give back, help the players understand the game, and to promote an active lifestyle. Fun fact about coach Addison – he has a hole in every sock he owns. 

Coach Freidel

Favorite pro or college team: Duke blue devils and The Minnesota Timberwolves

Coaching Philosophy: “Defense Wins Championships”

Career Highlights: SD HS player of the year 2017, SD state champion 2017, 4x all conference selection at Briar Cliff University

 

Coach Ethan grew up right here playing with BBA Force. He graduated from Tea Area High School being the South Dakota’s player of the year. After graduating high school Coach Ethan went on to have a successful career at Briar Cliff University scoring a total of 1376 career points. He is now a Chiropractic Assistant at Chirosport in Sioux Falls. He is also using his experience and love for the game to coach some of our teams. Coach Ethan likes coaching because it gives him the opportunity to help the next generation and also because it keeps him around the game of basketball. Fun fact about coach Ethan – he has a very cute Aussiedoodle named Timber