Sometimes it’s human nature to wake up and start our day with a negative mindset, and throughout that day we can sometimes feel sorry for ourselves or see the glass as half empty. I would push you to sit down and check out this episode with @kurjonkuch, and realize that life is really about perspective.

A Sudanese refugee, a family torn apart, to Kenya and back, which led to hard decisions made by his father, eventually landing in London, Ontario of all places led to an amazing episode right off the jump. From there we discover how late Kur was to the game, but how much it meant to him. Under the guidance of former guest @mikeprovenzanos dad at London Basketball Academy, Kur created a foundation for himself through hard work and figuring out how to improve his game.

After his grade 12 season, Kur still didn’t really have any post-secondary options, so he created the mindset that U Sport and a good education would be what he needed……..somehow he ended up earning a Division 1 scholarship to play basketball at Northern Colorado! To this day, a moment he cannot wrap his head around.

From there, the CEBL, time with the NBL, finishing a master's, and now playing overseas, if this episode can’t change your perspective on life then we don’t know what will! Tap in!!!

Kur Jongkuch - Guest https://x.com/kjongkuch https://www.instagram.com/kurjongkuch/

Aaron Mitchell - Host Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/a_a_mitch/ Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/ahoopsjourney/ Website: https://www.ahoopsjourney.com/

Warren Ward. If you take one thing away from this powerful episode, it’s when you see the name don’t just think “hooper.” Think businessman, brother, son, friend and a growing human.

Episode 153 has us go back with one of the coldest U Sport hoopers we have seen, an absolute walking bucket (who could also guard, don’t get it twisted), and an all-time leading scorer at the University of Ottawa.

Having a late start to the game didn’t hurt Warren or his growth, he developed a love and his skills quite rapidly, eventually getting recruited by a few schools in Canada and the states. It was a trip down to Indiana that took him down his University path, a small JUCO that didn’t have the right feel motivated him to return to Canada and see what his options were.

A phone call from a former guest on AHJ, Mr. Dave Deaveiro who was the head coach at Ottawa interested Warren, and after a visit to the campus he committed to the Gee-Gees. Trips to nationals, working on his craft with intention, an All-Canadian and a whole bunch of learning experiences had Warren ready to play the pro game.

His story gets wild from here, as he has a brief interest from the NBA (You need to hear the story), eventually finding himself signing his first contract in Germany. After a few seasons, Warren unfortunately had multiple injuries (2 ACL tears and an Achilles), and he knew it was time to move on from the game. The growth and reflection Warren has had since then have made him the man he is today; all the the things we started this writeup with and so much more. Warren also is in the podcast game, give his show @youonlydietwicepod a follow!

Such a dope episode, tap in!!!!!!!!!!

Warren Ward - Guest https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Warren_Ward_(basketball)

Aaron Mitchell - Host Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/a_a_mitch/ Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/ahoopsjourney/ Website: https://www.ahoopsjourney.com/

Disclaimer: Huge props to JCD who has recently signed his first ever pro contract with the Abra Weavers in the MPBL! Let’s get it!

This is a super unique story; one of hoop lineage from both mom and dad, of heartbreak and sadness at an early age, one of resilience, one of seeing the light and to keep on fighting.

Jack grew up in a fun and active house, sharing space with not only his immediate family but his cousins as well. At an early age the inside or outside of the Cruz - Dumont house would be littered with sports and a bunch of battles! As he grew older Jack developed a real love for the game of hoops and football, eventually finding himself and his brothers at storied Vancouver College (Thanks to his dedicated mom who went back to school to earn her degree!!). In Jacks grade ten year football was really his main thing, however the sickness of his dad John impacted his grade 10/11 year and he had challenges with focusing and being committed as any teenager would!

It was through this time watching his dad battle for his life that Jack found the inspiration and motivation to keep going, to fight and not give up. From there the switch happened and he lit the fire we see today. After a solid senior year at VC, he committed to UBC to play for the T-Birds. While there Jack was on pace to graduate early due to a covid year, and realized he could eventually turn himself into a pro. Wanting to get a feel for what that might look like, a trip out to the Philippines showed Jack something special and he decided to make the move, leaving UBC after 3 years of eligibility to play in the University league with the hope of signing a pro contract…..and here we are!

This young bull has lots of hoops left in him, it was a great time connecting and we are excited to see Jack’s future! Tap in!

Jack Cruz-Dumont - Guest https://www.instagram.com/jcruzdumont https://ca.linkedin.com/in/jack-cruz-dumont https://www.spin.ph/basketball/uaap-men/jack-cruz-dumont-plans-to-turn-pro-at-the-end-of-ue-career-a5172-20241127

Aaron Mitchell - Host Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/a_a_mitch/ Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/ahoopsjourney/ Website: https://www.ahoopsjourney.com/

What’s the definition of work? Or never giving up? Or always believing? Look no further, episode 151 with a BC UNDERRATED (yes in capital letters) guard, Mr. Diego Kapelan.

Growing up in one of the most unique locations of Vancouver, combined with an immigrant family, it wasn’t always easy for Diego to figure out what he wanted. With that said once basketball was introduced to him it was over, his main stay and favorite sport it was something he wanted to work at.

Years at King George with a great group led to lots of success, but it took some wild moments and stories for Diego to figure out how the next step would work for him. Eventually he ended up at McNeese State where his four year career had him average 12 pts a game, 15 in his senior year!!

As stated, Diego’s career is sort of slept on as he ended up playing overseas for over a decade of multiple leagues and locations, which included scoring titles and many finals appearances.

Between that and representing Bosnia and Canada, Diego knew the time was right to hang up the kicks after some success in the NBL, and now he finds himself giving back coaching the youth and helping the future! It’s where the heart lies for Diego, we know he will crush it! Tap in!

Diego Kapelan - Guest https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Diego_Kapelan https://www.instagram.com/diegoswish604

Aaron Mitchell - Host Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/a_a_mitch/ Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/ahoopsjourney/ Website: https://www.ahoopsjourney.com/

Wow! Tap in today! Mitch sits down with a young up-and-coming coach, former D2 hooper and huge Lil Wayne fan, Mike Provenzano!

Mike and his family have deep roots in the Ontario hoops scene and the sport has been in his blood for a long time. Growing up he would follow his dad to practices and games finding a love for the game that would never go away.

At a young age Mike started to realize he could be pretty good at hoops and began to enjoy the daily grind of improving. Once he reached his high school years he decided to transfer to North Carolina and try ball south of the border. This experience let him compete against many future D1 and NBA players, finding himself stacking up against the competition.

As high school started to wind down the decision of where to go came up, and Mike had his heart set on being a D1 player, even to the point of dropping the game forever if he couldn’t get there!

In the end after a redshirt year at a D2 he made the choice to go back to a school that originally recruited him, SFU. Mike had a great career up on Burnaby Mountain which led to a couple years overseas. From there his coaching journey began, with a former AHJ guest taking a chance on hiring him to being a student assistant now at Michigan State the story is great! Lots more to come for Mike and his future, all the best as he continues to work!

Tap in!

Mike Provenzano - Guest https://www.lightningbasketball.ca/sports/mbkb/coaches/Michael_Provenzano https://www.linkedin.com/in/michael-provenzano-05550a292

Aaron Mitchell - Host Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/a_a_mitch/ Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/ahoopsjourney/ Website: https://www.ahoopsjourney.com/

Paris Olympian!!!!! The story of Sami is a great one, from being raised in Toronto to making the decision of re classifying in high school, quitting basketball for a year and moving to New Jersey for senior season it’s an action packed episode!!

Growing up in a competitive family it really didn’t matter what the sport was, Sami was all in and ready to try and win! Battles with siblings led to her developing a super competitive nature and that would help her later on in life for many reasons. A true understanding of roles, fierce determination, and a willingness to always try and get better had Sami being heavily recruited in her senior year.

In the end she decided on Virginia Tech University and the ACC. After three great seasons the coaching staff was gone and a new group came in which ended up being great for Sami as she averaged almost 11 points and 5 rebounds that year!

From there Sami dove into professional basketball and now is overseas in Spain. We couldn’t get away without discussing Sami’s time with Canada and the National team; starting out with the student and U18 teams to becoming an Olympian are all part of her journey! That said it wasn’t always easy, Sami got super close for the Tokyo Olympics but wasn’t chosen to go, it only made her more hungry to be with the team in Paris and she did it!

Tap into Episode 149 and hear the story of a great hooper who’s passionate about the game and its growth. We thank Sami for being with us and wish her nothing but the best going forward!

Sami Hill - Guest https://www.basketball.ca/athlete/sami-hill https://www.instagram.com/samihill04

Aaron Mitchell - Host Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/a_a_mitch/ Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/ahoopsjourney/ Website: https://www.ahoopsjourney.com/

Episode 148 is an absolute must with a long-time Canadian legend, National team member, Division 1 star and overseas pro, Melvin Ejim.

We get right into the episode and talk about the recent Paris Olympics, Melvin has a unique perspective as he’s been a part of Canada’s Senior Men’s team for a long time and has seen it go from where it was to what it is now.

The unique story of Melvin started with really only being exposed to soccer at a young age, however, it was an important Uncle who saw there could be some potential in the big man and he pushed Melvin to give basketball a try. From there the trajectory and improvement was intense, Melvin developed and kept improving to the point where he went down south and played High School in the States. Many of his teammates became future NBA and Division One stars and Melvin started to see that was something he wanted as well.

In the end, he chose Iowa State, and after a solid Freshman season, Melvin was having a hard time living up to his expectations in year 2. It was an important face-to-face conversation with head coach Fred Hoiberg that changed things around. Iowa State was on the map for those years, making the NCAA tournament and Melvin was Big 12 Player of the Year, averaging 18 points and 8 rebounds in his senior year.

From there he has had a great overseas career, continued to be with the National team all while balancing his life as a dad as well. This episode has lots of great reflection, Melvin is a hard-working and intelligent young man with a story worth checking out! Tap in!

Melvin Ejim - Guest https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Melvin_Ejim https://www.instagram.com/melvinejim3

Aaron Mitchell - Host Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/a_a_mitch/ Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/ahoopsjourney/ Website: https://www.ahoopsjourney.com/

Layers upon layers of connections has us finally chopping it up with a former D1 hooper, big time Michigan high school player and one heck of a dude Mr. Hayes Grooms!

This is an episode of adversity, success, failures, growth and maturity! Hayes is a proud Detroit native currently living in Brooklyn who grew up in the prime era of the Bad Boys Pistons plus Michigan basketball! At an early age Hayes got lucky- he had a father who built a court in his backyard! This became the local neighborhood hoops spot and location where Hayes developed a love for the game. After seasons with AAU teams, hooping with friends and developing his skills, his mom made the tough decision to send him 45 minutes away to a well known private high school, Brother Rice Michigan.

After finding out he wouldn’t be playing Varsity as a Freshman, Hayes got after it. He walked into gyms and lit them up on every occasion he could, waiting for his turn at the highest level. He also had a hunger to become a D1 player and the letters started pouring in. However this is where the story takes a twist, after his high school coach got fired Hayes had a solid junior season but hurt his knee. He decided to play his senior season without surgery and it had a big impact on his recruitment.

To go from a top player in the state and every school recruiting you, to realizing the mailbox is empty would be hard for any graduating senior, but somehow Hayes found a way to take it in stride, look at this as an opportunity to refresh and head to Lamar University in Texas. After two years there and another major injury Hayes found his reality, realizing that basketball was coming to a close….BUT he wouldn’t give up.

Some amazing stories on how he ended up playing at Michigan, the career path he took and how his future took off after basketball are the whole reason you should check out this episode. The places he’s worked and people he’s connected with (Magic Johnson, Derek Jeter and more!) are a huge testament to Hayes leadership ability and understanding of people. Another banger of an episode that cannot be missed! Tap in!

Hayes Grooms - Guest https://x.com/hg4 https://www.instagram.com/hgrooms4

Aaron Mitchell - Host Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/a_a_mitch/ Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/ahoopsjourney/ Website: https://www.ahoopsjourney.com/