HOOP DREAMS

Billy Snyder

“Looking back at my personal story, I didn’t have anybody to guide me, to point me in the right direction,” he said.

The 37-year-old considers himself a Sarasota native. Having graduated from Booker High School and later becoming assistant coach for the girls basketball team, he is familiar with finding and nurturing talented young athletes.

The Lions provide several opportunities for players to build and showcase their skills, including a summer league.

Edwards emphasized that these training camps can be the last opportunity for these athletes to pursue their dream of playing professionally.

“For some of these guys, this is it,” he said.

OFF THE COURT

Aside from being a place where young players can grow, the Gulf Coast Lions want to have that same impact in the community. The Lions help put on a basketball league to help elementary to high school players gain skills via camps and competitions. They also conduct Lions Play 90, a program to get kids moving.

DARIELA DELGADO STAFF WRITER

When LD Edwards reflects on his basketball career, it stings to reflect on how near he was to achieving his dream without quite reaching it. “Man, I was this close to the NBA, but I didn’t make it,” he said.

So how does he live with that disappointment? The 43-year-old assistant coach of the Gulf Coast Lions said he wakes up every morning intent on achieving a new goal: “Helping someone who is this close by giving what I didn’t have.”

That something is a second chance to play, get better and maybe even achieve their dreams of going professional at a higher level. The Newtown-based Gulf Coast Lions are part of The Basketball League, a men’s professional basketball minor league that’s considered below the NBA’s G League, the league’s official minor league.

Started in 2018 with eight teams, it now has more than 44 teams across the country. In each of the past two years, The Basketball League has sent more than 250 basketball players overseas. Ten of those players have made it into the G-League and three into the NBA.

For many players, it could be their last — or only — shot at the NBA or a higher paying professional career.

Pursuing The Dream

In the Newtown Estates Gym, players glisten with sweat amidst a sym- phony of squeaking sounds their shoes make rubbing the gym floor.

Everyone’s focused. Everyone knows what’s at stake with every practice and game.

“At first, this was a hobby,” said point guard and shooting guard Nasir Core, 25. Core started in football but decided to give basketball a try in high school as a way to get out of football conditioning. Turns out, he loved it.

After receiving his bachelor’s and master’s in sports management from Florida A&M University, Core played professional basketball in Africa and Europe for two years. For his third year, he decided to come back to the U.S. Because he didn’t want to take a gap year, he joined the Lions.

“This is a great opportunity to continue your basketball career,” said Core. He has even started his own YouTube channel as a way to expand his personal brand. He has more than 29,000 subscribers.

Lions President Marcus Tilghman said this team was a way for him to give players the direction he was lacking in his career.

One of the things Tilghman is most proud of is the league’s mentorship program, A Lion’s Reach, which connects area youth with players for activities that range from playing a game of pick-up to attending the St. Armands tree lighting ceremony.

“The bigger thing about this team was not so much about having a professional team,” he said. “It opened up the door for us to push the mentoring and development of the youth.”

That opportunity to reach area kids is perhaps most satisfying to him. “There are so many kids that have the talent, the level of competition, but just might not know how to do a few things and need that extra push or guidance,” he said. “I promised myself that I would be that.”