Excellence in Action

In the “Excellence In Action” feature, Murray Athletic Development acknowledges the accomplishments of those who have either trained directly with MAD, or who have trained or worked with MAD Director John Murray during his career. Congratulations for the efforts as well as the accomplishments of all those acknowledged below!

"We are what we repeatedly do. Excellence, then, is not an act but a habit."

― Aristotle

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Stuart Dyos was selected by the S.F. Glens Evolution last month as its Most Improved Player. Stuart plays for S.F. Glens Evolution Celtic Academy 02 I Team, and he practices with the S.F. Glens Second Senior Team which plays in the San Francisco Soccer Football League, a semi-pro league. This past year, Stuart captained S.I.’s J.V. Soccer Team, and he led by example both on and off the field not missing a single game, practice, or team event. At the end of the season, he was called up to S.I.’s Varsity Soccer Team for the playoffs.

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Phil Handy won his second N.B.A. Championship, this time as an Assistant Coach with the Toronto Raptors. Along with the Golden State Warriors, Coach Handy appeared in the N.B.A. Finals for a fifth consecutive year, and he is developing quite a résumé for closeout games in his hometown of Oakland. Handy appeared in the four previous N.B.A. Finals as an Assistant Coach with the Cavaliers, and he is credited with having been instrumental in the Cav’s comeback from a 3-1 deficit in 2016 which also included a closeout victory in Oaktown. Coach Handy has developed a reputation as one of the best skill development coaches in the NBA. having worked with such N.B.A. luminaries as LeBron, Kobe, Kyrie, and now Kawhi. MAD Director John Murray first met Coach Handy when Murray was consulting for Skyline Junior College Men’s Basketball Team of which young Phil was a member. Murray went on to coach Handy throughout his professional basketball career in the N.B.A. and Europe. Sharing similar coaching philosophies, since Handy’s retirement from professional basketball in 2000, the two have collaborated on many coaching ventures.

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Jeremy Lin became the first Asian American player and the first Harvard alumus to play in an N.B.A. Finals game and to win an N.B.A. Championship. An N.B.A. Finals of several firsts, it was also the first time an N.B.A. Finals game was played outside the U.S., and the first time an N.B.A. Championship was won by a team from outside the U.S. After being waived by the Atlanta Hawks this past February, the Toronto Raptors signed Lin when Fred Van Vleet injured his thumb. Lin hales from the Bay Area where he attended Palo Alto High. In his senior year, he led the Bears to a 32–1 record and upset the nationally ranked Mater Dei, 51–47, for the California Interscholastic Federation (CIF) Division II state title. He was named first-team All-State and Northern California Division II Player of the Year. MAD Director John Murray coached Lin when he played for the Golden State Warriors in his rookie season during the 2011-2012 season.

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Michael Nguyen has been hired as MAD’s newest Coach. He just graduated from San Francisco State with a degree in Kinesiology and has been interning with MAD since early February. During his internship, Michael distinguished himself with his professionalism, hard work, and dedication. A native San Franciscan, he is a graduate of Galileo High School where he wrestled for four years and then helped coach the team after graduating. A passionate student of sports training, when Michael traveled to Australia to study sports medicine, he trained and competed in boxing, and he also volunteered to be his team’s strength and conditioning coach. Michael has made the most of his martial arts experience in preparing himself for his work in strength and conditioning. He plans to attend graduate school, and MAD looks forward to working with Michael and helping him achieve his career goals.

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Sidy Sissoko has accepted a full scholarship to attend and play for Hastings College in Nebraska. A native of Bamako, Mali, Sidy has adopted San Francisco as his U.S. home and is a graduate of S.F.’s Leadership High School where he starred for the Griffins on the hardwood. He was recruited to play for Cloud Community College in Concordia, Kansas, in the competitive Western Division of the Kansas Jayhawk Community College Conference. At 6’9” and 220 lbs., Sidy was a force for the Thunderbirds this past season, and he hopes to do the same for the Broncos next year. He first began working with MAD while he was rehabbing his knee post surgery after having sustained the injury during the summer of 2015 while playing A.A.U. basketball. Sidy’s determination, work ethic, and irrepressible optimism instantly endeared him to MAD coaches and his fellow athletes, and he has been training with MAD ever since.

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MAD GRADS

Congratulations to all the MAD graduates who made excellence a habit in the classroom as well as in their athletic training.

Miles Amos - Stuart Hall - undecided

James Beckwith - Menlo Atherton - Emerson College

Neil Begovich - Saint Ignatius - Stanford University

Neil Behren - Sacred Heart Cathedral - Loyola Chicago

Garrett Cason - Saint Ignatius - undecided

Maddie Ennis - Saint Ignatius - UOP

Kerry Fitzgerald - Saint Ignatius - undecided

Ethan Khoo - Sacred Heart Cathedral - Chapman University

Ross Klein - Saint Ignatius - UCLA

Joe May - Acalanes High School - Goucher College

John Mills - Menlo Atherton - Washington and Lee University

Dara Murphy - Saint Ignatius - undecided

Samuel Nangle - Saint Ignatius - U.C. Santa Cruz

Quinn O’Connor - Saint Ignatius - undecided

Wrenn Robinson - Saint Ignatius - undecided

Eric Sweeney - Sacred Heart - Seton Hall

Jonathan Yu - Saint Ignatius - undecided

Lauren Khoo - Chinese American School - Lowell High School