About Above Basketball
Above Basketball Academy has trained and developed over 2,000 players in the community over the past ten years and offers the best training around for young players.
Over his 25 years of coaching, Coach Martin has created the blueprint for training young players to become the next outstanding middle and high school players. He has developed successful drills to improve shooting, ball handling, passing, and footwork, all of which focus on teaching an overall understanding of the game and teamwork. Coach Martin has produced more middle school, high school, and collegiate players than any other coach in the area.
Train with the Best.
Darwin
Zook
Coach Darwin received his Masters degree in Education with a specialty in Physical Education and Coaching from Boston University in 2010. Before that, Darwin played 3 seasons of College basketball at UC Santa Cruz, where he was a two time co-captain. He shot over 40% from 3 point range and 85% from the free throw line. Darwin went onto become the Boys Varsity head high school coach and Girls Varsity assistant coach at his alma mater, the Waring School in Beverly, Massachusetts for 2 seasons. He then accepted a position at Emmanuel College in Boston, where he was an assistant Men’s basketball coach for 3 seasons and an associate head coach for 2 more years. Darwin put together the game plans for opponents and assisted the head coach in practice plans, player development, recruiting and all aspects of the program. Darwin has also worked as an on-air sports broadcaster at ESPN radio in Boston, CBS sports radio and SiriusXM in New York. He continues to do on-air sports updates for Sirius remotely while also hosting a sports podcast. He also played semi-pro football in the New England Football League for 2 seasons.
Deion Johnson
Coach Deion played under Jim Martin at Providence where he was a key part of the 2015 State Championship and helped lead the team to 2 final four appearances. At Providence, Deion holds the record for steals in a single game. After Providence, he played 2 years of college basketball at Albany Tech where he was selected all-conference both years. He finished up his college career at Trevecca University where he he made a huge impact for the Trojans. Coach Deion specializes in ball handling, scoring off of ball screens, and play making from the guard position. He coached the 2021-22 season as the St. Johns Country Day middle school head coach and an assistant for the Varsity Team. Coach Deion works primarily with point guards and perimeter players.
Milon
Sheffield
Coach Milon Sheffield played at Providence School of Jacksonville where he was a point guard from 2014-2016. In that two year span Coach Milon helped aid his team in winning a State Championship in the 2015 season. After Graduating from Providence Coach Milon continued his basketball career at Barry University, a powerhouse Division 2 school in Miami, FL. In his 5 year span at Barry University he was a part of two March Madness runs & led his team in assist and free throw percentage. After receiving a bachelors degree in Sports and Exercise Psychology in 2020, Coach Milon went on and finished with a Masters Degree in Sports and Exercise Psychology.
J'Michael Plummer
Coach J’Michael played locally in St. Johns county at Creekside High School. A 1,000 point scorer in high school, J’Michael started all 4 years for the Knights. Leading Creekside to the 2018 State Semifinals, Plummer was named the 2018 Florida Times Union All First Coast Boys Basketball Player of the Year. Through his high school career, J’Michael averaged 13.7 points, 4.6 rebounds, 4 assists and scored 1,238 points, the most in Creekside history. After high school, Coach J’Michael played college basketball for the Blue Wave at Florida State College. Averaging 9.5 points per contest and over 4 assists, J’Michael proved to be a dynamic point guard who could score in bunches as well as facilitate. He led the Blue Wave to a 94-77 victory over rival Pasco-Hernando State while scoring 26 points and making 5 3-pointers. A career 38% 3 point shooter, Coach J specializes in shooting, perimeter scoring, playmaking, and helping develop combo-guards who can do it all.
Christian Grider
Coach Grider attended Grad school in 2020 at Ohio University where he received his master's in business administration and sports administration. Before that, Coach Grider played at Goshen College in Indiana where he was a 3-year captain on the Men's Basketball Team and scored over 1,000 points in his career. He played high school basketball for coach David Starr at Indian Lake High School. A two-time all-conference pick and 2014 conference player of the year, Coach Grider was also a CBC scholar athlete and was named to the all-district first team. Off the court, Christian was named the class valedictorian as he was on the 4.0 honor roll all four years. He was named Academic All-Ohio first team , was the National Honor Society president , and also played football.
Norman Haynes
Coach Norman played high school basketball under Jim Martin at Providence. Leading the Stallions to a 22-6 record, Norman averaged 15 points per game while shooting over 50% from the 3 point line. After high school, Norman went on to play at Illinois Valley. In his freshman debut, he averaged over 11 points per game, while shooting 44% from the 3 point line and an outstanding a 93% from the free throw line. Proving to be a pure scorer and a sharpshooter, Norman scored a season high 26 points against Lincoln Land. A true point guard who can score in bunches, Norman specializes in shooting, driving, and scoring from all 3 levels.
Mekhii
Noble
Coach Mekhii played under Kiryn Williams & Zach Shank for Cornerstone Christian and lead them to win the FICAA State championship and earn Offensive MVP. He went on to play for Potters House Christian where he was rewarded All conference honors after averaging 15.6 and 8.5 rebounds at the SIAA level. He played collegiately at Florida Tech of the Sunshine State Conference . He earned the Wayne Cavadi All Stats Team Award after leading NCAA Division 2 in Double Doubles at 15.6 points and 11.6 rebounds during the 2021-2022 Season. Finished Top 8 in rebounds and Top 5 in double doubles for Florida Tech all time. MBB Leader of the Year awards and 4X SSC Student-athlete commissioners award. Post college, Mekhii played professionally in the top division of the British Basketball League for the Plymouth City Patriots which is now a top 15 league world wide. After being medically released from playing. Coach Mekhii is now back in Jacksonville and wants to give back to the community displaying expertise in skill development for both guards and forwards primarily attacking the rim, mid -range scoring, inside scoring, defensive principles and strength and conditioning to increase athleticism.
PJ
McLees
Coach Pj has been coaching with Above Basketball at WGV since 2022. His extensive knowledge of the game and versatility as a coach has made him an invaluable member of the coaching team at WGV. Coach PJ graduated from Illinois State University with his Master’s in Business Administration, with a primary focus on leadership. His leadership in the workforce off the court has translated immensely to his positivity and attention to detail in his coaching at Above. PJ also works closely with our guards on how to become more consistent, accurate shooters from the perimeter.
Taylor Gardner
Coach Taylor graduated from ME Academy in Daytona Beach, Fla...Lettered one year in basketball..Lettered three years in basketball at Creekside High School in St. Johns, Fla...Broke the program's single-season record for most free throws made and the most steals as a junior.Helped the Knights win a district title. Started as a freshman and broke the school's single-game scoring record with 33 points. After high school Coach Taylor received a basketball scholarship at Flagler
College where she played in 29 games with 25 starts. Averaged 7.9 points and 3.0 rebounds per game. Finished second on the team with 34 steals and third in assists with 68. Made 22 three-pointers...Scored a season-high 18 points vs. Florida Tech (Nov. 27). Finished with 12 points and eight rebounds vs. Young Harris (Dec. 20). Coach Taylor works primarily with our girls who want to improve their scoring and guard skills.
Wyatt Walker
Coach Wyatt played for Coach Jim Martin at Providence where he was a part of 2 State Championship winning teams. He's Providence's all time leading rebounder, 3rd leading scorer and was named the 2015 Florida Times Union Jacksonville player of the year. He played college basketball at Samford University where he led the Southern Conference in rebounds and double doubles. He then transferred to NC State where he started for the Wolfpack for the 2019 season. Wyatt was selected 25th overall in the 2019 NBA G league draft and played the 2019 season for the Utah Jazz G league team.
Coach Wyatt has spent the last 2 years as the Mill Creek
Academy Boys Basketball Head Coach, leading the Mustangs to back to back winning seasons and runner-up in the conference championship. While serving as the Director at Above Basketball WGV, he has trained and coached over 1000 players from the Kindergarten level up to NBA & overseas professionals.