Fat Mark Creating a Lane For the North Bay Area

Fat Mark

Back in 2012, "Yay Area's Finest" was popular in the Bay Area for their highlight tapes of the top high school players in the Bay Area. They even had an all-star game amongst the top players in the Bay Area. In that all-star game, Tajai Johnson, Larry Wickett, and Rodney Cook, represented Vallejo and the northern part of the Bay Area. Since then, the Northern Bay Area which features Vallejo, Napa, Benicia, Fairfield, Vacaville and more, hasn't had too much spotlight on their players. Some believe the talent hasn't been the same, others believe the talent has been slept on compared to the other cities around the Bay Area. Today, Mark "Fat Mark" Insixiengmay has been able to provide the North Bay Area some attention due to his film production.

Fat Mark started off recording his two son's (Damien and Demarcus) basketball games with his phone, while using apps to edit the photos and videos. After experiencing a love for filming, he decided to take it serious, and film with professional level cameras. After filming several videos of his sons, Team Rampage Varsity Head Coach Brandon Bracy decided to bring Fat Mark on to record his workouts for "Bracy's Skills Clinics". Over a 2/3 month span, Fat Mark's buzz with filming for Coach Bracy had grown and spilled into the high school basketball season.

Fat Mark went on to film Solano County's top talent including players Trey Pugh, Dakkari Hughes, Vandell Shaw and more. By creating highlight tapes and action photos of them, he would then go on to do team highlight tapes on Vanden, American Canyon, St. Pats, and even Salesian. Coach Bracy expressed Fat Mark's talent by stating, "Mark loves what he does, and has the work ethic to become much bigger than what he is right now. His buzz has continued to grow, and all of the kids ask for him to come film their games".

Fat Mark will also be filming for Team Rampage this upcoming AAU season, to create an even bigger buzz for the North Bay. For Highlight tapes or action photos, contact Fat Mark at (925) 567-4273.

Wood's Future Duo

Will C. Wood High School (Vacaville, CA) has been able to maintain success with their basketball program as many players have went on to play College Basketball at a high level. In 2008 Wood had a duo that featured Bennie Murray and Mike McChristian, who both went on to play Division 1 basketball. Today, Wood's junior varsity team features a young promising duo by the names of Angelo Harris and Johnathon Cobbs.

Angelo and Johnathon are both sophomores and are showing amazing growth in their game. Johnathon has averaged over 25 points per game, while Angelo has averaged over 15 points a game. Many believe they can contribute at the varsity level this year, but with the large amount of returnees Wood's varsity has, the coaches decided to keep the two on junior varsity.

Cobbs and Harris trains with Team Rampage Varsity Elite Head Coach Brandon Bracy, in which they will also be playing for the 16 and under Rampage team. "These two are dedicated to the process of development, and I am excited to see their games moving forward" Coach Bracy said. Team Rampage Director Antonio Hodges also cosigned their ability. "Those boys have a tremendous upside, and have a great approach to the game" Hodges said. "They are very mature for the age, and have a high basketball IQ". Wood's junior varsity team is 3-0 in league play.

Vandell Shaw's Great Start

In High School basketball today, it is hard to find players who are willing to commit to the defensive end first. Most high school players define their success on the court as good as the amount of points they score, or how many highlight plays they make. However, for Fairfield High School Senior guard Vandell Shaw, committing to the defensive end has made a name for himself. Shaw takes pride in guarding the top guards in his league such as Vanden's Phoenix Shackleford and Benicia's Trey Pugh.

As Fairfield High School is off to a 3-0 start in League play including grabbing an upset win over powerhouse Vanden High School, it has been Shaw's offense that has caught attention of local scouts. Shaw has averaged close to 15 points a game in league play, including his 21 point performance in their victory against Vanden.

There is still a lot of basketball left to play, but Fairfield's hot start has been pretty impressive after missing the playoffs a year ago. With Head Coach Eddie Wilson's hard nose coaching style, Fairfield will continue to be a threat moving forward.

North Bay Triangle Camp Has A Great Turnout

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On Sunday January 15th, the North Bay Triangle basketball camp took place at American Canyon High School (American Canyon, CA). The camp featured ages 8-14, with kids coming from many different schools and AAU teams, such as the Vallejo Knights, Nor-Cal Aces, Nor-Cal Power, Vallejo Generals and more. The camp also featured Team Rampage Varsity Elite Head Coach Brandon Bracy, who was the Head Trainer of the camp. With good training from Coach Bracy, up-close camera action from Mark "Fat Mark" Insixiengmay, and over 30 kids in attendance, the North Bay Triangle Camp was a great turnout.

Camp Director Antonio Hodges stated, "We are thrilled to have Coach Bracy as the head trainer of the camp. The kids and parents really enjoyed him, and he is dedicated to making everybody better". With many kids coming from different AAU programs, the camp was extremely competitive as the kids were able to play games with each other at the end. The Mother of Vallejo Knights guard Juwelle Jack, Rhea Macam-Jack said, "I have been supporting our son Juwelle for 5 years as an AAU basketball player, and this basketball camp is the best so far". Many other parents praised the camp and Coach Bracy's style of teaching drills, and explaining how the drills translates into the game.

The next North Bay Triangle Basketball Camp will take place on May 7th, at American Canyon High School.

A Chance To Make a Name

For the 2016-2017 St. Pats Varsity team, there is a huge difference in age on this team. Their projected starting lineup could consist of all seniors, while the bench could include two freshmen, two sophomores, and a few juniors. One of those sophomores who is also a returner is Chance McMillan. Chance saw a limited role last year for the Bruins as he only averaged 3 points a game. Things have changed this year, as he could be a key component to the season for the bruins.

Due to the St. Pats football team winning the state championship, three key players missed the first few weeks. This created an opportunity for McMillan to earn quality minutes on the floor. Through the first 13 games of the season, McMillan has averaged just under 8 points per game and has started a few games for the Bruins.

St. Pats will head into Conference play with all of their pieces ready to make a run at winning the league title. They will open up with Albany High School at home, January 10th at 7pm.

-Brandon Bracy

Trey Pugh's Summer With Team Rampage

Trey Pugh Working Out With Coach Bracy

After averaging 24 points a game and receiving MVP of the Solano County Athletic Conference as a Junior, Benicia High School guard Trey Pugh knew that he had to work even harder over the summer if he wanted to have an even better senior year. After trying out with a number of different AAU teams, Pugh decided to join Coach Brandon Bracy with Team Rampage (Vallejo, CA). The team would include other Solano County Conference members such as Gamon Howard, Malcolm Bracy, Dakarria Peterson, and more.

While going through the summer with Team Rampage, Trey was forced to focus more on becoming a play-maker, run point guard at times, and focus more on the defensive end. "Trey was already talented before coming to us, but it was the fact that he focused more on defense, and getting others involved that took his game to the next level", Coach Bracy said. "As much as he has improved, I still think there is a lot more room for his game to fully develop before he plays at the collegiate level, but his potential is very high" Coach Bracy added.

Trey Pugh has helped lead Benicia High School to a 5-0 start to the season, and is averaging 24 points a game. Benicia is looking to improve from their first round playoff exit against Inderkum (Sacramento, CA) last season.

Brandon Bracy: The Importance of Player Development

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From youth basketball, to the pros, the development of players is what makes or breaks players. There are players who show flashes of their potential, but don't develop their talent as far as they could due to lack of player development. In contrast, there are players who get better every year because of how much they add to their game, such as Stephen Curry, Paul George, or even Khawi Leonard. As we analyze the importance of player development the question becomes, what is player development?

To some coaches and trainers, player development is simply putting athletes through skill development drills daily to improve on their weaknesses. To others player development can be more mental, as the player may have mental issues that prevents that player from reaching their full potential. As a trainer, a Varsity AAU coach for Team Rampage, and freshmen coach at Vallejo High School, there are definitely different ways to attack player development. As a trainer, player development should consist of more one on one time with that particular player, focusing on their weaknesses, as well as sharpening up their strengths. For example, NBA player development coaches spend countless hours working with players individually. This gives the players enough confidence to expand their moves in game situations. For coaches, player development changes as you focus more on the team concept. Coaches have to find the best way to develop each player to buy into the team way of doing things. For example, Cleveland Cavaliers Head Coach Tyronn Lue has been able to help Shooting Guard JR Smith, develop and mature as a player. The player development of JR Smith mentally, has enabled him to be a key factor on the Cavaliers championship run.

Player development can mean so many different things, but it is about the position that the coach and/or trainer is in. It is also about what situation the player lands in as well. Would Kobe Bryant be the same Kobe Bryant had he played his career in Charlotte? Would Khawi Leonard been able to expand his game the way he did, playing behind Paul George in Indiana? Player development has to be able to work from all angles, in order for the player to reach their full potential.