Meet Phil Handy

Who You Gonna Call? The Handyman

Remember the children’s book series titled ‘Where’s Waldo?’" We’ll go one better with where’s Phil Handy? But first, let’s start with who is Phil Handy, which will illustrate why parents and their basketball-playing youngsters should be listening to him.

Immersed in hoops for decades, Handy is a native of the Bay Area who graduated from James Logan High, then attended Skyline and Ohlone Community Colleges before finishing college with the University of Hawaii from 1992 to 1994. Then he enjoyed stints with the Golden State Warriors and Portland Trailblazers. Playing ball has also taken him to England, France, Israel, Italy and Australia, as well as various Continental Basketball Association franchises in the United States.

Handy currently operates his personal business, 94 Feet of Game, where he tutors and mentors prepsters who want to maximize their college basketball scholarship possibilities. Some of his protégés have moved on to such schools as Santa Clara, Hartford, Cal Poly San Luis Obispo, Sacramento State and the University of Denver. But Handy also has college and professional basketball clients and, to finally answer the second question we asked in our opening, Handy is currently overseas working with a possible first-round National Basketball Association prospect.
Seizing upon his immersion with just about every aspect of basketball, we recently asked Handy for his insight into the primary attributes and qualities college coaches are seeking in recruits. After a deep breath, his response was,"most college coaches these days are looking for kids who are not going to be trouble makers. A headache to the program is no-no as far as they are concerned. The days of being a superstar athlete and terrible person are over. They are looking for kids who can manage the best of both worlds and truly be a student athlete.

He added, "The kid who can play the game at a high level, has a good attitude, great work ethic, is a good student and in general just a good citizen is what coaches want. Of course, the kids have to be able to play but that’s not the only thing anymore. Coaches want kids with character, they want kids who will be a good representative to the program, let alone be a hard worker on the court."

What came as a surprise was this warning from Handy. "Most players today don’t realize that a coach will come to a game early just to see how they warm-up," he said. "They want to see how this kid interacts with his teammates, how does he respond when he is subbed out of the game or when the coach jumps on his case? Is he/she coachable? How are they when things are not always good, how do they deal with adversity? How do they approach the game? Believe it or not coaches sometimes know if they want a kid before the game even begins."

His advice is succinct to those high schoolers with Division I college potential. He offered, "‘No books, no ball’ is a phrase I heard from a high school coach a few years back and it has stuck with me ever since. That would be the first thing. Kids sometimes shoot themselves in the foot by not taking care of the books. You can be the best baller in the area but if you are not hitting the books with the same intensity, you are wasting time on the court. Without grades, there is no scholarship, it’s just that simple.

This may be even more so given how the Academic Progress Rate currently dictates the total number of player scholarships a coach has available.

Continuing on, Handy said, "The other thing is working on your game. Kids don’t really understand how fast, strong and skilled the players at the D-1 level are. Working on and developing your skills is essential, it’s the most important thing to being a good basketball player. There are millions of kids wanting to play ball at the next level but only a few who have the discipline it takes to be focused on truly becoming fundamentally advanced basketball players. It takes putting in time and working hard at it."

Getting to the parent part of the equation, Handy offered, "I think parents always have the best interest of their kids at heart and every parent is passionate about their kid being able to play at the next level. The disconnect is when the parents want it more than the kid does. I think parents should be supportive and involved with their kids recruiting to make sure no one is taking advantage of them. I also think parents need to be educated about the whole recruiting game and how it works, because it is a game. Most have no idea what they are entering into and it can sometimes smack them and their kid in the face. I tell parents all the time “recruiting is a process” and a long one at that."

He continued, "This goes back to coaches looking at kids and trying to find the best one for their program. They want to make sure they have a good kid with a good family when possible. It can also be a frustrating process and parents need to learn how to wade through the BS college coaches sometimes put out there. Parents need to be direct and demand the same thing from the coaches who are recruiting their kids. I also think it is important that parents not expect anything from college coaches. Some go into it with the mindset that the coach is going to see their kid play, fall in love with them and give them a scholarship right away. That does happen but not the norm. Recruiting is like dating and we all know what that is like. Sometimes it takes years before you find the right one. Players and coaches don’t have years so to speak but it still takes time to find the right school and the correct player."

Handy, along with Guss Armstead and Bryan Gardere, are the forces behind the upcoming Sacramento Valley - San Francisco Bay Area Showdown scheduled for May 31 - June 1 at Newark Memorial High. As its name implies, the Showdown pits youngsters vying for geographical bragging rights in a variety of games and events.

When asked how the Showdown came to be, Handy explained, "The first Sac vs. Bay Showdown was in 2006 at Capital Christian High School in Sacramento. It was a very big success -- attendance far exceeded our expectations. Co-founder Guss [Armstead], Bryan [Gardere] and myself do a lot of skill development work together with various NBA, high school and college level players and in 2006 we wanted to do something to show that there are a lot of good basketball players in the Sacramento area that do not get enough exposure. Since we worked out most of the top high school players from the area we kicked around a few ideas and finally came up with creating an event that put Sacramento up against the Bay."

Continuing on, he said, "The moment we jumped into the idea it quickly became something that was not only good for Sacramento players but all of Northern California. We wanted to do something to showcase the many student athletes who come from northern California and go on to play college basketball. Sacramento has always felt unappreciated and under exposed and the Bay has always felt it had the best talent. Generally, the kids from northern California do not get enough respect nationally or sometimes not even in our own state, as the north always plays second fiddle to the south."

He added, "The McDonald’s all-star game is the pinnacle of high school basketball, it’s the cream of the crop and something that very few are selected for. If we are lucky, northern California will have one McDonald’s All-American in any given year. So our kids didn’t really have anything in this area that really celebrated the things they have accomplished on and off the court. We wanted The Sac vs. Bay Showdown to be northern California’s McDonald’s event, a first-class event for our student-athletes and something the kids would want to be selected for as participants. We really wanted to do something positive, competitive, popular and 100% about the kids. For the most part, we have been able to do that."

One of the aspects we’ve noticed about the events Handy and Company sponsor is the seeking out of basketball fan involvement in the planning. In the Sacramento versus Bay Area Showdown in particular, a unique aspect is having fans nominating and voting on the participants. This is because as Handy puts it, "This event is nothing without the fans. They are the ones who come out and support the athletes along with the families and friends. When the fans are involved and offer their opinions about players it truly becomes a community event and that’s what the Sac vs. Bay Showdown is. We can only do so much and know so much. We can’t see all players and know all players. Fans will always have a voice in sports and we like having their input for the event."

Besides that democratic element, there are two other special components connected to the Showdown that will be taking place -- an educational ingredient along with a community service project. Here’s Handy on those: "ASC (Advanced Student Connection) is a big part of the Sac vs. Bay Showdown because it’s not just about basketball. ASC is a college prep non-profit organization based in Sacramento but they serve kids all over northern California. They offer great tutors, mentorship and most importantly, they help student athletes get prepared for college from an educational standpoint. This seminar will be very helpful to a lot of student athletes and parents who know nothing about the recruiting process. Many parents and players have questions about the SAT, about college admissions, about college applications, you name it. This part of the event is something we wanted to make happen because it is needed."

As for what will be taking place away from the gym, this is what’s planned. "The community service part of the Showdown is also something we put in because it’s another way to be involved with the community," Handy said. "Community service is something that every kid and adult should experience in their life. It’s truly is a thing of giving. We will get the seniors out into the Newark community for a couple of hours. Hopefully, they will see it as another chance to do and experience something different. Most of these student athletes don’t realize that wherever they go to college and play ball, they will also at some point perform community service. Every college basketball program in America does it."

As with previous editions, the Sacramento Valley - San Francisco Bay Area Showdown opens with a banquet. Here’s why: "Every year we have the Tennis Shoe welcome banquet which is the kick off for the event," Handy said. "It’s a fun evening with the players, family members, sponsors and some media. The last couple of years we have had Chipotle Mexican Grill and P.F. Chang’s as the sponsors of the event. This year, we were looking to bring Everett and Jones in because the event is in the Bay Area. We’ll have guest speakers from various backgrounds, player introductions, awards and generally just a good night with all of the participants. It’s another way to have kids from Sacramento and the Bay in one room having some fun."

This is the first time the event will be held in the Bay Area, having taken place twice before in Sacramento. The first night will feature a three-point shootout, a dunk contest and a freshman game. Former Golden State Warriors and Sacramento Kings head coach Eric Musselman will be in charge of the Bay Area underclass boys squad.

The second day lineup is an underclass girls game followed by the underclass boys game and then a senior girls match up and eventually a senior boys contest.