Staff

DeShawn Gibbons has over fifteen years of experience working with athletes in the basketball and fitness field. As the owner of Prove Them Wrong, he directs league and private training as well as basketball clinics throughout MetroWest Boston. He also serves as the head basketball trainer for Lifetime Fitness and is the former co-owner of Ihoopacademy.

Raised in Roxbury along with his five siblings by his loving grandmother. DeShawn overcame difficult circumstances to become a scholar /athlete at LIU Post, where he played collegiate basketball. After graduating with a Bachelor of Fine Arts in Electronic Media, he played professional basketball internationally, including several years in Spain with Reus. F. C and later in Australia with the Shepparton Gators, where he was renowned for his strength and agility as well as consistency as a double-digit rebounder. During his career in professional basketball, DeShawn gained the physical and mental skills which have propelled him throughout his successful career.

On the cutting edge of sports training, DeShawn believes in a holistic approach to the development of athletes. Working with children and teens, his mantra is not just to forge great athletes but also to build great people. “I want to show kids that you can be bigger than your circumstances in life. With the right mentors, mentality, and the ability to dream beyond your imagination, amazing things can happen.”

Coach DaeShawn Beasley was born and raised in Cincinnati, Ohio. He played basketball at Wright State Lake University, where he currently holds the record for points, assists, and rebounds. He played professionally in Orlando, Florida for the Florida Flight Basketball Association, as well as in Italy and Spain. He has been coaching basketball for the past four years. Three of those years were at the high school level in Orlando, Florida and the last year he has been the Assistant Men’s Basketball Coach at Pine Manor College. Coach Beasley has a wealth of basketball knowledge to offer our young athletes. He believes in progression not perfection as his means of training. He emphasizes on the repetition of fundamentals in basketball.

When I first began playing basketball, I fell in love with more than just the game. For me it was the work ethic outside of practice, the team bonding, the personal growth, and the commitment. I loved the idea of coming together for a bigger purpose to achieve a goal beyond any one individual.

I played basketball in high school at the John D O’Bryant school of Math and science. Afterwards I continued my education and basketball career at Mass College of Liberal Arts. At MCLA I played basketball for three years and was awarded Scholar Athlete of the Year. I continued my education at Boston College and earned my master’s degree in Clinical Counseling.

I use my knowledge as a counselor to approach basketball from a mindfulness perspective. My work is rooted through positivity and developing players mindset. I believe basketball is just as mental as it is physical.

I now coach AAU with ASA hoops and run private training with focuses on strength and condition, speed and agility, basketball skill set and IQ.

Jeff Cannon loves basketball both as a player and as a coach. Although he was a Division II star at the University of New Haven Jeff says that his basketball career highlight was leading Roxbury Community College to the National Championship games in 2010. His accomplishments in coaching have been highlighted in the Boston Herald “A class act at Roxbury Community College” and the Boston Banner “A Victory Lap”.

Looking back, Jeff attributes his growth and development to his basketball coaches. Now through PTW he says “I have the opportunity to mentor and teach players of all ages what it takes to become a great basketball player. My goal is helping each individual athlete develop their skill set to reach their highest potential, while also providing the level of support that allows athletes to fall in love with process of becoming great.”

Discussing PTW Jeff says – our trainers not only teach the game, but play the game. “Prove Them Wrong Every Chance you get”.

I was born and raised in Serbia! When I was 18 years old I got an offer from Danish club – Virum and played 10 years professionally in Denmark

During my career I’ve coached on senior and youth levels, both male and female. This includes work with women on Danish Youth National Teams as an assistant coach.

• Fiba Certified Coach
• Graduated first in class 2015-2018 FIBA Europe Coaching Certificate (FECC) where my mentor was Svetislav Pesic and some of the lecturers were Pablo Laso (who was Luka Doncic Coach in Real Madrid), Pedro Martinez, Janez Drvaric, and professor Nenad Trunic.
• 2020 Coached at Wade O’Connors Basketball Academy in Dayton Ohio

I want to start off by thanking Prove Them Wrong the Association for giving me an opportunity to be a basketball trainer and positive figure for our youth. The overall message of PTW really resonates and aligns with what I believe in as a figure in our community.

Even aside from basketball, mentorship and guidance for our youth are huge for me. Being able to relate and understand some of the struggles that these kids may go through on and off the court is also a huge help when trying to connect with, and guide them. My personal mission is to have a positive impact on many young lives as I possibly can and just help them navigate through challenges & adversity that we all faced at some point while playing this game.  Most importantly, understanding the underlying life lessons & messages that come from playing this game we call basketball.

Accolades 

• Coach (Brighton JV )
• State Champion (Brighton ‘13)
• 2x City Champion
• 1000 Rebounds
• NAC Champion (New England College ‘18)

Niles Cohen, a Cambridge, Massachusetts native, played basketball for Wheaton College, where he walked on as a sophomore and played a significant role. He also majored in Film+ New Media studies while at Wheaton. He has trained players and young children for about 5 years along with coaching the Brookline, high varsity basketball team in a summer league. His training focuses on improving basketball skills, focus, confidence, and conditioning because in order to reach peak performance, you must be in shape and believe in your abilities. Niles is a great trainer and looks forward to his new role with PTW.

Born and raised in Bridgewater, MA, Dennis Clifford played soccer, basketball, and baseball until transferring to Milton Academy after his Junior year. The 7’0″ Clifford played AAU with the Bay State Magic under Kalon Jenkins and later starred at Boston College from 2011-2016. Since that time, he has played professional basketball with:

• Santa Cruz 2016–2017
• Alba Berlin 2017–2018, 2018–2019
• Delaware Bluecoats 2020