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.”

Mr. Pritchard’s career in basketball as an athlete, coach, trainer and basketball entrepreneur spans over 30 years. Mr. Pritchard began his career as the Athletic Director at Madison Park Community Center, a multipurpose athletic complex and the largest community center in the city of Boston. Afterwards, Mr. Pritchard ran the operations of Tri Sports Complex in Ashton, Pennsylvania, a multipurpose Pro Combine facility while at the same time functioning as Director of Basketball Operations, Skills and Training. He and his staff of 20 quickly transformed the property into a premier sporting and basketball venue in the northeastern part of the country. Mr.Pritchard was also the Director of Development for Astor Sports Management, an NBA and FIBA certified agency, specializing in the development/training of NBA, NBDL, ABA and Division I, II, and III players. Additionally, Mr. Pritchard helped direct the BABC (Boston Amateur Basketball Club), one of the nation’s premier AAU Boys Basketball Programs and won 12 National AAU Championships. With founder and head coach Leo Papile (head scout for the Boston Celtics) and “Tiny” Archibald, NBA Hall of Famer as mentors, Mr. Pritchard accelerated his success as a basketball trainer and coach and has produced and continues to produce a bevy of talented players who have gone on to play basketball at the college (Division I-III ) and professional (NBA, NBDL, ABA and overseas) levels.

Mr. Pritchard is engaged by companies, worldwide, to develop, coach and manage their programs. Today, in addition to being the Founder and Director of both the Reebok Team Boston Elite AAU and Beantown Slam (biggest fall basketball league in Boston area with 64 teams), he is the Founder and Director of Essential Skills Academy. Some of his clients include:

• Expressions Elite – works side by side with Founder Todd Quarles to develop it into one of the top national elite AAU programs (10 players received Division I opportunities this year).
• 3 Point Foundation sponsored by the Boston Celtics
• Burgos Basketball
• Power Ade Hard Top Challenge( Coca Cola sponsored Tournament)
• Boston Hurricanes / Chinese Basketball Association
• Tiny Archibald Skills and Clinics
• UP Academy
• BABC Nike
• Adidas Jr. Phenoms
• Adidas Phenom 150 Camps
• Ralph Sampson’s Winner’s Circle Program

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

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.

Coach Ethan is a 22 year old trainer coming out of North Providence, Rhode Island (RI) where he has lived the majority of his life. Basketball was not always in the cards for him as he would never describe himself as a natural talent. Ethan is the epitome of Proving Them Wrong displaying how hard work and hustle can take you to places that others could never imagine. This hard work and dedication carried him all the way to a State Championship his freshman year at Bishop Hendricken High School in Warwick, RI – an all boys school with a highly esteemed basketball program. Post high school, he continued his education career at Emmanuel College in the heart of the city of Boston, the city where he was eventually introduced to DeShawn. He has always been fascinated by the game of basketball as he is consistently reading and watching material that will take his knowledge and ability to the next level as well as surrounding himself with like minded people. Ethan has experience playing, reffing and teaching the game at summer camps back at his old high school and is looking to continue his playing career on the professional level in the not so distant future. During a workout with Coach Ethan you will find yourself focusing on your weaknesses twice as much as your strength as he feels as though becoming a well rounded player is the key to success in the game of basektball. One quote that he will often emphasise to his athletes is “repititon is the father of learning”. Ethan is excited to continue working at PTW and taking his athletes to the next level. Keep Proving them Wrong!

Kazembe Abif (Coach Kaz) joins PTW with over 20 years of basketball experience. Originally hailing from New Jersey, Coach Kaz was able to lead his high school team to back to back state championships. He then went on to accept a division one scholarship to Drexel University. For the last six years, Coach Kaz has been playing professional basketball throughout Europe including Germany, Denmark, Finland, Iceland and Portugal. He looks to bring energy, competitiveness and knowledge to help players develop to their full potential at PTW.

I was born in Fort Lauderdale, Florida and raised in Boston, Massachusetts. I played basketball in high school at the John D. O’Bryant School of Math and Science. While playing at the John D. O’Bryant School of Math and Science I received the Most Valuable Scholar Athlete Award, the Sportsmanship Award, and the Coach’s Award. After graduating from high school, I continued my education at Framingham State University with a major in Sports Management. Along with continuing my education at Framingham State University, I became an Assistant Coach for the JV and Varsity Basketball team at John D. O’Bryant School of Math and Science. I believe that giving maximum effort along with a positive attitude leads to successful results. I look forward to my new role with PTW.

Coach Joshua Bonnie was born and raised in Boston Massachusetts. He attended high-school at the Community Charter School of Cambridge where he started his basketball journey. After high-school, he went to Massachusetts Bay Community College where he played his college career under the coaching of the legendary Bill Raynor.

In 2017 he was apart of the last Mass Bay Community College Men’s Basketball team to win a NCJAA Division 3 Regional Championship to go to Nationals. He served as the basketball team captain.

Bonnie has been around the game of basketball for the last 8 years. He recently in 2018 coach his former high-school men’s junior varsity basketball team and also was the assistant coach for the men’s varsity basketball team.

Furthermore, joining the P.T.W. Family is something he is committed to doing and is looking forward to helping all athletes understand the game of basketball better.

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