Pro Basketball Players Descend On Laurel

Joe Connelly stood on the basketball court on a Tuesday afternoon at the Laurel Boys and Girls Club shouting instructions to post players Braxton Dupree and Ricardo Marsh.

"Braxton, drop step," Connelly hollers to Dupree, a former Maryland Terp and Towson University player who then threw down a dunk.

"Nice shot, Ricardo," the trainer shouts to Marsh, a former standout at Old Dominion University who has played pro basketball since 2003. "One more, Braxton. Yes sir, Braxton."

And as temperatures during the week swelled well into the 100s inside the club, Connelly continued work on what is arguably one of the best-kept secrets in Laurel: a training ground for NBA players and hopefuls.

Connelly, 39, who grew up in Baltimore and now lives in Riverdale, has been training amateur and pro basketball players in individual and group workouts for several years. He taught 13 years in Baltimore City schools but has now made the move to working full time as a freelance trainer.

He said his first paid client was Roger Mason, who played at Good Counsel High (then in Wheaton) and the University of Virginia before going on to play in Europe and in the NBA, including a stint with Washington. Mason was with the New York Knicks last season.

This is the second summer Connelly has held weekday workouts at the Laurel Boys and Girls Club, where Connelly forged a working relationship with president Levet Brown several years ago. On any given day, NBA players, college all-stars and players who’ve had overseas contracts shuffle in and out of Connelly’s program—all determined to get back in shape for the pros.

"It is like 115 degree in here," says Connelly, taking a break from working with big men Dupree and Marsh.

So why would several Division I standouts and current pro players spend several hours in a hot gym following orders from Connelly, who saw little playing time when he was on the team at Towson Catholic more than 20 years ago?

"Look at his motion! Joe never takes a play off," says Laurel resident Devin Sweetney, a former college player at Division I St. Francis (PA). "He is one of a kind. That is what separates him. Joe does it for the love of the game."

Brown, president of the Laurel Boys and Girls Club, told Patch that having Connelly work with NBA prospects is "a win-win for the club. It gives the club exposure, and guys have told us if they make it [as pros] they will support the club," Brown said.

Brown said that support means talking with younger players at the club and emphasizing the importance of an education. Brown said students as young as 11 have been able to work out with some of the former college hoopsters.

Connelly spent part of last season as a trainer for the Dakota Wizards in North Dakota in the NBA Development League and worked with Hamady Ndiaye of the Washington Wizards.

The Riverdale resident said he is not a full-time employee of the Washington Wizards but has been used as a consultant of sorts to work with players such as Ndiaye.

Connelly says he does charge most players for his services on an individual basis, though some younger players who are trying to break into the pro game sometimes don't have to pay.

"They are all underdog guys" in some ways, he said.

Stick with Laurel Patch for the second part of the story, including our exclusive video, tomorrow.