Diary No. 3: Muir Basketball Coach Dr. Gamal Smalley at the Final Four

Muir boys basketball coach Gamal Smalley is in Houston for the weekend to attend the National Association of Basketball Coaches Convention and check out the Final Four. He'll be sending Patch updates about his trip throughout the weekend.

Hey Patch.com,

Saturday morning here at the Final Four was inspiring as my wife and I attended the Legends of the Hardwood Breakfast. Former Heisman Trophy winner and ex-NBA star Charlie Ward received the John Wooden Award at a breakfast that was attended by coaches from all over the country. Several video tributes to Coach Wooden were shown, and TNT’s Ernie Johnson and CBS’s Clark Kellogg hosted the event. There were so many great guests who talked about coach Wooden and the Wooden way! It was truly inspiring.

Former Mustang Coach Rocky Moore, who won two CIF Championships with the Stangs, saw us in the lobby and literally snatched my son Zachary and took him and his son Riley to the Final Four game. Of course Zach was in heaven and I guess we will see our son again at some point!

My daughter Leah came down from Dallas and joined us for a luncheon put on by the NABC, and again it was a great even with so many of my favorite coaches in attendance. My wife and I paraded our gorgeous daughter around hoping to find a D-I Coach for her to marry…but don’t tell anyone I said that.  Remember what’s said on Patch.com stays on Patch.com!  Lol!

Kind regards,

Coach Smalley