MEET THE TEAM
Founder / Coach
Giorgi Koguashvili
Giorgi played for the U16 Georgian Basketball National Team before moving to the USA to play varsity and then to Union University. Gio transferred to the University of Minnesota Crookston with a full basketball scholarship and pursued his bachelor's degree in business management and economics. He is certified in Global Sports Management at NYU and EuroLeague Coaches Academy.
Coach
Patrick Granjean
Patrick played varsity basketball at Midwood High School, played D2 Juco at Jamestown CC, and completed his college career at SUNY Old Westbury. He played professionally for a year in the ABA ( Staten Island Vipers).
Coach
Luke Malania
Luka grew up in Georgia before moving to the US in 2021. He played overseas pro basketball for four years before moving to the USA. Luka is the youngest coach at BBA, improving his coaching skills daily. He loves the game tremendously, showing enthusiasm and energy during every session he coaches.
Program Director / Coach
Kyle Fargardo
Kyle played high school basketball at Evander Child’s Campus and then he accepted a scholarship to St Peter’s University. He then became a high school basketball coach at Cristo Rey Brooklyn from 2019-2021. Kyle is a certified personal trainer from ISSA. and he has been a coach for Brooklyn Basketball Academy for four years. His main focus is discipline and hard work to attain success!
Volunteer Head Coach 4th Gr. Boys Team
JJ Redick
Jonathan Clay “JJ” Redick is an American former professional basketball player who is a podcaster and sports analyst for ESPN. He was selected 11th overall by Orlando Magic in the 2006 NBA draft. He played college basketball for the Duke Blue Devils. He is considered one of the greatest college basketball players who ever played the game and is regarded as one of the top 15 shooters in the history of the NBA. For career highlights and awards, please Click Here.
Coach
Luka Gurgenidze
Luka was a Zaza Pachulia Basketball Academy player in Georgia, from 2017-2019. He has been with Brooklyn Basketball Academy for over three years. He has great knowledge of the game and skills to teach and demonstrate drills for younger athletes.
Project Manager & Coach
Jill Cook
Jill has had a long playing career starting at Christ the King H.S. (National, State, League Champions) and continuing at Georgetown University. Her coaching career began at Adelphi University and her 1993 Team was the first female team to be inducted into the NYC Basketball Hall of Fame. From 1992-2012 she was the Liberty Belles AAU President and Coach winning multiple championships. Jill has coached over 200 players who received college scholarships or WNBA Draft picks.
Coach
Abigail Schlichting
Abby played in NJ at Morristown High School where she scored 1,000 points before accepting a full scholarship to play Division I at Colgate University. She is looking to give back to the game and inspire young girls to play!
Coach
Charile Weisberg
Charlie grew up in Brooklyn, NY and played high school basketball at The Millbrook School in Upstate NY as a two-year starter and team captain. He then went on to play Division One basketball at Loyola University MD of the Patriot League. He loves working with the youth to teach the skills he has learned while playing and emphasizes details and a strong work ethic.
Coach
Zuka Vashakidze
Played pro basketball since 14 years old in Georgian Superleague for BC Rustavi, played Fiba European championships with U13-20 Georgian National Teams. Played for experienced coaches like Milos Gligorijevic, Tihmoir Bujan, George Ketselidis. Zurab Aka "Zuka" has a great taste of basketball and natural sense to coach the game, especially travel team level basketball. He has been with us for the last 4 months now and has been a great addition to the team.