We’re back with week 3 of the Dizzy Runs Pro Am, the premier summer pro league in the Midwest! This week we chopped it up with the co-founder of the Dizzy Runs, Dizzy himself! Aka: Derick Grant, the world-renowned mindset coach. We also had some special guest hosts, Djimon Henson & Kobe Webster, who caught up with Kolby King & Pierre Brooks II of Butler University.

We’re back with week 2 of the Dizzy Runs Pro Am, the premier summer pro league in the Midwest! This week we got the chance to chop it up with several more players, including Kyle Guy, Aaron Henry, Derek “Hawk” Hawthorne, Zac Owens and Jordan Walker. We even got a surprise on-the-fly interview with the founder of Hoosier Shooting Academy, Paul Swartz, and the Gem Sessions intern, Delaney Seaman. Check out this week’s post-game chats and make sure to follow on Instagram @GemSessionsTraining!

The Gem Sessions Podcast is BACK! For Season 3, we're coming live each week from the Dizzy Runs Pro Am, the premier summer pro league in the Midwest, founded by Kyle Guy & Derrick Grant.

Each week, we'll have short interviews with some of the players and content creators that come out to the Dizzy Runs.

Week 1 was a blast, we caught up with former NBA player & current NBA coach, Jannero Pargo. We also chopped it up with Andre Owens, another former Indiana Pacers player. Also featured is CBA MVP, Darrius Adams, NBA G-League vet, Brandon Wood, two of the Gem Sessions OGs Kobe Webster & Djimon Henson and two media members -- Dub Jellison & Young Mantis.

Make sure you follow both @GemSessionsTraining and @DizzyRunsProAm on IG for future info and interviews!

Max Landis is a pro basketball player from Indianapolis, currently signed with FC Porto in Portugal through 2025. After a great high school career at Perry Meridian, Max decided to go to Gardner-Webb to start his college career. After 2 seasons there, he decided to transfer closer to home and finish his career at Purdue Fort Wayne (IPFW at the time).

The catch? He was going to be a walk-on at Purdue Fort Wayne.

Max decided to bet on himself and take that walk-on spot over other offers at different schools and earn his way into a scholarship. He not only did that, he worked his way to being conference player of the year and an NCAA All-American honorable mention player.

After college, Max played several seasons in Belgium and Germany before landing in Portugal. Porto became home. Even through the adversity of two torn ACLs and a torn Achilles, FC Porto has not only extended Max’s contract, but Max has decided to continuously battle back from these devastating injuries.

Currently rehabbing his Achilles, Max joins us to discuss his recovery process, the journey of his basketball career and what he’s looking forward to when he gets back on the court.

Enjoy this episode and make sure to hit up Max on Instagram to wish him a speedy recovery!

Kelsey Barlow — aka Stambi — is much more than a pro basketball player. Growing up in Europe, Kelsey didn’t specialize in basketball — or sports — at a young age. First it was piano, then horse-back riding, then way down the line basketball eventually became his passion. And that passion has taken him back to Europe & all around the globe over the last decade+ of his pro career.

Kelsey was a standout high school player at Cathedral High School in Indianapolis before going to Purdue and later transferring to UIC. After college, he began his career in the NBA D-League (now G-League) before moving on to play in France, Greece, Lebanon, Turkey, Argentina, Mexico and more.

During the podcast we talk about his unique upbringing moving from Europe to Indiana, his basketball & personal development, his off-court interests such as writing & art, and a variety of other interesting topics. He even tells us the story behind his nickname, Stambi, and what is means. Tune in, this is a great one!

You can catch up with Stambi on his website or social media here!

Tony Hicks is currently in his 7th professional season, having played in countries like Hungary, Germany, Venezuela and more, but this basketball career wasn’t always a dream of his. Tony actually grew up in Chicago wanting to be the next great NFL quarterback, modeling his game after Chicago legend Donovan McNabb.

Tony mentioned that this “late bloomer” timeline actually helped his basketball career by helping him avoid the mental and physical burnout that many early basketball specialization athletes run into during their careers.

Tony’s basketball started to take off as a sophomore at Chicago [football] powerhouse St. Rita High School, where he began to draw major interest on the court from D1 schools around the country. After a summer injury that took him out of that football season, he began to prepare for that basketball season and next looked back. The rest was history, and the story is still being written as his 7 year professional basketball career continues to blossom.

In this episode, Tony takes us through his dominant career at Penn, his grad transfer year at Louisville with the legendary Rick Pitino and the different stages of growth throughout his pro career. Tony is currently in the top league in Hungary, coming off the best year of his career and looking to continue to take the leaps he has over the past few seasons.

Check this episode and make sure you follow Tony on IG at @1of1Tone!

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In this solo episode, we're just taking a break from interviews to reflect on a year of podcasting! This is our 1-year anniversary and we're celebrating the growth, progress and evolution of the show.

Host, Justin Ochoa, takes some time to share some Gem Sessions updates:

• The Gem Sessions Foundation, a 501c3 nonprofit organization we launched this year! Our mission is to empower young student-athletes, cultivate their skills and equip them with the necessary tools to excel in their chosen sport while fostering personal development, academic success and leadership qualities that last long after their athletic careers end. Gem Sessions Foundation envisions a future where every youth athlete, regardless of their background or circumstances, has access to high-quality training, mentorship, educational support, professional development and community involvement.

• The Gem Sessions App, an online coaching portal with 1-on-1 online coaching for lifting, speed and skill development, as well as a variety of pre-made programs for basketball players!
• Season 3 & 4 preview: Looking at the last half of season 2 and what seasons 3 & 4 will be in 2024!

As always, thank you so much for supporting the show. None of this would be possible without YOU.

John Murry has never had it easy. Although he is currently the reigning league MVP in Morocco and accomplished a Cup Championship in his first season in the league, it was a long uphill climb to reach that level.

John joins us to tell his story. He starts by detailing his unique high school to college transition. John was nearly an ineligible and un-recruitable high school senior due to fraudulent prep schools that he attended not getting the proper accreditations. Instead of graduating high school and being able to join the NCAA, John was forced to get his GED — an alternative high school equivalency diploma that comes from a series of tests & not a school or high school curriculum.

This meant that John had to take the Junior College (JuCo) route in order to fulfill his dreams to play D1 basketball — which he did. After 2 seasons at Austin Peay, John went pro.

His pro journey also started off rocky. John cited getting injured and cut multiple times within the first few years of his career. John found himself working his way up the ranks, starting from the bottom and clawing his way to higher level leagues each season. Currently, John is in his second season in the Moroccan first division following a very impressive introduction to the league, winning the league MVP & Cup title.

John takes us along his journey every step of the way and shares insightful lessons he learned from all the ups and downs. Make sure you follow John on Instagram and YouTube and continue to show support!

***Today’s episode is brought to you by HOIST. HOIST is formulated to provide instant & optimal hydration, making it one of the cleanest, safest and most effective hydration beverages on the market. If you want to learn more about how HOIST can help you level up your performance, visit DrinkHoist.com and you can use the code GEMS for 10% off your orders for life!***