A 6’9” forward from Winnipeg, Manitoba, Ramogi played a season at Division 1 Saint Thomas University in Minnesota before returning home this year to play at the University of Manitoba. Ramogi was a part of two provincial championship teams in high school, although he missed the first title game due to the Sabbath. The provincial athletic association was unwilling to change that first game, but the following year it was moved to a Monday and Ramogi got to play. He talks about his relationship to the Sabbath and how he has navigated his observance in different situations. He believes he missed out on the U17 Canadian national team because he wouldn’t play on Sabbath, and later decided to play on Sabbath on the U18 team, where he won a bronze medal. He’s transparent about his journey with the Sabbath moving forward as a collegiate athlete and how he will continue to honor it.&nbsp; Ramogi shares his experience playing NCAA division 1 basketball, participation in an NBA academy event via the national team, and a low moment where he considered quiting basketball. Ramogi is excited for this season at the University of Manitoba and says he’s open to playing at an Adventist university at the end of his college career! Thank you for listening! Make sure to rate, review, and subscribe to help us grow this community! Follow on Instagram, and learn more at adventisthoops.com.

Episode 36 - Ramogi Nyagudi - NCAA Division 1 player, Canadian U18 national team, navigating Sabbath

Former Canadian national team member shares what it was like playing with Steve Nash, growing up Seventh-day Adventist in Toronto, and how he navigated the Sabbath throughout his university and professional career that took him around the globe. As one of the creators of SlamBall, Rob shares how that sport opened up opportunities in sports entertainment for him, and led to him represent players as an agent, which he still does today. Thank you for listening! Make sure to rate, review, and subscribe to help us grow this community! Follow on Instagram, and learn more at adventisthoops.com.

Episode 35 - Rob Wilson - Canadian national team member with Steve Nash, 13-year international pro, co-founder of SlamBall

The new head coach at Division 1 Grambling State University talks about his Adventist roots, from playing in Adventist church league in Takoma Park, Maryland, to Takoma Academy (TA), to La Sierra University, where he quickly got his first coaching opportunities while still a college student there. Patrick returned home to coach TA for a year before starting as assitant athletic director at then NCAA Division 2 Washington Adventist University (WAU), just down the street. He was quickly promoted to head athletic director and became the men’s head basketball coach, turning around a losing program through a culture shift where losing was not accepted as the standard.&nbsp; In 2014 Patrick led WAU to a USCAA National Championship, and after transitioning to NAIA, later went on to beat two Division 1 schools and win their conference. He talks about just how good the level of competition is at the NAIA level after spending so many years coaching there. In the&nbsp;2021-2022 season Patrick&nbsp;took a job at Saint Thomas University where he led them to the most wins in school history, and a conference title in 2023-2024. That summer, at the invitation of his former TA and La Sierra teammate, Brian Wright, General Manager for the San Antonio Spurs, Patrick had the opportunity to be a guest coach for the Spurs during summer league. It was Victor Wembanyama's rookie year, so Patrick describes the hoopla surrounding the team and what it was like to sit on the first row of the bench as an NBA assistant for a game. After the summer experience with the Spurs and taking Saint Thomas to the NAIA Sweet 16, Patrick got the call from Division 1 Florida A &amp; M University (FAMU). He admits that he wanted the job so bad, he didn’t seek God’s guidance, because he didn’t want God to say “no.” Though he led FAMU to it’s first conference tournament win in school history, there were significant challenges, and after getting an opportunity at Grambaling State and consulting God, he made the transition to Louisiana for the 2025-2026 season. Patrick talks about the biggest change going from NAIA to the Division 1 level, how he’s learned to handle the media, and how he’s developed as a coach without working much as an assistant all these years. He gives advice to Adventist kids to not let anyone determine your goals, how excited he was to watch the AdventistHoops All-American Weekend, and commits to being a part of the next All-American Weekend (pending any NCAA restrictions). Thank you for listening! Make sure to rate, review, and subscribe to help us grow this community! Follow on Instagram, and learn more at adventisthoops.com.

Episode 34 - Patrick Crarey - D1 head coach at Grambling State University, Takoma Academy and La Sierra University grad, guest coach for San Antonio Spurs summer league with Wemby 

The media team for the first-ever AdventistHoops All-American Weekend assembles to relive their experience behind the scenes of this historic event. From a fun media day, to filming highlights, to conducting interviews for a documentary film, Jason Meredith, Jared Gonzalez, Kwame Roberts II, and Eleazar Williams share their perspectives on how the experience impacted them. The guys discuss what it was like working as a team to make sure nothing was missed, how they not only captured media but edited that media quickly to be posted or viewed in-person, and how the characters of the forthcoming documentary represented Adventist basketball. If you didn’t get a chance to watch the All-American Saturday night all-star games, you can watch on the AdventistHoops YouTube channel:&nbsp;https://youtube.com/live/GDHO86CEs40?feature=share Thank you for listening! Make sure to rate, review, and subscribe to help us grow this community! Follow on Instagram, and learn more at adventisthoops.com.

Episodes 33 - All-American Media Team Debrief - Behind the scenes capturing this historic event in photos, highlights, and a documentary film

Recent graduate of Portland Adventist Academy, Dane Petersen, and incoming junior at Mile High Academy, Addy Dodds, join the show to talk about their experience at the first-ever AdventistHoops All-American Weekend. The group discusses their overall experience at the July 31-August 2 weekend, the specifics of the schedule on Thursday and Friday, and analyze the all-star festivities on Saturday night. The athletes share what it was like staying at La Sierra University, learning from our Adventist college coaches, uncovering strategies from sports psychologists, and playing with other high-level Adventist athletes. The two also talked about how important the event was to them personally and how supported they felt from the Adventist community during these historic national Adventist high school all-star games. If you didn’t get a chance to watch the All-American Saturday night, you can watch on the AdventistHoops YouTube channel: https://youtube.com/live/GDHO86CEs40?feature=share Thank you for listening! Make sure to rate, review, and subscribe to help us grow this community! Follow on Instagram, and learn more at adventisthoops.com.

Episode 32 - All-American Weekend Debrief - Dane Petersen and Addy Dodds

After seeing how his Sabbath observance was honored in high school in Canada, and the potential he saw in Adventist youth around him as an adult, Aldin and his wife started the Basketball Factory in Calgary, Alberta. Their club teams play in high level tournaments across the country, maintain an Adventist code of conduct, and don’t play on the Sabbath. Aldin talks about the logistics of running traveling teams, the openness of tournament organizers to schedule games around the Sabbath, and the opportunities he’s seen to witness. He explains the club’s annual schedule, and many Adventist families’ concern that playing basketball will eventually lead to compromising on the Sabbath. Aldin opens up about his university career, explaining why he ended up playing on the Sabbath, and why he quit basketball because of it after his second season. Now he encourages Adventist youth to give God the chance to honor their Sabbath decision. The guys speculate on what it would be like for an Adventist to play in the NBA and how an Adventist Division 1 college would manage playing around the Sabbath. Aldin leaves listeners with advice on how more people could start their own Adventist clubs. Thank you for listening! Make sure to rate, review, and subscribe to help us grow this community! Follow on Instagram, and learn more at adventisthoops.com.

Episode 31 - Aldin Smalling of Basketball Factory - Club basketball in Canada and the personal struggle of playing on Sabbath in university

Pastor Willis shares how he was inspired to create the Northeast Stingers basketball club through his church in North Carolina, and how it’s grown to include multiple age groups and out-of-state tournaments. Head Coach Reggie Todd shares how they fill their schedule, some of the challegnges of coaching a club, and how the experience has benefitted the kids as athletes and young men. They share their 2025 experience at the Newmyer Classic at Andrews University, how they’ve secured funding for their travels, and advice for others out there who see a need to give Adventist kids more experience. Reggie also shares his experience as a top prospect in South Carolina as a Sabbath-observing Adventist. He went on to play Division 1 basketball for East Tennessee State University, in a program that was supportive of his beliefs. Thank you for listening! Make sure to rate, review, and subscribe to help us grow this community! Follow on Instagram, and learn more at adventisthoops.com.

Episode 30 - Evan Willis & Reggie Todd - Adventist travel club basketball and playing D1 without compromising Sabbath

Carla shares her basketball journey, from her early days in Maryland playing at&nbsp;Beltsville Adventist School, to a storied high school career at Mesa Grande Academy in California, followed by a challenging college campaign at Pacific Union College. She recounts the horrific, seemingly random shooting she fell victim to while living in Florida that resulted in a spinal cord injury, leaving her in a wheelchair. She describes the feeling of loss, how her life changed, and her journey back to the court as an assistant for the Forest Lake Academy girls. She talks about the&nbsp;practical realities of coaching in a wheelchair, like&nbsp;teaching with words only, instead of being able to physically demonstrate skills. Carla concludes by talking about the 2024-2025 Forest Lake team that made it to the championship game of the Andrews tournament, including some of their leaders. Thank you for listening! Make sure to rate, review, and subscribe to help us grow this community! Follow on Instagram, and learn more at adventisthoops.com.

Episode 29 - Carla Monnier - A driveby shooting changed her life forever, but she’s reconnected with her basketball past as an assistant for the Forest Lake Academy girls

The founder of a new company called “Advent Sports” talks about his basketball journey from a small Adventist school in Oregon to playing college ball at Union College (now Union Adventist University), coaching at Campion Academy in Colorado, and eventually serving as an assistant for the women’s team at Walla Walla University (WWU). The guys discuss the ideal number of weekly basketball activities for high school players and how that differs in college, and Caleb talks about how a growing number of Adventist colleges are prioritizing athletics by finding outside money and gaining community support. He explains how his love for Adventist basketball ties back to the common foundation of faith that allows us to have such unique experiences like our Adventist tournaments, and reflects on the leadership and mentorship of WWU head coach Tony Nakashima.&nbsp; Caleb recalls the origins of Advent Sports, and the goal of equipping Adventist youth with more skill and providing connections to Adventist college coaches. The guys talk about how taking action in starting something can show people what is possible, how the denomination could invest in Adventist sports to grow our reach and brand, and how Adventist youth are demanding change by shooting for higher athletic achievement than past generations. Check out Advent Sports at www.advent-sports.com. Thank you for listening! Make sure to rate, review, and subscribe to help us grow this community! Follow on Instagram, and learn more at adventisthoops.com.

Episode 28 - Caleb Allen - Advent Sports

Celebrating the people and programs of Seventh-day Adventist basketball.