Mentorship Program
While I made my living as a coach, I have lived my life to be a mentor - and to be mentored - constantly! Everything in the world has been passed down. Every piece of knowledge is something that has been shared by someone else.
If you understand it as I do, mentoring becomes your true legacy. It is the greatest inheritance you can give to others. It is why you get up every day - to teach and be taught. - Coach John Wooden
Compass Basketball's Mentorship Program is part of the Compass Advantage. It's foundation is in giving back. Our athletes will engage in Community Service events, and our Mentors, former players and business leaders, will share their expertise with our athletes through one-on-one pairings and at Life Skills Sessions and professional development events.
Mentors
Alaa Abdelnaby - Duke University'90
Abdelnaby was selected with the 25th pick of the 1990 NBA draft and spent five years in the league. After leaving the NBA, Abdelnaby played internationally and in the CBA. He is currently the color analyst for the Philadelphia 76ers, a CBS Sports Network college basketball in-studio analyst, and provides color commentary for on-site NCAA basketball games. Abdelnaby also does color commentary for Westwood One Radio.
Elijah Allen - FDU '98
As a senior Allen led the Knights to a 23-7 record including an NEC Championship and berth to the NCAA Tournament. Earned First Team All-Conference and All-NEC Tournament accolades. Inducted into the FDU Hall of Fame in 2008. Attended St. Benedict's Prep in Newark, NJ. High School Coach for 15 years. Won 2 Essex County Titles, 3 State Titles, 6 Sectionals and Essex County Coach of the Year twice at University High School. Currently works at Newark Board of Education.
Andre Barrett - Seton Hall University '04
A two-time All-BIG EAST selection and 2004 Haggerty Award recipient at Seton Hall, Barrett is on the top 10 all-time scoring list with over 1,800 career points, ranks second in career assists, and also is in the top 10 in steals. In 2004, he guided his team to an NCAA Tournament appearance and a come-from-behind victory over Arizona in the first round. A four-time All-Met performer, he's one of only two players in Seton Hall history with over 1,000 career points, 400 rebounds and 400 assists. He represented USA Basketball the 2003 Pan American Games prior to his 14-year professional career with stops in the NBA, G League, and overseas. Currently works in Basketball Operations at the NBA League Office as Youth Basketball Program Manager.
Quincy Douby - Rutgers University '06
Quincy Douby scored 1,690 points, the sixth-highest total in Rutgers men's basketball history, in three seasons in Piscataway. The Brooklyn native averaged 25.4 points per-game as a junior in 2005-06, setting the school record for points in a season (839), to lead the league in scoring en route to becoming RU's only First Team All-Big East Conference selection. Douby is among the Rutgers career leaders in every offensive category.
Douby was selected with the 19th pick in the first round of the 2006 NBA Draft by Sacramento and played three seasons in the NBA with the Kings and Toronto Raptors before pursuing a successful career on the hardwood overseas, retiring in 2019 to finish his degree and embark on a coaching career.
Randy Foye - Villanova University '06
Attended East Side High School in Newark, where he was selected as New Jersey Player of the Year before being recruited by Villanova where he was a consensus first-team All-American and Big East Player of the Year in 2006. He was selected seventh overall in the 2006 NBA draft and spent 11 years in the league.
Founder of the Randy Foye Foundation which raises funds and develops programs and projects aimed directly at improving the lives of the people, especially the kids, of Newark, and current NBA analyst for the YES Network.
Jason Fraser - Villanova University '06
McDonald's All-American out of Amityville Memorial High School in NY. Played professionally in New Zealand and for the Harlem Globetrotters. Subsequently served as Director of Student Athlete Development for Men's Basketball at Villanova, Assistant Coach of the Austin Spurs, and Player Development Assistant at the Phoenix Suns. Currently Head of Basketball Operations / Varsity Head Coach / Behavioral Interventionalist at Skyline Education, and Assistant Athletic Director at Skyline Preparatory High School.
Todd Palmer - University of Notre Dame '00, Captain 1999-2000 season
All-time leading scorer at Don Bosco Prep in Ramsey, NJ, graduated in 1996, played for Dennis Gregory (3 years) and Kevin Diverio (1 year), and also the all time leading scorer in the now-defunct NNJIL. Top 100 recruit nationally. Played for former Knicks, Mavericks, and Suns coach John Macleod for 3 years and former North Carolina Tar Heel National Championship player and coach Matt Doherty. Majored in Accounting and Computer Applications.
Career after playing basketball: Taught and coached at St. Anthony for 3 years with Coach Bob Hurley. Subsequently a Proprietary Equity Trader for Lynx Capital partners for 6 years. Since 2011, working at Annaly Capital (publicly traded mortgage REIT) on their Agency MBS desk since 2014, and prior to that at their wholly owned broker-dealer Arcola Securities.
Ron Simpson - Rider University '88
Attended Immaculate Conception High School, Montclair, NJ. He played collegiate basketball at Adelphi University (1983) and Rider University (1984-88). Member of the Immaculate Conception High School & Rider University Hall of Fame, and now part of the Hall of Fame Selection Committee at each institution. In September 2018, he was inducted into Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference (MAAC) Honor Role for his career at Rider.
Career after playing basketball: NJ Division of Criminal Justice, Office of the Attorney General, retired as Sergeant. High School Basketball Coach for 24 Years, 10 as Head Coach, and 3 years as an Assistant College Coach. Currently CEO of the South Jersey Titans AAU Organization and Athletic Coordinator for Robbinsville Township, NJ.
Jaren Sina – George Washington University '17
Jaren Sina was three-time All-State guard who scored 2,146 points, breaking the all-time scoring record, and handed out 861 assists at Gill St. Bernard’s School. Also was a four-star recruit who ranked in the top-100 nationally in the 2013 class by ESPN.com. He was three-time Somerset County Player of the Year who helped transform Gill St. Bernard’s into a national powerhouse.
Jaren went on to play in the Big East conference for Seton Hall University. In his freshman year he was selected to the Big East All Rookie team, while being ranked in the top 10 in the conference for three-point point shooting percentage. Sina was a two year starter for Seton Hall, then finishing up his remaining eligibility at George Washington University. For the Colonials, Sina ranked in the top 10 in the Atlantic Conference in three point field goals made, three point field goal percentage, and assist to ratio percentage.
He continued his basketball career in Europe, while being named a starter for the Kosovo national team. He competed in the 2017 European qualifiers, World Cup qualifiers in 2018, and played professionally in Estonia, France, Austria, and Poland. Sina’s main goal now is to focus on his youth basketball academy, and help develop talent throughout the state of New Jersey.
Dave Sobolewski – Northwestern University '15, Captain 2013-14 and 2014-15 seasons
A McDonald’s All-American nominee coming out of Benet Academy (Lisle, IL) where his team was ranked in the top 10 nationally by USA Today, Dave was the starting point guard at Northwestern University in the Big Ten from the day he got on campus in Evanston. As a Freshman, Dave led the country in assist-to-turnover ratio, and was one of 5 players elected to the Big Ten All-Freshman Team. Dave started the first ~100 games of his collegiate career, averaging 35.2 minutes per game as a Freshman and 34.8 minutes per game as a Sophomore. Dave was an Academic All-Big Ten honorees several times in his collegiate career, and a two-time team captain at Northwestern.
Career after playing basketball: Dave has excelled in his profession in finance. He is a Chartered Financial Analyst (“CFA”) charter holder and recently completed his MBA at Northwestern’s Kellogg School of Management. Dave works in the hedge fund industry, and was made a Partner of the ~$4 billion dollar hedge fund at the age of 27.