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RPN Meets Vision Driven Basketball: The Ethan Khoza Interview (State College, PA)

 

STATE COLLEGE, PA -- After a couple of weeks away from a laptop, the RPN guy is officially back. Being part time now comes with a lot of benefits. More gym time, time to read and experiment with other activities, but I have returned back to put y'all on somebody new. Now the talent and network that I bring along is serious, so please respect the work that the young man has put in, but remember that, “Vision without action is a day dream, but action without vision is a nightmare.” Without further ado, here is Ethan Khoza.

Khoza is a basketball coach and content creator from State College, Pennsylvania. He's the founder of Vision Driven Basketball LLC, while he also serves as the Head Junior Varsity and Assistant Varsity coach of the Central Mountain Wildcats basketball program who went 24-3 to capture a Pennsylvania Heartland Athletic Conference (PHAC) title, District 6 5A championship and 5A state tournament birth. Khoza's work with Vision Driven Basketball focuses on live and online player development training that creates live game habits, while having the necessary tools to maximize their potential to thrive on and off the court. Serving as the head of Vision Driven Basketball since 2019, Khoza has amassed an audience of over 60,000 though his YouTube channel and Instagram page, and has helped players among RPN talent Jordyn Steindl and Hayden Pardoe, the youth level, high school, collegiate across all levels and in the pro's.

Having knowledge of Ethan and Vision Driven Basketball, he does a lot of great things for his community. It isn't everyday that you see someone selflessly giving up their own time to help the young. I know it sounds cliche as there are millions of other basketball trainers in 2023, but working in a small pool while making an impact inside of four years, only a few can have a strong influence in the basketball community. A lot of people have their doubts on the next generation changing things for the better, as I've experienced that myself in culture, but Khoza is continuing to showcase that you can set yourself up to do anything with class, creativity and leadership.

Did Khoza ever envision himself doing a RPN interview? Times have changed.

I caught up with Vision Driven founder on the creation of his program, coaching experience and plans for the future.

Ethan Khoza Interview

When did you first start your journey?

  • "I grew up in State College. Where Penn State University is. I’ve always loved basketball, and it was pretty much all I cared about as a kid. Funny enough up until high school, when the wins actually meant something, my favorite part of the season was the end of it because it meant that I’d get to plan out my workouts for the offseason. So even back then, I loved the development process, and everything that went into getting better. I played at Saint Joe's in Boalsburg my last two years of high school, and had a good career there. Long story short, I ended up taking a year off after high school as I was looking for a place to play."
  • "As I was doing that," He continued. "I had a couple parents ask me to train their kids, so I did. That kind of got things started. Then, I had someone suggest that I start posting content online, which it advanced it farther. I officially started Vision Driven Basketball in the summer of 2019. At that point, I decided to pass on the college basketball opportunities I had because as much as I love playing, I’ve always loved the process of development more, and I knew that this was what I ultimately wanted to do. Since then I’ve been fortunate to work with hundreds of players and connect with thousands more online."

Describe the process behind your work.

  • "I train in person in the State College area, but I have players from Bellefonte, Lewistown, Lock Haven, Phillipsburg, Altoona, and other surrounding areas as well that come to work with me. I also do a lot when it comes to the online space. I have a YouTube channel where I post film breakdowns, workouts, and my podcast. As of right now I have a little more than 60,000 subscribers. I also have an online platform that has my online basketball training programs. Through those two things I’ve been able to reach thousands of players across the world. When I started Vision Driven Basketball, my goal was to create content that would have helped me as a young basketball player. Everything I do, I view through that lens, and I think that’s been something that’s helped me continue to grow."

How has Vision Basketball been doing this year?

  • "This year has been awesome! I’ve really been focusing a ton on the online side of things with my business. I launched a new ball handling program in July, and I’ve really been focusing a ton on providing as much value as possible on YouTube. I’ve seen a ton of growth which is awesome."
  • "I think one of the most rewarding things is seeing the work my players have been putting in for years come to fruition. I just had a high school player from Illinois who is one of the first players to use one of my online programs, over 3 years ago, tell me about the college he’s likely going to commit to. I’m watching some of the players I train in person making jumps to the next stages of their careers as well. Getting to see some of those full circle moments to me is one of the best parts of being a few years into all of this. I’ve seen it a lot in 2023, but still have a few months left so I’m excited for what’s to come!"

Having players in your program such as Lycoming freshman, Hayden Pardoe, Western Reserve’s Jordyn Steindl and even younger brother, Cam Khoza, you have help build upon a group of talent in a small pond. Overall, discuss the players you have come across and talk about their ceiling.

  • "I’ve been very fortunate to have gotten the chance to help develop some really talented players in the area. Being from Central PA, people will immediately discount you because it’s not Pittsburgh or Philly. You have to earn every ounce of respect from the outside world when it comes to your ability to play. But I’ve definitely got some players who you can put in gyms in any city and they’ll immediately earn everyone’s respect."
  • "I got to coach Hayden for three years at Central Mountain. He’s so unguardable that you won't be able to find in any other player in this part of the state. Very few people want it as badly as he does, he’s obsessed with getting better, which is why he makes massive jumps every year that very few players do. The part of his story that a lot of people don’t know is that he didn’t get moved up as a freshman, or a sophomore. His response to that was to work harder and figure it out. Despite only playing two years of varsity for us, he’s become one of the most decorated players in school history, and his senior season was statistically one of the best ever. He’s one of the best to ever put on a CM jersey. Despite the success he’s had, he continues to work like the kid who didn’t get moved up in his first two years. He’s going to have a fantastic career at Lycoming."
  • "Jordyn is one of the most talented high school players I’ve ever been around. I might sound biased, but I don’t think there was a better shot maker in the state of Pennsylvania last season. I’ll put her film up against anybody else’s. And much like Hayden, she works as if she hasn’t accomplished anything yet. She’s an absolute dawg. There’s not many players out there who can handle the pressure, and expectations that I’ve watched her handle the last two years. She’s a winner and wherever she goes they’re going to win. I’ve watched her make massive strides every year because of how much she loves the work that goes into it. She continues to set goals and crosses them off. If she puts her mind to it, it’s going to happen. I’m super proud of her, and she’s going to be great at Western Reserve."
  • "Getting to watch my brother Cam’s success at Scranton has been awesome. His team was No.1 in the country last year in three point percentage, and Cam was the leader in three point percentage on the team. He’s a gifted shooter, high level competitor, and he’s put in the work to take another step forward this coming season. All he knows is winning. He’s only been a part of teams that won 20 plus games his entire high school and college career, and he has the intangibles that only players who win have. To see him win the conference last year, get a chance to play in the NCAA tournament, and perform on a national stage was amazing. I’m excited to see what he accomplishes over the next two years."
  • "Carley Donnell and Diana Tsarnakova are both going to have fantastic senior seasons at State College. Both are four year starters, and have a lot of ability. I work with some elite level shooters, but Carley is up there with any one of them. She’s the definition of a gifted shooter, and she’s continued to add to her game. Diana is a phenomenal athlete, and she’s shooting the ball at a high level right now as well. She’s someone who I think every D3 school in the region should be fighting for because she’s a long, athletic guard who can handle the ball, defend 1-4 at a high level, and knock down perimeter shots. She'll make any team better and she’s going to be a big get for someone."
  • "Outside of those five, I’ve got a few younger players who I think are going to be really good, but they’ve got to prove themselves first before I give them any credit. 

We all have our role as media, but during our down time we love to follow different teams across the country. Walk me through who your favorite teams are.
  • "Honestly I just love watching good basketball. I’m a Boston Celtics fan because I’m from Massachusetts and I really get into it when the playoffs start, but at the end of the day I just love watching good players play. My favorite guys to watch at the moment are Luka Doncic, Steph Curry, CJ McCollum, and Jalen Brunson. I also spend so much time breaking down the game whether it be in season, for a YouTube video, or just to try and learn that I can to find things to appreciate with pretty much every high level player I watch."

Having a mind like yours works well from the sideline as you’re an assistant at Central Mountain High School. Talk about your experience as a high school assistant.

  • "Coaching at Central Mountain has been amazing. This past year was year four, and we’ve been fortunate to win back to back district titles and playing in another one. I love the development process, and there’s no better way to do that than through a program IF it’s one where development is prioritized. Our head coach, Tyler Bardo, is also a development focused guy. He’s a trainer as well and he knows player development and the game of basketball extremely well. He and I approach things the same way and we speak the same language when it comes to player development so it’s a great situation. We’re super analytical and we track a lot of things throughout the season and in a lot of ways we operate similar to how a college program would. We are also extremely player centric in terms of what our offense looks like and we equip our guys to understand how to play the game and be a problem solver."
  • "I think we do things differently than a lot of other programs. It's hard because it takes time and work to build a solid foundation, but I think it’s a big reason why we’ve been able to see the success that we have. It also helps that we’ve had some really talented players over the past few years. I think every trainer out there should get some experience coaching with a team, especially at the varsity or collegiate level. I’ve experienced first hand the impact that it has on how I view player development, and it’s shifted a lot of my approach when it comes to training players."

From going into training sessions, you introduce a lot of techniques and methods when breaking down ways to hoop in drills. Testing your memory here, hearing or seeing a response from players, what would you say are their favorite drills, then their least favorite in ways of which a lot struggle with at first?
  • "Without getting too far into the science of skill building, my whole approach is to make my players fail in our workouts. I tell the great shooters I work with that my goal everyday I see them walk into the gym is to make them miss shots. Jordyn, Cam, and Hayden can confirm this *laughs*. If I don’t do a great job of challenging them then I didn’t hold up my end of things. So a lot of what we do is manipulated to induce more struggle and mistakes because learning only happens when mistakes are present."
  • "Specifically though, we do a lot of things that you won’t see in almost any other gym you walk into. We work on threes with weird or 'bad' footwork, we practice shooting with different shot pockets, a ton of shooting off of bad passes, shooting at different speeds and arcs, and practice one legged threes a lot. We almost never shoot the exact same shot twice in a row at all in workouts, and there’s probably a couple dozen other weird constraints as well that we use. People might look at that and say, 'Well when do you ever do that in a game?'. My response to that is that I can pull out a hundred clips of that exact thing happening in a game and show them. The film doesn’t lie. Many times people make assumptions about what a skill is “supposed” to look like. But if you look at the film of said skill actually happening in a game, it’s not what they think."
  • "I want my players to be experts. Experts can adapt to any situation and still be successful. Their momentum could be wild, their footwork could be way off, they might not cleanly catch the ball, they might be facing the wrong way, they might have a defender in their face, it doesn’t matter an expert will make the shot anyway. The only way to become that is to expose players to those challenges, get them to a point where they can succeed despite those imperfections working against them, and then they’ll be prepared to play at a high level in a game that demands the ability to be adaptable. You have to be able to figure it out or else you will get exposed."

From what we all know, you are one of the younger minds in the industry right now. How does that help you make connections, while being a good influence on today’s high school athlete?

  • "I think being young is a great thing because I connect with the players I work with over so many things. For the college players I work with, we’re pretty much the same age, so that’s easy. Even with the high school players, we listen to the same music, we see the same things on Instagram, and since I was in their shoes not too long ago it’s easy for me to relate to the things they have going on."
  • "I had a lot of the same teachers as the kids from State College that I train, and we know a lot of the same people. I think building good relationships is by far the most important thing if you want to help your players get better. Progress is only going to come when there’s buy in, and buy in comes through building trust. Getting to know players outside of just basketball I think is a must. It’s also by far my favorite aspect of training. It’s easy to talk about the new Drake or Travis Scott album, a new movie or one of the million inside jokes I feel like I’m a part of now. I embrace it, and it’s what makes being in the gym everyday so much fun."

Who would you consider your role models and why? 

  • "There’s so many people that I take inspiration from, and even more people who have helped me get to where I’m at. My parents are definitely people that I look up to as role models. I appreciate the things they’ve taught me."

Thank you for joining me Ethan. Do you have any words of encouragement, or motivation? Any last words?

  • "Thanks for having me my guy! The advice I’ll leave everyone with is to do what you want to do, and forget what others might think. First of all, nobody is actually thinking about you. They’re too worried about their own problems. The worst thing you can do is hold yourself back by changing to fit the narrative that others lay out for you. Do what you want to do, and chase after what you want to chase. At the end of the day it’s your life, and you’re the one who has to live it. If you truly obsess over achieving something, you will find a way to do it. Always."

Khoza working out younger brother, Cameron Khoza at C3 Sports in State College.

From left to right: Evan Gramley, Ethan Khoza, Parker Thurley, and Spencer Neilson.

Khoza pictured with Western Reserve Academy player and Division 1 recruit, Jordyn Steindl breaking down film during a session.

2022-2023 Central Mountain Wildcats basketball team


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Location: State College, PA, USA

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