meet the coach

Ali Ton, Executive Director

ali ton, executive director

Championship coach and former player with proven track record of national and international recruiting, player development, community engagement and overall program leadership.  Coach Ton has had great success developing point guards, as well as teaching European and American fundamentals.

As both a student-athlete and coach at Davidson College, Ton received an outstanding education and life experiences that shaped his life. The Davidson team lived by the code of “Trust, Commitment, Care” and those ethical foundations have carried over into his professional life. Ton believes in the importance of developing, nurturing, and empowering student-athletes. It is the most important responsibility for any coaching staff.

Before Davidson College, Ton attended Los Alamitos High School in Southern California. He earned the honors of All-CIF and MVP of the Sunset League in 1995. Prior to starting his coaching career, he played professional basketball in Turkey for four years. In his final year of pro ball, he was a member of Galatasaray, one of the largest athletic clubs in the world. 

COACHING EXPERIENCE

  • 15 Years of NCAA D1 coaching experience
  • Coached with Turkish and Azerbaijan National Teams
  • Coached in 2 NCAA Tournaments

PLAYER DEVELOPMENT AND INTERNATIONAL RECRUITING

  • Recruited players from 13 different countries to play college basketball in the US
  • Recruited and coached 3 Most Valuable Players NCAA D1 Conferences
  • Developed 3 D1 point guards who finished their careers as all-time assists leaders in
    their colleges.

PLAYING EXPERIENCE

  • Played in an NCAA Tournament
  • All-time assists leader at both Davidson College and Los Alamitos HS
  • 4 Years of professional basketball experience as a player

Jessica Anderson, Director of performance

I have worked with collegiate teams, as well as professional athletes for the past 12 years in the performance realm. I started my strength and conditioning career at Grand Canyon University, where I worked with both basketball teams, as well as baseball, softball, and tennis. In 2015, I started working at University of California, San Diego. At UCSD, I worked with basketballs, tennis, cross country, men’s volleyball, golf, and fencing. Before becoming a collegiate performance coach, I was an assistant basketball coach at Northwest Nazarene University and then Grand Canyon University.

As a kid, I used to go on runs each night with my dad and so I learned to love running and it was never seen as a punishment to me. This helped me as an athlete because I learned to love hard work and often enjoyed the more challenging drills and exercises that most athletes tended to dread. This fueled a passion for my career and I have always taken joy in finding ways to help others learn how to enjoy the hard work that is required to be a successful athlete.

I played at Big Bend Community College for 2 years, prior to attending and playing at Northwest Nazarene University. I was inducted into the inaugural Hall of Fame Class at Big Bend in 2018. After playing at Northwest Nazarene University, I played in Slovakia and Honduras, as well as for USA Elite in Greensboro, NC.

Championship coach and former player with proven track record of national and international recruiting, player development, community engagement and overall program leadership.  Coach Ton has had great success developing point guards, as well as teaching European and American fundamentals.

As both a student-athlete and coach at Davidson College, Ton received an outstanding education and life experiences that shaped his life. The Davidson team lived by the code of “Trust, Commitment, Care” and those ethical foundations have carried over into his professional life. Ton believes in the importance of developing, nurturing, and empowering student-athletes. It is the most important responsibility for any coaching staff.

Before Davidson College, Ton attended Los Alamitos High School in Southern California. He earned the honors of All-CIF and MVP of the Sunset League in 1995. Prior to starting his coaching career, he played professional basketball in Turkey for four years. In his final year of pro ball, he was a member of Galatasaray, one of the largest athletic clubs in the world. 

COACHING EXPERIENCE

  • 15 Years of NCAA D1 coaching experience
  • Coached with Turkish and Azerbaijan National Teams
  • Coached in 2 NCAA Tournaments

PLAYER DEVELOPMENT AND INTERNATIONAL RECRUITING

  • Recruited players from 13 different countries to play college basketball in the US
  • Recruited and coached 3 Most Valuable Players NCAA D1 Conferences
  • Developed 3 D1 point guards who finished their careers as all-time assists leaders in
    their colleges.

PLAYING EXPERIENCE

  • Played in an NCAA Tournament
  • All-time assists leader at both Davidson College and Los Alamitos HS
  • 4 Years of professional basketball experience as a player

JESSICA ANDERSON,  DIRECTOR OF PERFORMANCE

I have worked with collegiate teams, as well as professional athletes for the past 12 years in the performance realm. I started my strength and conditioning career at Grand Canyon University, where I worked with both basketball teams, as well as baseball, softball, and tennis. In 2015, I started working at University of California, San Diego. At UCSD, I worked with basketballs, tennis, cross country, men’s volleyball, golf, and fencing. Before becoming a collegiate performance coach, I was an assistant basketball coach at Northwest Nazarene University and then Grand Canyon University.

As a kid, I used to go on runs each night with my dad and so I learned to love running and it was never seen as a punishment to me. This helped me as an athlete because I learned to love hard work and often enjoyed the more challenging drills and exercises that most athletes tended to dread. This fueled a passion for my career and I have always taken joy in finding ways to help others learn how to enjoy the hard work that is required to be a successful athlete.

I played at Big Bend Community College for 2 years, prior to attending and playing at Northwest Nazarene University. I was inducted into the inaugural Hall of Fame Class at Big Bend in 2018. After playing at Northwest Nazarene University, I played in Slovakia and Honduras, as well as for USA Elite in Greensboro, NC.

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