The DR32 Basketball Club was started in 2018 by Coach Sam Rizzo, who is also the Owner and General Manager of All-American Basketball Academy. The goal was to utilize the expertise of AABA's best selling basketball programs in the area and to give players in the area another choice to use a program that was free of volunteer mom/dad coaches and decision makers which always lead to that clique and drama experience. At AABA and our DR32 Basketball Program (travel basketball teams) we only use coaches with at least 15 or more years of COACHING EXPERIENCE!
With the emphasis of “Go the Extra Mile” in all those associated as players, board, players, each season the players of the DR32 Basketball not only receive a high-level basketball experience, but they also learn the value of community as all club members work with and help local charities. We take what we teach serious for young athletes both on and off the court. We do this to honor the memory of our club namesake, a beloved life-long Lemont resident by the name of Danny Rizzo. Danny, who was also a member of the 2016 Lemont High School state championship team, was known by peers for his mantra of “Go the extra mile” in everyday items and especially when helping others. Danny’s #32 jersey was retired by the Lemont HS in 2019.
Danny’s God-Father and co-founder of All-American basketball Academy, Coach Sam Rizzo who has over 25 years of coaching experience recognized a big need for a basketball club in the Lemont, IL, area without drama, politics, and volunteer parent coaches. It was just after Danny’s passing he decided to honor Danny’s memory by starting such a travel basketball program where he could work with kids that could stay with a single team from 3rd grade thru high school! Therefore, the DR32 Basketball Club was born. In recent years we have started teams in Lemont, Lockport, Skokie, and coming in Spring of 2022 both Rockford and Milwaukee, WI. To learn even more about the background story, click on the link below (“WHY US?”)
What are the top things that set us apart for other local clubs?
- Coach Sam is not only a coach for DR32, ensuring all teams run the same offense, defense, and have the same qualities parents love, but also co-founded All-American Basketball Academy which has been running top quality basketball programs in over 18 cities, 5 states, and recently into Canada. Everything started in Lemont in 2007, where we have had the top-selling programs at the Lemont Park District for 15 years! ALL PLAYERS ACTUALLY WORK WITH US YEAR ROUND. Why play with a “club” that hires another club/training group to come in and coach the team except during games???
- With DR32 Basketball, we recruit and pay coaches with years of actual head coaching experience. USA Basketball and JR NBA also promote that when parents are paying for travel level basketball, players should have the individual time and attention that can only be done by experienced team coaches. ALL PLAYERS ACTUALLY WORK WITH US YEAR ROUND. Why play with a “club” that hires another club/training group to come in and coach the team except during games???
- WE PLAY MAN TO MAN DEFENSE (NO ZONE). USA Basketball, JR NBA, and the best youth coaching organizations agree that using Zone defense is a crutch for coaches that don't or can't teach good defense. See below for a link to more info on why you should RUN if a club does not insist that all teams and coaches use man to man defense! ALL PLAYERS ACTUALLY WORK WITH US YEAR ROUND. Why play with a “club” that hires another club/training group to come in and coach the team except during games???
- We run a MOTION OFFENSE system, ensuring kids learn to read the defense and know the game. Players that leave our programs can be confident when it is time for middle school, high school, and beyond that, they understand more of the game than most. If your team runs more than a few plays per game, they create robots, not players! ALL PLAYERS ACTUALLY WORK WITH US YEAR ROUND. Why play with a “club” that hires another club/training group to come in and coach the team except during games???
- We utilize video analysis several practices throughout a season to teach proper shooting techniques, proper footwork, layups with both hands, etc. We take the time to teach individual players, which can't be done if not using your own coaches to run practices. ALL PLAYERS ACTUALLY WORK WITH US YEAR ROUND. Why play with a “club” that hires another club/training group to come in and coach the team except during games???
- Because we don't have volunteer parents running things, we have been told repeatedly that we have none of the drama that can paralyze those clubs. Drama-free basketball! ALL PLAYERS ACTUALLY WORK WITH US YEAR ROUND. Why play with a “club” that hires another club/training group to come in and coach the team except during games???
- Our coaches run all of our own practices. We do not want to rely on outside groups coming in to run general skill drill training. Unfortunately, that is not the case with some area clubs who do not have the experience of our coaches. Practices and all training should be based on past performance, where a coach recognizes and works on individual and team weakness. This is another reason why we keep the cost lower than other organizations, while still holding the quality of the best-selling programs in the Lemont Area from All-American Basketball Academy!