ALTOONA, Pa. -- Former Pitt star and most recently Duquesne Director of Player Development Ashton Gibbs has been a major part of the Pittsburgh basketball scene since leading the Panthers to three NCAA tournament appearances from 2008-2012.
Now, he'll be giving back to the basketball community in Pittsburgh in a different way, by running the Mindset Sports Academy which is a basketball facility that focuses on the physical game, but also the mental game. Gibbs will be utilizing the tools bestowed to him and his two brothers that allowed them to all play Division 1 basketball.
"My brothers and I all played major Division 1 basketball. I played at Pitt, my middle brother played at Texas, Seton Hall and UConn. And then my youngest brother just graduated from Notre Dame University," Gibbs said. "The biggest thing that my dad really instilled in all three of us was a strong mindset."
Coaching has always been in Gibbs' blood his father coached both he and his brothers as they rose through the ranks and when the opportunity came for Gibbs to coach at Duquesne, he took it.
"I knew I was going to coach, I always just had an itch to coach, I just had a successful playing career," Gibbs said. "And when the opportunity arose to play to actually coach at Duquesne, I mean, I took advantage of it. And it was a great opportunity to coach and coach Keith Dambrot, and those guys, and then I learned so much."
Now, Gibbs is transitioning what he learned coaching at Duquesne and in his playing career in to Mindset Sports Academy. The opportunity to start Mindset came after Gibbs stepped down at Duquesne in April to accept the head coach position at the Phelps School, a prep academy in Malvern, Pa.
"I'm just taking it all with me now and putting it into my facility. They gave me a great mentality in terms of coaching approach on how to attack every single day and ways to get players better," Gibbs said. "And this is my way of just giving back, especially to the Pittsburgh community, I had a lot of successful years here in Pittsburgh that I'll never forget. So it's a great opportunity to give back to the community to do something I love."
The facility is located in the Pittsburgh Mills Mall which is a peculiar spot for a basketball facility, though Gibbs loves its location and the uniqueness of it.
"It's in a unique area just because you have people that just walk past it and just watch kids train every single day, but it's a great opportunity that I didn't want to pass up," Gibbs said. "And at the end of the day, like I'm doing something that I love, and I have a lot of key people with me, I have a couple couple of other trainers as well, that are coaching at a high level. And we're all just trying to give back to the community."
The performance of Gibbs while at Pitt helped land Gibbs with USA Basketball and its Under-19 team which won a FIBA gold medal. Gibbs was able to play alongside players such as current NBA stars Klay Thompson, Draymond Green and Seth Curry while on the squad. Being teammates with that group plus some others allowed Gibbs to witness their work ethic and how they went about their business up close which has also aided in what he's trying to accomplish with the Mindset Sport Academy.
"I was fortunate enough to play on the USA Basketball team with guys like Klay Thompson, Seth Curry, Draymond Green, these guys that play that NBA superstars, and I was able to see their mentality, their approach to the game, their approach to practice every day," Gibbs said.
The pedigree is certainly there for Gibbs on this endeavor, but it will ultimately be the approach to the mental side of basketball that sets it apart from the other academies similar around the area.
"The mental game is huge. And I think that's the ultimate separator when you go to every level, whether it's high school, college, or even the pros," Gibbs said. "Most people can shoot the ball at a high level, most people can dribble most people can pass. The biggest thing is, once things go bad within a game situation, do you do you sulk? Or do you stay positive? Do you continue to have a strong mindset?"
Teaching the appropriate mindset is difficult at any age regardless of the sport or the skill level, but Gibbs feels the Mindset Sports Academy is more than capable of teaching it and doing so in a way that keeps the attention of the athletes. The focus is to keep those players focused in the moment according to Gibbs.
"It's tough, just because a lot of kids don't realize it at first that they're looking at the present instead of looking at the future," Gibbs said. "And in the scheme of things like letting one mistake affect the next completely changes. You know, again, if you stay even keel, you don't let one turnover turn into two turnovers, three turnovers. It completely changes your outlook and your approach. And ultimately, it changes the results and your career."
The end goal for Gibbs is to help his players succeed both at their current level and the next level in hopes they return to give back just like Gibbs has done in Pittsburgh. Along the way, Gibbs will be watching and instructing, but making sure there will be progress and happy basketball players taking part in what the Mindset Sports Academy has to offer.
"At the end of the day, everybody wants to progress and anybody that's a basketball player, this is a great way to improve your game, not only on the court, but off, Gibbs said. "To strengthen your mindset is a big thing. I think a strong mindset takes precedent in everyday life, whatever field you go into, you have to have that strong mentality to get through the ups and downs."
