Steve Williams – President and CEO
Coach Williams has experienced many levels of basketball, from playing on the high school varsity team as a freshman, to becoming a starter and competing at the highest level of college sports. Coach Williams previously coached at one of California’s Community College powerhouse programs Saddleback. He became a model student-athlete by listening to his coaches, and applying the fundamental skills he learned to lead his junior college team to an impressive 18-10 record in one of the most difficult regions in the country. His success both on the court and in the classroom, earned him a full ride scholarship the following year to the University of California Riverside, where he became the only team member to start every game that season. As a senior at UCR Steve became a team captain. Leading by example he proved that with hard work and determination he was more than capable of both competing and playing with some of the best players at the college level. He’s been a solid basketball player his entire career, averaging 15 points, 6 rebounds, and 3 assists in junior college, and 10 points, 5 rebounds, and 2 assists at the D1 level. As a student, he earned his A.A. with high honors and graduated from the University of California Riverside with a 3.0 grade point average.
The 6-5 Guard averaged 21.5 points, 12.5 rebounds and 6.0 assists per game for the week, as the Highlanders went to overtime in both contests.
In an 82-76 defeat to Long Beach State, Williams came up one assist shy of UCR’s first triple-double of the Division I era. Williams notched 13 points, 10 rebounds and nine assists against the 49ers in 39 minutes of play. He had the assist on the game-tying three at the end of regulation, which sent the game to overtime.
Williams then provided his second double-double with a career-high 30 points and a season-high 15 rebounds versus UC Davis in a 94-87 win. He made 10 of 15 from the field, including a perfect 5 of 5 on three-pointers. He also sank three free throws in the final 41 seconds to ice the game.
Jameel Mahmud – Vice President and Head Coach
While being raised in West Covina, CA, Jameel attended West Covina High School and played Varsity basketball since his sophomore year in high. While playing on varsity he led the team in scoring and assists each year while finishing his high school career with averages of 18 points, 5 assists, 5 rebounds and 3 steals a game. Jameel was also invited to the Nike summer camp which only the top 120 high school players in the United States were invited.
Jameel was given a scholarship to the University of Nevada Reno were he attended for 1 year before transferring to Colorado State University. While at CSU Jameel started his junior and senior seasons while leading the Western athletic conference in 3 pt fg % shooting 45%. In a game against Fresno State, Jameel lead the Rams to one of the best come from behind victories in school history. With the Rams down 15 points in the final 7 minutes, Jameel went on to score 22 points in the 2nd half and finish with a game high 26 to help seal the deal on a 80-79 victory for the Rams. Jameel was also named the team’s Most Inspirational Player and team MVP. Tied a tournament record for 3 point fg’s made in a single game with 8 and in the same game had a career high in points (30). He graduated from CSU in the top ten in 3 point fg made and 3 point fg %.
After graduating from Colorado State University, Jameel went on to play professional basketball in Serbia (Former Yugoslavia), where he averaged 16 points a game and lead the top Division with a 50% fg average from beyond the 3pt line.
Jameel is married to Darlene Mahmud and has 3 beautiful children, son Isaiah, daughters Kiani and Kira. Jameel and his family reside in Rancho Santa Margarita.
Brandon Holmes – Head Coach and Director of Academy, Training and Camps
Brandon Holmes graduated from Chaffey High School in 1998. Where he averaged 27.5 points and 8 rebounds a game. He then went to Chaffey Junior College and played for one year averaging 17 points a game which earned him a full ride scholarship to Texas Tech where he suffered a college career ending injury. After intense therapy and a full recovery Brandon then played in the American Basketball Association (ABA) and also played professionally overseas for teams in China and Puerto Rico. Coach Brandon’s last professional stop was playing with And 1 basketball until he had another MCL knee injury where he then retired. Coach Brandon is now a member of Team Nikos and loves that fact that he can give his knowledge and experience of the game of basketball to the youth.
Jennifer Holmes – Head Coach and Director of Marketing Communications and Social Media
Coach Jennifer started playing basketball at the age of 9. Her dedication and hard work helped her play Varsity Summer League while in 8th grade. She attended Ontario High School where she was Team Captain and started all 4 years on Varsity. She played all positions guard through center lead her team as point guard/shooting guard majority of the time. Averaging 25.2 ppg, 12.5 rbs, and 9.8 ast, and 5.7 stls. She was known and recognized as a solid fundamental player which includes shooting threat, clutch player, defensive threat and team player. She earned All-Mt. Baldy League First Team, All-CIF, various MVP awards, played in multiple Inland Empire All-Star Games. Graduated with Honors maintained 4.0 GPA which helped her earn a Full Athletic Scholarship to the University of California Riverside playing at Division 1 Level.
While at UCR she earned a starting position her Sophmore year and received Most Inspirational Player that same year. She was a solid role player averaging 10pts, 6rbs, 3 asts. During her collegiate experience they won The Big West Tournament and went on to The NCAA Tournament where they faced North Carolina. She increased her knowledge and passion for the game during her years playing at a high level with determination and her work ethics. She earned her BA Psychology degree in 2006.
After graduating she started a family and has been married to our very own Coach Brandon Holmes for 6 years now. They have 2 beautiful children Jennea and Brandon.
Prince Swafford – Head Coach and Coaches Director
Our very own Coach Prince is the son of legendary high school coach Derek Swafford, who holds the record for most wins in Sacramento High School history. He grew up playing AAU competitive basketball in the Sacramento area, starting at age 9. As a freshman, he was a varsity starter at Santa Barbara High School. He has been coaching youth atheletes ranging in ages from 6 to 16 in the Orange County area for nearly a decade. He currently resides in Mission Viejo with his wife Meghan, and children Prince Jr., Edan and Simone.
Michael Tolmaire – Head Coach and High School Program Director
Mike makes his return to coaching club basketball after taking a year off to focus on training guards to improve their ball handling skills.
Previously, he coached 3 years for the South County Spartans and Triple Threat Club Basketball in Mission Viejo.
Mike played college basketball at Concordia University in Irvine. He was a four-year letterman, who played for Coach Chad Kammer, current Miami Heat Assistant Coach. Mike graduated from Concordia with Bachelor’s degree in communications in 1997. He and his wife, Christi, have 4 children together. Their daughter, Sierra, attends Saddleback College, and their oldest son, Jonah, is a Junior at Saddleback Valley Christian. Their sons Isaiah and Trey currently play for Team Nikos.
Ariel Hall – Head Coach
Coach Ariel Hall was born and raised in Pomona, CA. During his high school career at Ganesha and Diamond Ranch High School, Coach Hall was twice named Honorable Mention – All Defense. After high school, Ariel followed his dreams by playing basketball at Mt. SAC Junior College in Walnut, CA. During Coach’s Sophomore year playing for the Mounties, the team finished 5th in the state of California, Hall averaged 13.5 points a game, and he was again given named Honorable Mention – All Defense. After completing Junior College, Coach received a scholarship to play basketball at Waldorf College in Forest City, IA. He spent his time playing both point guard and shooting guard for the Warriors. He also fulfilled another dream by graduating college with a Bachelor’s Degree in Education. After college, Coach Hall moved back to California where he became California Basketball Official Association (CBOA) certified. He began employment with PickUp USA Fitness as a Basketball Trainer. He also started his coaching career as the Head Coach for Powerhouse Basketball during the 2014 spring season. Hall’s goal as a coach is to teach his players that through hard work, anything is possible. He encourages his players to never give up and believes that the discipline and hard work learned in basketball can positively influence them in all areas of life.
Steven Conti – Head Coach
Coach Steven began playing competitive basketball in 2nd grade and he continued playing the game he loves through high school. He has experience coaching a wide range of kids’ ages and he
enjoys sharing his passion for the “team” element of the game with his players. Says Steven, “I am very eager to help this basketball program reach its full potential and I’m determined to do whatever it takes for us to get there.”
Jesse Mercado – Head Coach
Coach Jesse Mercado joins Team Nikos with extensive coaching and training experience. He believes in building character, discipline, and integrity through commitment, collective responsibility and lots of hard work. His coaching philosophies are not built simply around just winning, but rather a belief that the team structure, over individualism, is what leads to success for all. Team is defined as every member of the program who shares the common goal of success. Jesse was a 3-year Varsity High School starter, earning several acknowledgements before then heading to UC Santa Barbara for a 2-year basketball career. Once his playing came to an end, Jesse continued his passion to coach and train the game he loves working with professional, collegiate, high school and grade school players. He has 14 years of high school varsity coaching experience, including serving as Associate Head Coach at Saddleback Valley Christian School; and 13 years of skills and athletic performance training.
Chris Jolivette – Head Coach
Christopher Jolivette was born and raised in New Orleans. He played varsity basketball at Oliver Perry Walker High School where he earned two scholarships – one to attend Nickel State University and the other for Southern University. Instead, he joined the United States Navy and served as a Search and Rescue Swimmer. While enlisted, Chris played on the All Navy basketball team. An invitation to try out for the Naval Academy’s team was cut short by an injury. Following military duty, Chris went on to play on the semiprofessional basketball circuit for several years. Eventually, he retired as a player to do what he considers his most important job, “be a dad”. He continued to coach and train all levels of players, including a few from the NBA. A huge fan of the game that he claims has given him outstanding experiences, he is now committed to giving back.
Shafiq Chatterjee – Head Coach
Coach Shafiq comes to Team Nikos with experience as both a player and a coach. He played basketball for 6 years overseas before joining JSerra High School as the JV Head Coach. While there, he led the team to a championship in his first year, and assisted the Varsity team in earning a CIF Championship. He then moved on to Laguna Hills High School, where he is currently Head Coach for Girls JV and Assistant Coach for Girls Varsity Basketball. In his first year at Laguna Hills, Shafiq led the JV team to a League title. Coach Shafiq specializes in guard development, improving players’ basketball IQ, and overall knowledge of the game.
Josh Aussem – Assistant Coach
Josh Aussem was born in Wisconsin and raised in California, where he grew up playing multiple sports. He was part of the Class of 2008 at Trabuco Hills High School, where he was a runback on the football team, completing 40 yards in 4.5 seconds. He also competed on the track and field team running the 100-meter, 200-meter, and 400-meter relay. Both his football and track and field teams went on to win the CIF championship. Josh also played NJB basketball through his youth. Following high school, he continued his football career at Orange Coast College. Despite his passion and drive, injuries cut Josh’s athletic career shorter than he had hoped. However, sticking with his love for sports, he has recently coached high school football, Pop Warner football, and speed training, as well as personal training. He is currently attending Irvine Valley College with hopes of becoming a special needs teacher and head coach of basketball or football.
Wayne Wharton – Assistant Coach
Coach Wayne attended Taft High School in Woodland Hills, California and played basketball for three of his four years there. He received a scholarship to D’Youville University in New York City, but decided to stay in California and attend Vanguard University in Costa Mesa. Wayne played basketball for only two years due to health issues. He graduated with a degree in Kinesiology, coaching and teaching. Wayne’s first love was basketball and it continues to be his passion. He is excited to share his enthusiasm for the game with our Team Nikos players!
Kaysha Williamson – Assistant Coach
Kaysha joins our coaching staff as an accomplished student-athlete with extensive basketball experience. Growing up in Sacramento, she started playing the game as a 5th grader at her K-8 school and “played up” on the 6th-8th grade championship-winning team. She went on to play AAU basketball with the Sac Town Ballers through high school, winning multiple championships. Kaysha was Team Captain of the Girls Varsity basketball team at Sacramento High School for all four of her years there. She was named Most Improved Player, Most Valuable Player, Defensive Player, and was awarded to the Optimus All-Star and Who’s Who teams. Additionally, she was on the track and field team for three years and held the position of Student Body President her senior year. Kaysha was awarded a full athletic scholarship to attend Alabama A&M University. Joining the basketball team as a Freshman, she started most of the games for her entire college career, progressing to the playoffs every season. While at Alabama, she earned Most Improved Player and Defensive Player. Kaysha graduated in 2006 with a BS Degree in Marketing and now works at Wells Fargo. She returns to Sacramento regularly to help her former high school coach, now at Hiram Johnson West Campus. Kaysha’s philosophy is simply “practice makes perfect”. A lover of the game of basketball, she has always known that she wanted to coach and train others. She loves giving back and teaching kids what she wishes she would have known at a young age.
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