Director of Basketball Programming

Zacchaeus Gillion is a co-founder of the Gillion Basketball Academy and AAU Team Breakdown and serves as the Academy’s Director of Basketball Programming, where he passionately leads all athletes to believe in themselves and push themselves to a higher level of skill.

Coach Zach oversees all aspects of basketball training for the Academy, using his vast experience as a Division 1 coach, championship high school and AAU coach, and pro player trainer to implement our Elite Guard Curriculum.

Prior to co-founding the Academy, Zach served as an assistant coach for Division I programs Chicago State and Samford.  He reached the collegiate level after earning Florida High School Coach of the Year honors twice and coaching Team Breakdown (which he co-founded with his brother, Darrance) to two national AAU championships.  He has developed over 200 players who played at the collegiate level with more than 50 of those players going on to play professionally.

Director of Basketball Operations

Darrnance Gillion is a co-founder of Gillion Basketball Academy and natioanlly recognized AAU TEAM BREAKDOWN. Coach Darrance has ben coaching with TEAM BREAKDOWN, and ranked high school teams for 24 years and has developed over 200 players into college athletes and over 50 plyers into professional players.

Director of Player Development

Warren Doles serves as Director of Player Development for the Gillion Basketball Academy. Coach Warren has an unwavering passion for player development and inspires athletes by sharing his extensive playing and professional coaching experience.

After playing collegiately at Shepherd University and Fairmont State University (where he still holds assists records at both schools), Warren began a successful career as a coach and basketball trainer.  In addition to coaching locally as an assistant at Alexandria City High School, he served as player development coach for the Chinese National Team and the Qingdao Eagles of the Chinese Basketball Association. 

Warren also is the founder of the DMV Basketball Academy, where he developed and trained numerous notable players who have gone on to play professionally in the NBA or overseas (including Haywood Highsmith, former Division II National Player of the Year and current member of the Miami Heat).

Head Trainer/AAU Coach

Maurice Smith is the head trainer for the Gillion Basketball Academy. Coach Mo was a top basketball athlete during his career and uses that experience to mentor athletes looking to play at the next level.

Coach Mo has deep ties to the Gillion team, playing for Team Breakdown in high school and helping the team earn a number-one U16 ranking.   He continued his career at Division I Western Carolina University before moving on to Harris-Stowe University, where led the team to the AMC Midwest Conference Championship in 2020.  Following his undergrad career, Mo played as a graduate at the University of the Virgin Islands.  He earned his MBA as well as Second Team All-Conference honors (the first player in school history to do so) after finishing in the top ten in points, rebounds, three-point percentage and blocks.

Trainer/AAU Coach

A product of Northeast High School under the guidance of the Gillions, TJ earned a scholarship to Clemson University in 2011. After two seasons, he transferred to Murray State, where he became a captain and a cornerstone of one of the most memorable seasons in program history. In 2014-15, TJ helped lead the Racers to a school-record 25 consecutive wins, an undefeated 16-0 record in Ohio Valley Conference play, and a berth in the NIT quarterfinals. He was named to the OVC All-Tournament Team after scoring a career-high 28 points in the championship.

After graduating, TJ played professionally from 2015 to 2020, appearing in over 100 games across Europe and South America, including stints in Germany, Colombia, France, Belgium, Spain, and Slovakia. He capped off the 2016-17 season by winning the LNB Pro B Championship in France.

TJ began his coaching journey at his alma mater, Northeast High School in Oakland Park, FL, where he served as head coach from 2020 to 2023. During the same period, he also coached with Team Breakdown, helping develop young talent across South Florida. From 2023 to 2025, TJ returned to Murray State, serving as an Assistant Coach and Director of Player Development for the men's basketball program.

Trainer/AAU Coach

As a collegiate athlete, Hewitt starred at Georgia Southern University, where he etched his name into the record books. He holds program records for free throws made (394), career steals (252), and three-point field goals made (270). His 1,810 career points rank sixth on GSU’s all-time Division I scoring list. In recognition of his standout performances, Hewitt was named All-SoCon (2013–14) by coaches, earned second-team honors from the media, and was later named Sun Belt Defensive Player of the Year as a senior.

After college, Jelani had a successful four-year professional career overseas. He played both point guard and shooting guard for several teams, including Science City Jena (2015–16, Jena, Germany), Rhein Stars Köln (2016–17, Cologne, Germany), MLP Academics Heidelberg (2017–18, Heidelberg, Germany), and CB Clavijo (2019, Logroño, Spain).

Jelani then turned to coaching at the D1 level where he served for three seasons as an Assistant Coach at Chicago State from 2021 to 2024.