Who is that most illest of point guards who came out of Crossroads High located in Santa Monica? Baron Davis, friends call him B-Diddy, class of 1997, that most revered of LA point guards that killed it for UCLA and had a great career in the NBA.
Baron raised the bar for guards growing up in LA and it could be argued that he holds the mantle of what a true point guard operator in the court should be.
Ask many in the LA basketball community to compare him to a boxer and you hear shouts that BD is like Muhammad Ali. Me, E-Woods, my friends and I used to call Baron “Rumble Man” when we saw him play in the early 2000’s on TV.
We would literally shout at the screen and yell at whoever was trying to guard Baron as he was scoring, doing his crazy- tuff dunks mercilessly. We said “Rumble the jungle time suckas, get ready to catch a body in game.”
Yes, immature we were but seeing BD get down brought our blood up like no other could. Ali once said something that described Baron, “I’ve wrestled with alligators. I’ve tussled with a whale. I done handcuffed lightning and thrown thunder in jail.”
If you never got to hang around with B-Davis, play against him, or got to know him enough to write his story like I’ve been lucky to, all I can say is in terms of LA basketball Baron is way more than just a ball player. Baron Davis just strives to make the world better.
He’s the greatest of them all.
Who has next up to bear that torch of his alma mater at Crossroads, who do I sense is that next PG in LA that makes me want to call him Rumble Man?”
Fast forward to 2022 and there’s a guard that should be considered one of the top 2025 PG’s in the west coast: 6-0 foot freshman Coco Britt.
This Coco, he’s about the only prep player that gets my blood going when I see him breaking down 2 defenders, sprinting to the rim to score, using his oh-so-nice jumper to keep the defense honest.
Rumble in the jungle in 1974, Ali vs. hard hitting George Foreman in Zaire, Africa, but Coco doesn’t have to rope a dope, he doing all the punishing on court because he’s just that dope, with a capital D!
I got to know B-Davis and his people and I was able to learn about his childhood growing up, that he was unfortunately homeless at one point, even I experienced it in my youth and it felt terrible.
Maybe BD respected me when I went to interview him, because I told him I taught 4th grade elementary school down the street on 36th/Vermont Blvd from where he grew up in South Central, so he understood I felt the rhythms of his upbringing.
There were so many things I saw on those streets that were rough but the people there were real, they had your back if you had theirs. So intense was the experience that the stress of it all brought out asthma in me.
B-Davis overcame so much growing up, avoiding the pull of the Crips and Bloods waging war in the streets. Baron overcome all that roughness, started being classy and inspirational, and put his mind to giving back, not letting anything hold him back.
My guy, famed Drew League organizer Dino Smiley, told me once that Baron was giving money to this kid that was homeless at his camp. He told me for that middle schooler (Eddie), the money was all gravy after having his hero feel his plight. B-Davis was showing that he gave a dang about Eddie, that he stood for helping kids out on a personal basis.
This article is a story about Coco Britt no doubt, but it also has to celebrate his dad Mel Britt and his own unfortunately rough childhood. Mel had dedicated himself to giving back to kids by opening up a training center, the Britt Academy out of the Dune Citi Gym in the San Fernando Valley for many years.
If you didn’t know Mel Britt, he’s that amazing dude that had overcame unbelievable physical abuse in his childhood to be the best version of himself so that he could do the great job necessary for 15 year old Coco and Mel’s 24 year old daughter Nia.
Let’s describe Coco, what’s to like about him as a ball player?
I think he has a chance to be special and help lead his Crossroads team to great success under the guidance of head coach Anthony Davis. He has that same bold game as BD, the same articulate nature as Baron Davis, just a gym rat that is always training.
He is not phased by pressure and embraces the idea of taking on the responsibility of getting his guys in their spots. I’ll give Coco big words and just state that his easy swag, him being able to lead by example reminds me of my guy Shareef O’Neal who also went to Crossroads.
Both have this fire in their eyes, they put their head down and want it so bad. Yes, both Coco and Reef are so at ease with themselves, yet so driven in court that it’s easy to see Coco repeating the kind of success Reef had leading his team, being that guy to trigger another CIF or possibly state title for Crossroads. 100
Let’s break down Coco Britt from a basketball standpoint. It’s not just the raw talent, and his strong and super fast frame that he uses to cut to the rim. He gets everyone set up for a buffet style dinner, knives out, forks diving into the comp with his ultra efficient passing style and pure confidence to hit that jumper from outside.
He’s not that guy trying to put up 40-point games, he just gets everyone involved. He is now one of the best things going for his 15 and under Russell Westbrook sponsored team Why Not. Coco even made the 16 and under Maccabi National Team, that’s huge for him.
Coco appreciates Crossroads, he feels it’s that special high academic school that encourages its students to make a difference in society. Actors such as Jack Black and a long list of prominent people have graduated there.
What everyone should know about Coco is that he is not just a ball player. His proud family sees him helping to illustrate the books he and his sister publish/author. His internal preparation gives him everything he needs to take the ups and downs.
His awesome sister Nia, who was a baller out of Bishop Alemany High and had 50 scholarship offers for the shot put and 25 offers to play basketball.
Let’s hear Nia’s words on her little brother, “When I left for college in 2015, it was painful because I thought I was leaving my best buddy behind. But to me Coco is more than a little brother, he’s my best friend I can talk to anything about.
“He’s all you could ask for in a little brother. I’ve noticed for a while his deep work ethic, that he wants to make his mark in the world in many ways. He’s going to be ‘that guy’ in basketball. Every pore of his body oozes out love for the game and he works so hard on it everyday visualizing all that must be done to succeed.
“We can’t thank our dad enough for pushing us to succeed. He’s the driving force behind us trying to make it, he showed by example how to chase success. He showed us all how to give back.
“He ran Dune Citi gym to help train kids in the area, give them somewhere to flourish. The crazy amazing part is that basketball wasn’t even the sport he grew up with and was the best at. He learned to love it because we were into it.
“He would construct a makeshift track and field ball throw area for me to practice. He wanted it that bad for us. He’s enriched our lives and is out to help everyone and help them so much in their journey.”
To get a glimpse of his talent, see the last video of Coco playing for his WhyNot AAU team recently (below).
As I was mentioning, Coco’s father Mel is that expert local athletic trainer, former whiz at baseball that always hoped his son might stay with the diamond field sport. But Mel supported his family no matter what they chose. He’s that kind of dad that wakes up his kid at 4:30 am and reminds them it’s time to grind, run, and put work into your dreams.
Let’s hear from Coco what his dreams and life is like, “I grew up watching my sister Nia play basketball. I fell in love with the game seeing her passion to play with everything she had. I just want to be up at her level, it was thrilling to me to live that goal.
“I used to hit the ball hard as a baseball player, over the local fence and into windows as a 6 year old. We had to replace a lot of glass as I was growing up. But me just bouncing a basketball, the rhythm was music to my ears.
“I don’t know what I’d do without basketball. It lets me get my dawg mentality going. For me it’s not about being ranked, I’m in competition with myself. I just want to validate all that’s been put into me: the constant pushing in a good way my dad has always given me, my mom Maribel that always sacrifices to get me everywhere.
“You could say I appreciate the games of Chris Paul, Kyrie Irving, and Allen Iverson but it always comes back to my big sister. She’s my biggest supporter. Her effort to make it to the cover of Sports Illustrated in 8th grade, the heart she showed overcoming two ACL injuries and still having a career at Iowa.
“She’s going for her Masters in social work because she wants to make a difference. That’s me, and I love how our family lives always thinking to help others. We value educating ourselves to the highest level possible and giving back.”
Coco’s dad besides being a star in baseball growing up, has an R & B recording deal, is a trained chef, and also has a PhD in education. This background is a great role model for Coco and his step brother and sister besides Nia. Even Coco’s uncle and aunt that have PhDs as well.
All this combined to help Coco be one of the most articulate and driven students I’ve met. He maintains nearly a 4.0 gpa, which is actually an understatement for just how super smart that he comes off being.
It just takes like the first 10 minutes of talking to Coco and you see his intellect is off the charts. He talks and communicates like he’s already an Ivy League college freshman in the way he handles himself. He’s not hardly like freshman in prep I’ve ever known.
I don’t like comparing prep kids to Baron Davis basketball-wise. BD had no holes in his game so that’s not fair to put such crazy expectations on a youngster like Coco or almost anyone. But it’s Coco that reminds me of how Baron was at developing intensity wise at Crossroads growing up.
I got to know just how Baron was from talking to his college teammates so much, and especially his middle school and prep coach, Daryl Roper.
Daryl shared with me the actual school papers and writings of Baron and they were so impressive. They showed me that Baron was more than a baller at Crossroads. Baron has these ideas to change the world for the better and so much energy comes out of his mind in terms of being business orientated, just like Coco’s mentality has presented itself to me.
From all the tons of time of talking to him, Coco is that youngster I can see giving back as an adult. If I could rub Aladdin’s lamp, I’d wish for Coco to be my point guard to play with me in those oh so competitive games back in the day.
They challenged me mornings at Santa Monica CC 10 years ago when I played vs. Baron looking for a “W” but could never seem to find one. There was Drew League players to play with and against, I just never had enough help to beat Baron Davis and former NBA player Cuttino Mobley who always seemed to play with Baron out there.
I can only imagine having a grown up version of Coco. If I had such an advanced player to play with me as a running mate, I bet I’d have lost a whole lot less. Coco is that guy I wish most to play alongside because he’s so utterly efficient, hardly ever turns the ball over and can turn it up to get it cracking when all the chips are down.
Let’s hear again from Coco about his goals and about those he looks up to, “I love to compete in basketball and academically, as I take a lot pride in my grades. Maybe math is my favorite subject. I want to be a sports marketing major in college.
“My dream school might be Stanford and I have a wish list of UCLA, Yale, North Carolina, and Alabama but I’m open in my recruitment to go anywhere in the country, wherever the fit is best and I’m utilized and I can help the program win.
“My goal is to make it to the NBA, to be that professional ball player because I love the game so much. I appreciate all the mentors in my life, such as my friend Sean Billups. He’s just a wise person that tries to help and be a benefactor to people. He sponsored E-40 the rapper and others with his advice.
I’ll always appreciate my shooting coach, Lance Jackson who was known as a shot doctor in the local youth basketball community. He helped me get my skill going. Unfortunately he passed but he helped develop my shot. We’d go to church and discuss God and Jesus, among other stuff which I’ll always be grateful for.”
Now let’s hear his deeply empathetic mom Maribel who is transitioning into being a therapist from her pharmacy background. She is as proud as any mother I’ve heard when she conveyed, “Coco is that diverse kid who puts 110% into what he is striving toward.
“Seeing him wanting to grab his professional goals, it has been awesome for me to support his mission to be that NBA player. He shows that ‘beast and aggressive gear’ when he’s in the game, and then can be so thoughtful and mellow right after it’s over.
“He’s more than just an athlete, as he shows passion for many things and people in life. This makes me so proud that he has high standards for himself, and he is a joy to be around at all times.”
A huge influence in Coco’s life is master LA trainer Marcus LoVett Sr., that great guy who runs the amazing We Win Training program that serves established prep, college, and pros. His son Marcus LoVett Jr. was an absolute phenom in prep and had a great career in college that has translated to his incredible success overseas.
Coco appreciates all the immense memories he’s had with the entire LoVett family. Marcus Sr. is often known as “Vett” to his friends and has been a constant in this youngster’s life since Coco was in Elementary school.
Feel his powerful words on the Britt family, “Coco’s dad Mel has been a technician for his daughter Nia in terms of helping her secure that hard to get D1 scholarship. He helped her realize accomplishing her education, and that created opportunity in her life going forward.
“Mel is using that same technician skill for his youngest son to exceed expectations in his chosen sport of basketball. What people have to realize is that Coco will come out of nowhere now to be great because he wasn’t dragged everywhere all over the Nike EYBL circuit over the last few years.
“His internal preparation gives him everything, he knows he has to take the ups and downs. In his current state, he’s over prepared to succeed. I’m so high on him because right now Coco is just as good as a good college freshman player in terms of ability at this very moment.”
Read our hard hitting feature of LoVett Sr's life:
This is the strong sentiment that Coco has for his trainer M-LoVett, “He has helped me so much. With his super intense 2 hour sessions I’ve learned to establish an aggressive mentality. Don’t worry about things too much; if you just go forward and be yourself then everything will work out if you put in the work.
“My game working with Marcus is built on flash, we’re working on adding more spin moves, adding so much to my game to be ready for the big stage. I’m just trying to expand what I have with perfecting one dribble pull up shots, taking off without pushing too much velocity.
“I’m lucky to have great friends like Isaiah Elohim. He’s a big bro to me and I love to train with him. His whole family supports me and that’s the kind of success I’m aiming for.”
I asked my guy Isaiah, who is a rising junior that is ranked #5 in the country by Rivals.com., about Coco, “He’s definitely a little bro to me and definitely someone I have appreciation for how he plays.”
Check out our article on Isaiah Elohim:
Another incredible LA trainer is Steven Jones who played locally at Taft before his D1 career and who is the highly respected co-director of the ultra successful SCA prep basketball academy. He’s that real one to Coco.
Coco told me of Steve, “I appreciate Steve helping me so much, and the way he gets people going.”
Many see that The Jones Way program that Steve runs helps other promising players in SoCal to live out their hoop dreams through his mentorship and professionalism.
Here are impressive things Steve had to say about Coco, “Coco is an old school type of point guard, he’s always looking to set others up. His mindset is different than most points that are trying to put up huge scoring numbers now in prep nowadays.
“That makes him unique because it’s his intangibles to be that leader, his unselfish nature that pops out in the game. He does have this great ability to catch and shoot, he plays so hard, and picks up 94 feet of the court each game.
“You could say he’s nearly the best, if not the outright best point guard in all of the class of 2025 on the west coast. That’s what has to be known about him.”
Now let’s hear Coco’s supportive father Mel on raising his son and daughter, their potential and what it means to be a successful parent, “With Coco, he’s so young but so mature and knows himself. He can’t be that guy that tries to push 40-50 points down the game’s throat because that’s not him.
“He’s the guy that will get 10-15 points, double digit assists. He just wants to set everyone up. I feel he’ll have a good sophomore season.
“l look for him to show great improvement like our family friend Skyy Clark did. We appreciate that family, and seeing their great drive to grow Skyy’s game constantly, that’s what our goal is. Constant progression in many ways, not just basketball.
“Coco and his sister have this incredible bond, them collaborating to do the artwork and writing together to publish books together. I tell Coco to pursue his art skills, try to go for his dream to get a deal from an animation studio and set yourself up financially.
“I told him to think about being in your 20’s in the future, you can have a stream of income from multiple sources. My daughter Nia, she is finishing her education at Iowa St, beginning her journey in life. I’m so proud of all my kids.”
You can see Mel pushes his kids in a positive way, not vicariously living through them, rather offering real talk in terms of what it takes to succeed.
I salute Mel for turning around what was a hell on earth existence and offering up his incredible vulnerability of sharing just how bad a childhood can be, yet he never let it be an excuse for not doing right for his kids.
Every chance I get, I try to spotlight someone who has overcame impossible odds to make good in society, and Mel is an extreme example of breaking through all the odds.
Let’s hear the powerful details of Mel Britt’s journey, to bear witness that all is possible with love and pulling yourself up by your bootstraps. For some a harsh childhood can break a person, but not for others like Mel.
He acknowledges that he was made tough and was motivated by his rough and tumble childhood in Gary, Indiana. People like Mel and Baron Davis are a beacon to others that one’s childhood doesn’t define you, and that you can break the cycle of what you’re born into.
Here’s the raw but real words Mel says of growing up, “I tell people I had an extremely rough upbringing and my story of being an abused child of a single mother, growing up in a world of hurt, pain, and strife.
“Yes, it’s my story. I’ve endured things no child should ever have to experience. Although my measly means echoed nothing less than being impoverished and the crime-riddled backdrop of my story isn’t a glorious one, I can yet say, by sheer will and determination, along with a dose of mercy and grace, I’ve become a symbol of victory!
“My upbringing was definitely not heaven. My mother worked whatever odd jobs she could find to provide for my brother and me. She worked long hours, and to deal with the pressures of life and disappointments, she self-medicated with pain pills and alcohol.
“A mother, by nature, fiercely protects her child or children. But in my case my mother constantly beat me. Again, it wasn’t a pleasant home life. Although she beat my brother as well, I seemed to have become the object of her venting.
“Her anger towards others, including my father, or whatever boyfriend she was dating at the time, was taken out on me, an innocent child whose only mistake was being available to be on the receiving end of her brutality.
“If she was having a bad day, I was in danger of being physically abused…AGAIN! It started with belts, then hangers, phone cords, and fists. The beatings became more intense as I got older.
"I tried to mentally rationalize the abuse I suffered at the hands of my mother by convincing myself that all kids get whippings from their parents.
“My living environment was so unstable that I was shuttled from home to home nine different times. Then one day, my dad, whom I hardly knew, came to my rescue and I ended up moving in with him.
“From the ashes of the personal hell of my youth, I was able to rise up above my circumstances and become a great musician, producer, and successful businessman. I salute all single mothers who used their power within to overcome the impossible!
"I respect my mother for raising my brother and me. She tried to do her best with what she had and knew.
"The Bible tells us to honor our mother and father and I lived by that. I had to learn how to come to terms with the blows life dealt me and I used those experiences to break the cycle of abuse and raise some amazing children of my own.
“They have been trained to be their best. They have never been abused. They have been taught values, great social skills, and most importantly, how to love and treat others.”
#the power of love and forgiveness
You have to feel for Mel and respect that he helped break the cycle of poverty and abuse he experienced, and just see this jaw dropping example of a great dad doing better for his family once he’s grown up.
Which begs the question: just how much more incredible will Coco be to further along the family name with all that’s put into him?
I identify with Mel, it’s the rough stuff that makes us, that we appreciate in adulthood what we didn’t enjoy in childhood. I experienced a similar dysfunctional childhood, being homeless and a teenager, seeing my close relatives commit suicide, so many in my fam dying of drugs.
For me, I see Mel as the ultimate example of facing life’s test head on, because ultimately it’s not where you start, yet rather where you finish in life.
Many idolize basketball players as role models. Me being a teacher and writer for 24 years, I’m always curious for real feedback, like who is that role model in your life, how have they shaped you into what you’ve become?
#who are the real heroes in society?
Coco feels the vibe of his destiny, he appreciates rapper Meek Mill who lays it all there in the song of what his family reps – Championships. In these lyrics feel Coco’s spirit,
“Yeah See comin' from where I come from We had to beat the streets Beat the system, beat racism, beat poverty And now we made it through all that we at the championship.”
You see Coco rising up and being thankful to all that are helping him on his climb. He wanted to say this to those special trainers and people that assisted him:
“I appreciate Joe Frazier RIP, Shawn Bankhead, Dashletics, James Mookie Wright, Lance Jackson RIP, Mark Edwards, Rashad McCants, LA trainer Rob Valentine, Steven Jones, Sheldon Bailey, Jauman Frazier, Keyon “Game like 810.”
Coco is just being that next level articulate kid, he’s like an old soul, so off the charts intelligent, yet low key jazzy. His Crossroads high school coach Anthony Davis, so well known in the basketball community as “AD” has great things to say about Coco:
“He’s a great kid, with a high IQ, that floor general that knows how to run the team so well. He’s a kid that has a big future because he works so hard and he cares so much about the game.”
I’m always trying to give readers that story of not only of “Who got next”, but why they are making it, and what are the chances they will make it all the way. I don’t just take it from. elite D1 coaches when I ask them what they think of Coco, they all say, “That Coco can go, that he is gooooood.”
In that vein, I wish I had met Baron Davis at at young age like I did my buddy Pooh Jeter, former NBA player and owner of Laced clothing stores. Pooh talks of being 12 years old and getting to be friends with Baron. Pooh says “It’s the journey of those that touch you, and those that inspire you into greatness.”
I’m just thankful to know a young Coco and I’m trying to shout his name to the basketball gods, to tell them to watch out for this rare youngster. I have a nickname I used to use on Baron Davis, I called him BD “Rumble Man.”
Here is some more fire high school video of Coco to show his versatility playing AAU .
Who has the possibility of being great like Baron Davis as a player and person? Who walks the same halls as he did? Coco Britt. Baron overcame so much to help others, just as Mel Britt did.
But that is the past and Coco Britt is the present and future of Crossroads and LA basketball, on the verge of making his bones, cementing his legacy like few have. Does it entice you to see how he leaves his fingerprints on the game?
When you go to see Coco there’s a twinkle in his eye. Every time he steps on the court he feels it’s knock out time. Every time I see Coco play I feel the famous words of famed fight announcer Michael Buffer saying, “Are you ready to rumble!?!”
I know one kid who can answer that question but my question to you the reader is will you make it out to see him while he’s still young?
