Hasani Stewart Co Founder and President
Hasani Stewart is Co Founder and President of Raising Champions Elite, a select basketball program that plays in elite AAU Tournaments across the United States. The organization’s mission then and still remains the same, to give all boys ages 14-17 from all socioeconomic backgrounds an opportunity to showcase their talents against the best players in the nation and exposure to college coaches. While basketball is an intricate part, Raising Champions Elite, prides itself of standing by these young men year round, providing academic assistance to enhance their growth in the classroom as well as on the court. We provide tutoring in classroom subjects, ACT, SAT and SSAT preparation.
Hasani Stewart has built a first class organization, surrounding himself with an excellent staff that consists of men that work in the education field as counselors and teachers, in the Tri-State area. So far he has guided over 15 players in Raising Champions Elite Program to college programs. However, prior to starting Raising Champions Elite, He guided more than 30 players to division 1 NCAA programs. He is also, fortunate enough to have coached one McDonald’s All-American, one Reebok All American, three Jordan Brand All Americans and 2 participants of the Boost Mobile Elite 24.
Hasani Stewart has been an advocate for underrepresented families providing social service to their disadvantage youth. As a New York City native, he feels a special affinity to this city and a unique desire to help make it a better place in which our youth can develop and grow.
Hasani was a 2001 graduate of Coalition School for Social Change where he was a two-year starting varsity point guard; he received many city honors during his senior year. Coming out of High School he accepted a full scholarship to Clinton Community College Plattsburgh, NY. Where he was a member of the All Freshman Team in Northeast Independent Conference. He later transferred to Lehigh Carbon College in Schnecksville, Pennsylvania. Due to injuries and his mothers’ illness his college basketball career was cut short. However, he still managed to continue his education at Baruch College (CUNY) earning a Degree in Facilities Management. His aspirations for coaching came when he began working at the prestigious Five-Star Basketball Camp and the Juice Allstars AAU program under the guidance and tutelage of Dwayne “Tiny” Morton. Hasani and Lance Stephenson Sr., co founded Raising Champions Elite March 2008. He has been heralded as one of the top coaches in the AAU ranks, and each year brings a competitive team to the national tournaments, against exceptional competition. He has also been acknowledged among the local high school and independent boarding school coaches in the area for his support of their programs.
Johnny “JR” Rodriguez
Player Development / 17 and Under Head Coach
Jr brings over 15 years of experience both on the Grassroots AAU and High School Basketball Level. He has played a major roll in the development of NYC players on all levels (middle school, high school, AAU, NCAA and NBA). Players of note that has benefited from guidance of JR, AJ price UCONN/ Indiana Pacers, Derrick Character UTEP/ LA Lakers, Gary Forbes Virginia/ Denver Nuggets, Edgar Sosa Louisville/ Pro Over Seas, Keydren Clarke St. Peters/Pro Over Seas, John Oates Boston College/ Pro Over Seas, Jason Wingate Manhattan College/ Pro Over Seas and Director of Basketball Operations Manhattan College, Arturo Dubois Deleware State/ Pro Over Seas Lamont Jones Arizona, Mike Glover/ Iona College Kidani Brutus Manhattan College and Andy Garcia Carl Albert College.
Raising Elite Champions (NYC) 