our coaches
Morris Finley, Executive Director
Morris “Mo” Finley is the owner and Lead Skills Trainer at One Finley Way Sports™. As an athlete, he became UAB’s 5th all-time leading scorer, a 2-time All-Conference USA Selection, and the 2002-2003 Conference USA Scholar-Athlete of the Year for Men’s Basketball.
After college, Morris played professional basketball for a decade throughout Europe. During that time, he was a part of several championship teams. After retiring from being on the court, he moved back home to Alabama to share his love of the game with young people throughout his local community.
In 2015, he founded One Finley Way Sports™ training young athletes. Since then, OFW has grown from serving two clients to working with over 1000+ youth present day.
Coach Mo is married and they have one son.
Tabios Darden, Coach + Associate Director
Tabios Darden is a former collegiate player at Claflin University, East Central Community College, and a semi-pro player with the Georgia Grizzlies. He’s coached with the OFW Galaxy since its founding.
He also coach and President of the Huffman Hurricanes Youth Football Organization and a Regional Scout for Diamond Sports Group.
Darden is also the former head coach for the Mountain Brook Legion basketball team and the Mountain Brook Magic, previous Offensive Coordinator for the Oak Mountain 6th grade youth football team, previous assistant coach with the 9th Grade Nationally Ranked Birmingham Storm AAU Basketball team. He has also held the Assistant Coach position of the Oak Mountain 6th Grade Warriors basketball team. Coach T encourages his players to give 100% - 100% of the time!
Coach T enjoys spending time with his wife, Tracie and his five children: Tre, Tristan, Trinity, Taylor, and Lennox.
Cedric Drake, Coach + Associate Director
Cedric Drake graduated from LaFayette High School where he was a 3-sport (football, basketball, and baseball) athlete. He went on to play college basketball at Meridian Community College (1998-2001) and Auburn University at Montgomery (2001-2003). He was a Graduate Assistant at the University of Auburn at Montgomery (2003-04) before being named the Head Coach at Taylor Road Academy (2005-2009). Following that opportunity, he was an assistant at Prattville Christian Academy (2005-2009). He moved on to coach at the Montgomery Job Corps Center (2011-2012) before accepting the Head Basketball Coaching position at Meridian Community College in Mississippi (2012-2016).
Coach Drake later went on to serve as Head Basketball Coach at Shelby County High School. He was the 2019 Shelby County Coach of the Year. In addition to working with OFW Galaxy, he's also coached travel basketball with the Montgomery Challenge and the Montgomery Suns. Currently he’s the 7th Grade Basketball Coach at Homewood Middle School.
Coach Drake is married to Kiwanis Drake and they have two kids.
Coach Karisma Chapman
Karisma Chapman is a native of Chicago, Illinois. She graduated from Thornton Fractional North High School in Calumet City, Illinois.
She continued her academic and athletic career at the University of Alabama at Birmingham (UAB), where she played collegiate basketball from 2010 to 2014. During her time at UAB, she became the 16th player in school history to reach 1,000 career points before her senior year. She was the first player in UAB’s history to be named to the All-Defensive Team in 2012. She finished her career as UAB’s 10th all-time leading scorer, second all-time in steals, and seventh all-time in blocked shots. She was named Second Team All-Conference from 2011 to 2013 and earned First Team All Conference honors in 2014.
After college, she participated in the WNBA Combine and went on to play professionally overseas for two seasons in Israel and Iceland. Following her professional basketball career, she moved back to Birmingham, Alabama, where she began working as a Qualified Intellectual Disability Professional (QIDP) caseworker. In addition to her professional work, she coached several AAU basketball programs, including All-Alabama, Gators, Team OMG, and Team Underrated. From 2021 to 2023, she served as the Head Girls Basketball Coach at Pinson High School. Currently, she works as a QIDP and serves as the Assistant Girls Varsity Basketball Coach at Parker High School, where she continues to mentor and develop young athletes on and off the court.
Coach Chapman is the proud mother of two children — son, Khalil and daughter, Kaycee.
Coach Justin Knox
Justin Knox hails from Tuscaloosa, Alabama where he attended Central-Tuscaloosa High School. During his high school career he led his team to the final four. He won 2007 Gatorade Player of the Year, 4A State Player of the Year, and MVP of the Alabama/Mississippi All-State game in his senior year. Knox was also a member of the National Honor Society and Salutatorian of his class.
After high school, Knox signed a scholarship to play at the University of Alabama (2007-2010) where he earned starting role, Knox was awarded SEC Men’s Scholar-Athlete of the Year. During his senior season he transferred to the University of North Carolina (2010-2011) where he helped the team win the ACC Regular Season Championship and reach the Elite 8 in the NCAA tournament.
After college, Knox signed to play professionally overseas in several countries. Knox played professionally for 13 years, earning a championship and several player of the month and all-star selections. After a 13-year professional basketball career Knox moved back home to assist in coaching his high school alma mater. Knox enjoys giving back to the younger generation and teaching the fundamentals of basketball and what it takes to become an elite athlete.
Coach Knox is married to Rachel Knox, and they have three beautiful children together — Aleaha, Carter, and Jayce.
Coach Will Laatsch
With a foundation rooted in basketball coaching at both the high school and collegiate levels, Will Laatsch brings a deep understanding of the game and its culture to the microphone. His coaching career began as a varsity assistant at Helena High School, where he served as Head 7th Grade Coach (2018-2019) and later as Head Freshman Coach and Varsity Assistant (2019-2020). He went on to coach at the collegiate level as an Assistant Coach at Birmingham-Southern College (2020-2021).
He has since transitioned into sports broadcasting and is now a prominent Birmingham-based public address announcer. A member of a respected Alabama coaching family and son of one of the state’s most well-regarded coaches, he currently serves as PA announcer for Spain Park High School, the Birmingham Squadron (NBA G League), UAB Football, and Samford Football, with additional work in UAB basketball and baseball.
Coach Tamia Nelson
Tamia Nelson is a graduate of Pelham High School. She continued her basketball career at Lawson State Community College. After suffering an injury during her sophomore season, she transitioned from playing to coaching, where she quickly made an immediate impact. Coach Nelson served as an assistant coach at Phillips Academy, helping lead the program to back-to-back championships in the 2023-2024 and 2024-2025 seasons.
In addition to coaching, she led the Let’s Move program and guided the 6th grade girls team to a championship in 2025. Coach Nelson believes in developing well-rounded athletes and consistently pushes her players to give 100% effort on and off the court.
Currently, she is the head coach of the 7th Grade Girls Basketball team at Homewood Middle School, where she recently won the Metro Championship.
Coach James Roethler
James Roethler is originally from Southern California. He attended and played high school basketball at Desert Christian Academy in Bermuda Dunes, CA. He then played two years at Saint Katharine University in San Marcos, CA (2013 - 2015). He transferred and played one year at Life Pacific University in San Dimas, CA (2015 - 2016). Later on he transitioned to coaching. He’s also worked as a skills development trainer. He was the 8th grade boys coach and an assistant coach at his alma mater for one year at Desert Christian Academy.
His last position in athletics was as the Junior Varsity and Assistant Varsity Girls coach, at Victory Christian School in Pell City, AL. Coach Roethler is married with his first child on the way.
Coach Christina Watson
Christina Watson is a former collegiate basketball player at Spring Hill College and is currently in her fourth year as an educator and middle school coach. Watson began her coaching career in 2015 with the Hueytown Youth Basketball Program. In 2016, she transitioned into travel basketball, coaching with organizations such as the Birmingham Blaze, Steel City Gators, and Alabama Heat. Over six years, she mentored student-athletes and competed in various tournaments along the East Coast, helping players develop both skill and character.
In 2017, Watson was hired as the Girls Junior Varsity Basketball Coach and Varsity Assistant Coach at Jackson-Olin High School. After two seasons at Jackson-Olin, Watson joined Ramsay High School in 2019 as the Girls Junior Varsity Basketball Coach and Varsity Assistant Coach. From 2019–2022, Watson contributed to two Class 5A Area Championships.
In 2022, Watson was named Head Girls Basketball Coach at John Herbert Phillips Academy. Since taking over the program, she has led her team to three consecutive BCS Middle School Championships (2023, 2024, and 2025), establishing a standard of excellence and sustained success.
Coach Watson prides herself on building long-lasting relationships and transforming the perception of success for every student-athlete she serves. She is committed to developing young women not only as competitors, but as confident leaders prepared for success beyond the game.
coaches code of conduct
This Code of Conduct establishes the professional standards expected of all OFW coaches.
Its purpose is to ensure consistent, high-quality coaching practices and to safeguard the welfare of every athlete entrusted to our program.
It also provides clear guidance for coaches when navigating challenging situations.
All coaches are expected to conduct themselves in a fair, responsible, and professional manner toward the athletes in their care.
A coach’s responsibility extends beyond athletic development.
Our coaches are expected to promote growth in character, reinforce sound values, and model appropriate behavior at all times.
Illegal, unlawful, abusive, or otherwise harmful conduct toward any athlete will not be tolerated under any circumstances.
Violations may result in corrective action or possibly termination.
OFW coaches are expected to consistently demonstrate the following standards: competence, trustworthiness, respect, fairness, care, responsibility, and integrity.
Note: This Code of Conduct, including detailed expectations and disciplinary procedures, is formally reviewed with all coaches during the preliminary OFW Staff Meetings.