‘Lindsey Guys’ making fiery Burbank coach proud

He coaches them hard, sometimes with all manner of bug-eyed fury.

Then he loves them up with words of encouragement, a hug or just a slight smile.

This is what Lindsey Ferrell does. The energetic boys basketball coach at Burbank High School implores effort in the classroom and playing arena. Ferrell insists his athletes wear the school’s Columbia blue and gold with pride and sportsmanship. Cross the line and a player must face the coach, whose wrath is unpleasant.

“To play for me, to deal with me,” Ferrell said, “you need to be mentally tough, because I’m going to push our players to be better than they think they are. I tell them they need to be a ‘Lindsey Guy.’ Be tough, be proud, be able to put up with me pushing you, and it’s got to be done my way. You have to earn it.”

The Titans (26-3) have earned it. Seeded second behind Whitney in the Sac-Joaquin Section Division II playoffs, they will face Beyer of Modesto on Wednesday in a semifinal at Pacific.

“We’re ready to represent our school, our district and our city,” Ferrell said. “We’re excited.”

Titans coaches, faculty, students and alumni often refer to Burbank as “3500 Florin Road.” That’s the address of a campus that opened in 1963 and has had just five varsity boys basketball coaches, including John Copeland, who led the Titans’ breakout era of the 1980s and early ’90s. Copeland started the motto of “3500 Florin Road” and mentored Ferrell. Copeland now lives in Florida in semi-retirement as a golf pro and coach. Ferrell is in his 10th season as the boys coach after coaching the Burbank girls to championship success over 13 seasons.

Said Copeland of Ferrell: “He is a good young man doing a good job.”

Burbank puts on a show. Players run the floor, make the extra pass and fire 3-pointers. They also defend as if a lack of stops will result in getting pulled to the bench for an earful from Ferrell. The Titans have made the playoffs every season under Ferrell but have faltered in early rounds. This season, they reached the section semifinals for the first time in 19 years.

“We still haven’t done anything,” Ferrell said of the season in general. “The semifinals are the door that we’ve got to kick down.”

Burbank is led by senior guards Keshawn Bruner, who is averaging 22.6 points, and Isiah Davis, who is averaging 19.1. Both players praise Ferrell, who talks to them about much more than jump shots and rebounds.

“We appreciate our coach and everything he does for us,” Davis said. “We’re very proud of who we are and of our school.”

Said Bruner: “We believe in coach 100 percent. He talks about how we need to do well in school, get good grades, do good things. When I first met him, I thought he was a real character. But he’s great. He’s cool.”

Both players are interested in playing beyond high school.

“We talk about life here, how sometimes it’s a good thing to go away to college, to find yourself, to pave your own way,” Ferrell said. “You can always come back. Too many students are afraid to leave Sacramento for college and they get stuck in a rut. Don’t get stuck in a rut. It’s not disloyal to leave. It’s growth.”

Ferrell said he’s been careful not to wear himself out. He used to coach to the point of exhaustion. Ferrell paces himself better now. He said it helps that his wife, Zena, understands the grind. She has coached girls basketball and is a “Lindsey Guy.”

“I don’t hear her at games because it’s so loud, but I definitely hear her at home,” Ferrell said, laughing. “No, seriously, life is great at home and on 3500 Florin Road.”

 

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This story was originally published February 28, 2017 at 5:17 PM with the headline "‘Lindsey Guys’ making fiery Burbank coach proud."