Welcome Back, Mr. Reid

I saw Reggie for the first time in over 18 months in July (video above).  Very

glad he is back!

Not long ago, Harlem High school had over 1400 students and Coach Kim Chambers' basketball teams were quite competitive, even advancing to the GHSA state tournament in 2006. But when Grovetown High School came into existence, the Columbia County lines were redrawn and the student body at Harlem has since shrunk to less than 700 students.  The basketball team has suffered, even going winless in the 2009-2010 season.  But four years ago, after Harlem had won 5 of its last 50 games over a 2 year period, Coach Chambers' luck turned.  Freshman Reggie Reid joined the team and led the Bulldogs to 9 wins his first season and to a winning record (15-13) and a state tournament birth during his sophomore year.  I featured him at the halfway point of his freshman in this story which included a highlight tape of Reggie.  And AugBball was there as he scored 43 points and nearly led the Bulldogs to an upset of county rival Evans and later six days later led the Bulldogs to a thrilling 85-81 win over county rival Grovetown.

That was the last we saw of the speedy, high flying, physical 6'0" point guard.  Reid left for Florida for his junior season.  The word was he would learn from basketball training guru Gannon Baker of Nike/YouTube/basketball motivational speaker fame.  Baker had started a basketball academy and Reid was supposedly his first big "recruit."

Well one thing I believe wholeheartedly is that most "basketball factories" are not worth young people's time.  Most fail.  And those that don't rarely serve any good purpose.  Great basketball players become great with a ball and a hoop, not a secret training system, a tube of tennis balls, a resistance harness (or whatever these things are!), or even the hotly pursued chance for "more exposure."  And balls and hoops are everywhere.  Certainly surrounding factors play a role in the development of any young person, basketball player or not.  But the real formula for achieving excellence was best stated recently by Lakeside Middle School's great philosopher Zachary Wade: you work until you puke (paraphrased).

I have coached against Reggie and been around him often throughout the years.  I have never gotten to know him well personally.  But his coaches think highly of him, his mother is dear, and everyone raves about his grades, his leadership qualities, and his sincere desire that his friends on his basketball teams are successful and able to count on him.  I even heard he was homesick after leaving Georgia for Florida last year.  These things make me like him and make me root for him.

Coach Chambers talks about the "private school feeling" of Harlem High School.  Remember it is a school built to hold as many as 1400 and now holds less than 700.  And remember when Grovetown arrived, a lot of students left.  Over the years local basketball watchers have constantly said Reggie should leave Harlem.  I've never agreed.  I imagine Harlem is special to Reggie for many reasons, but mainly because it is home.  It is a good home.  And Harlem's teams can be good.  Look at Coach Leverett's softball team if you don't believe me.

So I was thrilled to hear Reggie is back and will graduate from Harlem this year.  And his and Coach Chambers' Bulldogs are my sleeper pick to make major noise in class AA hoops this year.  As a young boy, Reggie was able to take a virtually winless program and turn it into a winning, state tournament qualifying team.  and that was in a region with traditional local powers Laney, Westside's, and Josey as peers.  Now the likes of Screvens County, Swainsboro (who I hear is very good), East Lauren's, and Metter stand in the way. I'm confident our adopted, and Harlem's own, hometown boy will help his teammates finish at or very near the top of region play.  And I predict the Bulldogs will make more noise than ever at the state level.  Because no matter the size of the student body, we only put 5 on the court at a time.  And 1 guy can sometimes make all the difference.  Reggie has proven he can be that difference maker.  And in the comfort of his own home, I'm eager to see him do it again.

***Here are more posts from the blog about Reggie Reid and his Harlem Bulldogs, one of the 10 major story lines I am following this season.***

July 11, 2014

Reid Impressive in his Return

Dec 21, 2012

Grovetown @ Harlem (Triple OT Thriller!)

Dec 15, 2012

Evans vs Harlem Boys (Live)

Jan 26, 2012

Harlem's Reid is a Dynamic Player

Dec 11, 2011

Reggie Reid has a Bright Future at Harlem

- by Ashley Brown in the Columbia News Times

CFBL Action - AugBball is Back!

The final Saturday of the 2014 CSRA Fall Basketball League included a special guest, the Queen's Grant Stallions from the Charlotte area.  But the special guest met its match against a select group of local players from Georgia and South Carolina who came together nicely, winning a pair of games against the North Carolinians.  The "home team" featured players from five different schools, but two high school teammates combined to carry their teams throughout the day.

Laney guards Collin Young and Christian Keeling dominated the first game, leading the local group to a 20+ point win.  Young did it all.  By my count he only missed one catch and shoot three all day.  He probably made six or seven.  He also scored off the bounce both in the mid range and in the paint.  He even rebounded, defended, and created for teammates.  These are things I haven't seen consistently from Collin in the past.  He is getting bigger.  The 16 year old is growing into his 6'2" frame nicely.  Saturday's performance was the best I've seen him play.





Keelng lived in the paint and constantly challenged the Queen's Grant defense off the dribble despite the presence of 6'9" Patrick Tape'.  He converted his fair share and shot many free throws.  Christian has always been willing and able to attack off the dribble.  But I was impressed by his ability to hit the mid range jump shot off the bounce going left and right and in the mid post against smaller guards.  Like Young, this junior is filling into his body and he is getting more athletic, dunking off the right foot and off the left foot in warm ups and catching a couple live ones "off the stride" in the second game.

It seems like Collin and Christian's games are rubbing off on each other.  I am not saying these guys are doing this on purpose. It's probably caused by Laney's coach Buck Harris's guidance as he demands that all Wildcats become more complete players all the time.  I can picture these guys battling in one-on-one (we used to call it "cut throat") during Laney's workouts while Buck barks at Collin to get to the hoop after his teammate crowds his jumper. And challenging Christian to develop a better mid range game so he can have a second option to driving all the way to the hole and scoring over bigger defenders.

Multiplying this type of player development by the 10+ impact players on Laney's roster and it is easy to see why the Wildcats have reached the Final 4 of the state tournament during each of the past six seasons.

But these two weren't the only standouts Saturday. Queens Grant's 6'8" junior center Patrick Tape' was probably the most impressive player on the court. His shooting touch, footwork, passing ability, and activity in the paint on both ends made him a consistent force.  Not only was Tape' an impressive player, he also seemed to be an impressive person.  After being chastised by a referee for protesting a non call, Tape' came out of a timeout and politely apologized.  It was a nice thing to see.





But Tape's dominance inside was not enough.  In addition to Young and Keeling, the local team got strong performances from Trey Brown (6'0" Jr, ARC); Demontrez Hawes (6'2" Jr, Westside); Jervon Walker (6'5" Sr, Laney); Christian Robinson (5'10" Westside); and Malik Dunbar (6'4" Sr, Spring Valley).

I've only seen Hawes play twice in the past year, once in July and again that Saturday.  But he is a well regarded player.  And I am struck by his shooting touch and feel for the game.  While teammates repeatedly challenged the 6'9" Tape at the rim, usually ending in a blocked shot, Hawes twice stopped a little short and shot a nice floater over the taller defender.  I look forward to watching him play this year, especially because he is being joined by Aquinas transfer Christian Robinson, another player with a good feel for the game.  Robinson did a good job in this game of making the right pass to the right player at the right time.





Finally, Jervon Walker showed why Coach Harris calls Jervon Walker an "energizer bunny."
See for yourself here.





This is the first post at the new Augusta Basketball Report (AugBball.blogspot.com).  Many remember the Augusta Basketball Report and ABR Live from the 2012-2013 high school basketball season.  Since that time I have not consistently posted articles and videos about area hoops.  Because I am not coaching a high school team this year, and because I like hoops, I plan to do this much more often and much more consistently.  So comment on this post if you are happy to see me back "in the gym."  Or tell me what you would like to see from the site.  I won't fulfill all requests.  But knowing you are reading and knowing what you want will help me make the site better for everyone!

***The "old site" still exists.  I won't update it anymore.  But if you want to sift through roughly 1 million minutes (obvious exaggeration) of hoops footage, you can click here.

Alleluia is on the Rise

During the past three years, I've hosted three Fall leagues, two Summer leagues, and two Spring Leagues.  Alleluia's players have participated every time.  And my homeschool basketball team has played Alleluia in regular season competition for many years.  I have only ever seen one group of boys (old GAIS Eagles) that has ever improved as fast and as much as the current Alleluia group. The Angels have officially become my second favorite high school team of the Augusta Basketball Report era.  (Sorry guys, but I have to put my old guys in first!)

The Angels have no fewer than five boys who can get scorching hot from deep.  6'2" junior guard Mac McBride is a gritty competitor who distributes the ball, attacks the basket, makes shots, and does little (but important) things like being the team's best defensive rebounder in spots.  McBride's back court mate Ben Dresser (6'2" sophomore) has built quite the reputation of making shots from the parking lot, and lots of them.  Dresser also has good ball handling and passing skills so he is a constant threat to score and create.  And junior forward Hayden Hebert plays much bigger than his 6'3" size.  He is athletic and he blows past bigger defenders going right and left equally well.

Alleluia plays in the relatively new GICAA league, which consists of private school teams in Georgia.  I expect them to do extremely well this season.  And I look forward to following their progress.  Here are some near term games:

• Nov 14-15 in a tournament at Victory Baptist (North Augusta)
• Nov 25 @ Curtis Baptist
• Dec 9 Home vs Faith Baptist (Ludowici, GA)

And here is some footage of Alleluia recorded at the most recent Summer and Fall Leagues:

vs Brown's Electric

vs Sports Academy South

This is only the second post at the new Augusta Basketball Report (AugBball.blogspot.com).  Many remember the Augusta Basketball Report and ABR Live from the 2012-2013 high school basketball season.  Since that time I have not consistently posted articles and videos about area hoops.  Because I am not coaching a high school team this year, and because I like hoops, I plan to do this much more often and much more consistently.  So comment on this post if you are happy to see me back "in the gym."  Or tell me what you would like to see from the site.  I won't fulfill all requests.  But knowing you are reading and knowing what you want will help me make the site better for everyone!

***The "old site" still exists.  I won't update it anymore.  But if you want to sift through roughly 1 million minutes (obvious exaggeration) of hoops footage, you can click here.

First Post

This is the first post at the new Augusta Basketball Report (AugBball.blogspot.com).  Many remember the Augusta Basketball Report and ABR Live from the 2012-2013 high school basketball season.  Since that time I have not consistently posted articles and videos about area hoops.  Because I am not coaching a high school team this year, and because I like hoops, I plan to do this much more often and much more consistently.  So comment on this post if you are happy to see me back "in the gym."  Or tell me what you would like to see from the site.  I won't fulfill all requests.  But knowing you are reading and knowing what you want will help me make the site better for everyone!

***The "old site" still exists.  I won't update it anymore.  But if you want to sift through roughly 1 million minutes (obvious exaggeration) of hoops footage, you can click here.

A letter to a hoop dreamer

Letter by Keenan Mann...

I watched a documentary on Netflix with my son called “Doin’ It in the Park:  Pick-Up Basketball, New York City”.  The title pretty aptly describes the content of the one hour and twenty-two minute film.  But, for those in whom the title doesn’t conjure up any images at all, I’ll say it was a very entertaining look at the origins and evolution of pick-up basketball in The Big Apple. 

Along with lots of footage of street ball games from the old days and the new days, the film also contains interviews with some of the more famous players to grace the blacktops, as the outdoor courts are called, over the last fifty years or so.  Some of the more well-known names include Wilt Chamberlain and Julius Erving, who both went on to fame and fortune in the NBA.  But in addition to the NBA legends, there are various mentions of, and even a few very interesting interviews with, some of the more famous street ball legends.  James “Fly” Williams and Pee Wee Kirkland, number two and number four respectively on the 100 All Time Greatest Street Ballers list, as compiled by the Street Basketball Association (yes there is apparently such a list and such an organization), both featured prominently over the course of the film.  Separately, each waxed on about himself and The Game.  Lots of what they said was pure entertainment – I mean hilarious stuff.  For instance, the sixty-one year old Fly Williams, in an apparent response to the interviewer, who is off camera, asking about his notoriety, pointed his finger at his chin and said, “look at this face, I don’t have to tell you who I am, everybody knows The Fly.”  Pee Wee Kirkland, who is around the same age as Fly (I think), at one point says, in a completely serious tone, "if you’ve never left the court crying or went home bleeding, then you don’t know about basketball".

Not all of what they said was comedy.  Some of it was quite informative.  Both Fly and Pee Wee went to college on basketball scholarships.  Pee Wee went to Norfolk State and Fly to Austin Peay.  During his time at Austin Peay, Fly’s fans would chant “The Fly is open, let’s go Peay!”.  The ‘let’s go Peay!’ part of the chant is still used at games to this day.  But the real claim to fame for both was what they did on the blacktops of NYC.  And that’s what really struck me upon immediate reflection.  Both of their interviews were fraught with the phrase, or at least sentiment, “I was…”.  It’s seems that basketball was as good as it ever got for them and many like them.

That notion led me to write the following letter:

Dear ___________,

I was in the gym the other day watching you play.  As a former player myself, I’ve got to tell you, I’m not easily impressed by what I see on the basketball court these days, but I was very impressed with your game.  The jump-shot (mid-range and long), the handles, the hops, the footwork – all tight.  You’re very talented.  But I’m sure you’ve heard all that before from people considerably more talented and important than I, so take it for what it’s worth.

While I’ve got your attention though, I’d like to tell you a few things you may not have heard yet.  First, you’re probably not going to the NBA.  There are about 360 active roster spots in the NBA at any point in time and there are about a million times that many people living in the US alone.  You don’t have to be very good at math, although I hope you are, to understand that a million to one odds are not a very good bet.  And that’s before you add in all the people from all the other countries who have the same idea in their head.  After you add them in, your chances of making it to the NBA all but disappear, practically speaking.  Keep dreaming though, because there’s nothing wrong with that.  But please work on more than just your game.

Second, you probably won’t get a scholarship to play D1 basketball since only one third of one percent of high school players achieve that distinction.  As a point of reference, there are roughly 17,800 boy’s high school basketball teams in the country (there are about as many girls teams by the way).  Assuming there are twelve players to a team, that means out of roughly 213,000 boys, 700 will get a scholarship.  Good luck with that, but please keep in mind that scholars can get scholarships too.

Third, if you do somehow manage to get a D1 scholarship, you probably won’t graduate.  Okay, maybe you will, since 66% of all student athletes graduate in 6 years (55% of black student athletes), but just because you have a degree doesn’t mean you have an education that will be of any use to you.  So be careful what you major in and how seriously you take your studies and remember that your coach may care more about what you do in the next four years than he does about what you do in the next forty. 

(By the way, I got a BA and an MBA in six years and there are people who do it in less time than that, so don’t set your goals too low)

Oh, I almost forgot, pull your damn pants up when you’re wearing street clothes, stop posting all the stupid and vulgar stuff on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram, and stop with the tattoos and ridiculous hairdos.  There’s absolutely nothing original or individualistic about looking like, acting like, or doing like everyone else around you.  In fact, if you want a piece of really good advice, take this from Earl Nightingale, “Whatever the great majority is doing, in any circumstance, if you do the exact opposite, you’ll probably never make a mistake as long as you live”

Now, I hope you’re not too mad at me.  If you are, you can take all of what I said and use it as motivation to get your D1 scholarship and your NBA contract, if you’d like.  I’d be happy to see you achieve both and would not mind at all you thumbing your nose at me when you cross the finish line.  I’d much rather say “congratulations” than “I told you so”.  But please know my purpose in writing you this letter was not to kill your dreams, rather it was to perhaps change your thinking in some small way.  Because, as it was once said, “If your way of thinking changes, your actions change.  If your actions change, your habits change.  If your habits change, your personality changes, and if your personality changes, your self changes.  And once your self is changed, your whole life is different.”

___________, I’d much rather interview you for the documentary I tentatively plan on doing in 10 or 15 years and have you repeatedly say “I am” rather than “I was”.  Your best years should always be ahead of you.

Study hard, play hard, and take care.

Keenan

Brooks, Taylor, and Walker: ABR Live Summer Send-off

***This "flashback post" was originally posted at AugustaEagles.blogspot.com (my "old" blog). It is still there but I no longer post there. I moved it to this blog because Laney is a team I am tracking, and pulling for.***

I have long been impressed with the Laney (Southern Kings AAU) trio of Jayshawn Brooks, Jalen Taylor, and Jervon Walker. I saw them consistently play hard and play well as they tore through Laney's June Summer League schedule, including an undefeated run through the Augusta Metros Summer Series. And they were at it again Tuesday at the old Columbia Middle during the first session of the ABR Live Summer Send-off.

As expected, Laney coach Buck Harris' guys play the game the right way. Brooks is a lights out shooter with very good athleticism. And he is rapidly improving his ability to create off the dribble. Taylor is long and athletic. And he can bury the mid range jumper consistently. Walker plays harder than most, sacrificing his body for loose ball and rebounds, running the court, and finishing in the paint.

Brooks is probably a future shooting guard in a division 1 program. But at the high school and AAU level, these three make up a formidable front line.

Stay tuned to this site for updates about the Southern Kings 17u an the rest of the areas AAU teams who are competing during July's evaluation period. And watch for the July 14-15 ABR Summer Send-off Session 2" schedule!

Reid Impressive in his Return

***This "flashback post" was originally posted at AugustaEagles.blogspot.com (my "old" blog).  It is still there but I no longer post there.  I moved it to this blog because Reggie is someone I am tracking, and pulling for.***




It has been 16 months since we have seen former Harlem guard Reggie Reid.  After leading Harlem to a .500+ record and a spot in the 2012 GHSA state playoffs, Reid transferred to Elev8 Academy in Florida.  Tuesday at the first session of the "ABR Live Summer Send-off" was our first look at him since the 2012 Spring Showcase.

Reid has always been an exceptional athlete who uses his quickness to attack the basket and his strength to finish in the paint.  And one look at Tuesday's pre-game lay up line was enough to verify that Reggie has continued to develop his athleticism.  But during the game, he also showed the ability to knock down the perimeter shot off the catch and off the dribble.  I look forward to seeing Reggie play this month with his Augusta based Southern Kings team.

The Southern Kings will compete in the Augusta/Aiken based Peach State Summer Showcase July 16-20.  But they will begin the evaluation period today with an 8:00 P.M. game in Atlanta against the nation's 5th ranked AAU team, the Florida Vipers.  

Stay tuned for more stories and videos about the area players we hosted Tuesday in session 1 of the "ABR Live Summer Send-off."  And watch for the July 14-15 session 2 schedule!