Team AugBball starts Peach State Select with two straight wins

In this video I share highlights, some statistics, and my opinions from Team AugBball's wins in the first two games of this week's Peach State Select tournament:

July AAU Preview - Team AugBball

During the next couple weeks, our area will be a major hub for the some of the best "grassroots/AAU" basketball in the country.  July is a key time for high school basketball players to be evaluated by college coaches.  There are only 21 days during the Spring and Summer periods when players can be evaluated, and 15 of those days are this month.  With the Nike Peach Jam, the country's premier youth basketball event, and the "Peach State" tournaments hosted in the Augusta area beginning tonight, I am excited about seeing our area's best players face some of the nation's best players and teams.  I observed the action during the Spring period.  Here I will preview four teams that feature area players I follow.  And I will be back throughout the next couple weeks to update you on their progress.

Here is my preview of Team AugBball:

I haven't seen many AAU teams shoot and pass the ball as well as this group.  Alleluia's Ben Dresser and Greenbrier's Jakob Nelson are probably the area's best long range shooters.  Mac Mcbride (Alleluia), Moses Jones (Cross Creek), and Justen Hartfield are all capable of scoring and creating off the dribble and knocking down shots from deep.  And Hayden Hebert (Alleluia) is a skilled and athletic wing who impacts the game in many ways.

Dresser regularly strings together 6-8 threes in a game, many from distances rarely seen from a high school player. And he makes more than his fair share of important shots, the shots that win or seal games. And the rising junior is much more than only a shooter.  He handles and passes the ball well and he is mentally and physically tough.  In my preview of Team Power, I listed four players as being probably our area's best guards.  But the truth is I believe Ben belongs in that handful.  And he is only a junior.

I'm glad I've been involved with this group during the Spring because it has given me a chance to get to know Cross Creek's Moses Jones.  He is a fine young man and a very good player.  At times he has been the team's best all around player.  He creates opportunities for teammates with his penetration and willingness to find shooters.  He has a nice shooting touch and scores from deep, in the mid range, and at the rim.  He is a tough kid with a competitive spirit.

Greenbrier struggled last season.  But rising senior guards Justen Hartfield and Jakob Nelson have followed strong individual high school seasons with equally impressive AAU performances in the Spring.  The Wolfpack are in good hands next season.

Alleluia teammates Mac McBride and Hayden Hebert were very consistent throughout the Spring. McBride is a scrappy point guard who can score in all ways and has great instincts.  In addition to making shots from deep, breaking down defenses off the dribble, and creating opportunities for teammates, he does a good job of getting to the free throw line and converting.  Hebert is the team's best rebounder.  He has very good footwork around the basket and can knock down shots from deep as well.

Team AugBball's first several games of the July period will be in the Peach State Select tournament at Augusta Prep on the following dates and times:

Wednesday, July 8 - 6:20 PM
Thursday, July 9 - 10:20 AM
Thursday, July 9 - 2:20 PM
Thursday, July 9 - 7:40 PM
Friday, July 10 - 10:20 AM
Friday, July 10 - 6:20 PM

Alleluia and Augusta Christian meet Tuesday in game of contrasting styles

Alleluia has suddenly become one of our area's best teams

This is a public service announcement... or at least a bit of information relevant to people like me who watch and enjoy our area's high school basketball action.  Alleluia is very good.  If you haven't seen the Angels play, I recommend you treat yourself.  Tuesday's date with Augusta Christian is a great opportunity.

If you have seen coach Dennis McBride's team in action, but your last look was before this season, then you will think you are seeing a brand new team.  Even if you last saw the guys as recently as December, you will notice a transformation.  The rate at which the players improve is truly remarkable.  That Alleluia would visit Ludowici, Georgia, and beat one of the southeast's best independent schools, Faith Baptist, would have seemed impossible a short time ago.  Yet that is exactly what the Angels did Saturday, tallying 90 points in a 9 point victory over the Crusaders.

There is nothing physically intimidating about this group.  But they are mastering the game's fundamentals faster than any group of players I've seen in years.  Tuesday's game at defending South Carolina Independent School Association (SCISA) state champ Augusta Christian will not be the last time hoops fans have a chance to see the Angels in action.  For the majority of the players have eligibility remaining after this season.  But it is a game that has been circled on my calendar since October.  Augusta Christian will refocus its attention after dropping a heart breaking region game Saturday.  And Alleluia will need to find a way to defend the Lions inside, where 6'9" Calvin Taylor and 6'6" freshman Isaiah Kelly hold a distinct advantage that should provide a fascinating contrast to Alleluia's fast paced, sharp shooting attack (see video below).  I'll be there to watch and report here soon afterwards.  As always, I'll see you in the gym!

Alleluia's "homecoming" a success

Highlights from Alleluia's home games last week (scroll down for many more clips)


Alleluia sprinted to its fastest start ever in the season's first ten games, winning nine straight after losing the opener.  And before Tuesday, the team had yet to play in its home gym.  As coach Dennis McBride's team prepared for a four game home stretch, I was anxious to see what the team would do with a home court advantage.  All teams play their best at home.  But Alleluia has always been especially difficult to beat there because the cozy gym puts its highly supportive crowd right on top of the action, and right inside the heads of opposing players.

After jumping out to a quick eight point advantage Tuesday over the formidable Faith Baptist Crusaders, a cold shooting spell at the free throw line (11-24) and difficulty dealing with Faith Baptist's full court pressure resulted in a hard fought 76-68 loss in the season's first home game.  But the Angels bounced back Friday evening with an impressive 83-72 win over Victory Baptist, and scored 50 points in the first half Saturday on the way to an 81-64 win over Sports Academy South.

Sharp shooting guards Ben Dresser (25 points) and Stephen Mulligan (15 points) made a combined nine three pointers in Friday's win.  Junior point guard Mac McBride filled the stat sheet with 14 points, 8 assists, 6 rebounds, and 3 steals.  And junior forward Hayden Hebert scored 18 points while grabbing 10 rebounds.  The Angels gave its filled-to-capacity home crowd plenty to cheer about Friday, scoring 45 points by halftime and maintaining a 10-20 point advantage throughout the second half.  Tuesday's game against the Augusta Eagles homeschool team, who beat Alleluia in the season opener in the Victory Baptist Tip-Off Tournament, will complete the Angels' four game home stand.

Random Notes

One reason I so enjoy following Alleluia is because I like seeing players and teams that improve a lot over time.  It is not unusual to find these guys in the gym at 5:00 A.M. practicing their ball handling and shooting, at 11 P.M. (during high school basketball season) playing pick up ball, or in the middle of a hot summer's day diving on the floor for a loose ball while playing "21."  (Yes, I do mean during the middle of the summer in Augusta's only gym that still doesn't have air conditioning, and yes people evidently still play 21!)  These guys are old school gym rats.  Heck, I'm told they even play on the outdoor courts on school grounds right off Lumpkin Road.  No wonder I like these guys so much!

Two players who had stellar weeks, and whose progress on the court amazes me, are juniors McBride and Hebert.  There was a time, during off season league play against the area's best guards, when McBride would have trouble handling defensive pressure.  I know because I was the referee he would occasionally appeal to for foul calls when the ball was stolen from him.  He needs no such help from the zebras these days.  After Dresser and Milligan shot Victory Baptist out of its zone Friday, McBride dealt the final blow by picking apart Victory Baptist's man-to-man defense, using his ball handling expertise to beat defenders and finish in the paint and at the free throw line.  He scored 10 of his 14 points, making all six of his free throw attempts, during this fourth quarter segment.

McBride is able to get where he wants on the court off the dribble because he "has the ball on a string," as we used to say.  Throughout the week, he used this ability to create great scoring opportunities by beating the initial defender, drawing a crowd and making the right pass to the right guy, or finishing himself.







One year ago, Hebert was a "big man," although he was no taller than 6'3".  After months/years of honing his fundamental skills, he has proven coach McBride right when he says Hayden is a guard. This week he made shots from deep and scored on floaters and pull up jump shots.  He has always been a good athlete, as was evident by his several blocked shots Friday and his rim rocking dunk Saturday.  But until recently, I haven't seen him make this many impressive plays on the perimeter during game action.  The hours in the gym he spends with his teammates are surely the source of this improvement.







One of the most unique characteristics about this team, and about watching them play in their own gym, is their ability to make deep shots.  Lots of them.  Ben Dresser is a pure shooter.  And in Alleluia's gym, his range legitimately starts just behind half court.  No area player since Westside's Frank Booker, now an Oklahoma Sooner, has earned the kind of green light Dresser has.  His ball handling and shot making skills are solid too.  Only a sophomore, I can't think of an underclassman in this area I would rather have were I a coach.







Dresser is far from the only shooter on the roster.  In fact, no one in the rotation lacks shooting range. Along with McBride and Hebert, seniors Milligan and Abe Dresser (older brother of Ben) and sophomore Elliot Balducci are all threats on the perimeter.  Seniors Billy Conkright and Ryan Wilby add experience, rebounding and skill to the front line, ensuring that this team is much more than only a group long range bombers.






For many reasons, an Alleluia home game is a unique and worthwhile experience for any basketball fan.  The mix and depth of fundamental skills the guys possess is hard to find in high school teams. These features combined with the intimate feel of the gym and the community make this Tuesday's 7:30 P.M. game a hard one for a basketball fan like myself to skip.

Alleluia Wins 6th Straight!

Alleluia's season opening loss, a heart breaker to the homeschool Eagles when Alleluia gave up a double-digit second half lead, must seem like ages ago to Angels players and coaches.  The guys have responded with six consecutive wins, including a tournament championship in North Georgia against the likes of GISA power Furtah Prep and formidable Faith Baptist, and a convincing victory Tuesday over cross town rival Curtis Baptist.  The Angels are starting to turn heads with their unique combination of unselfish, heady play mixed with a crew of long range bombers, an athletic front line player, and a gritty leader who makes things go.  Mix all that with coach Dennis McBride, a consummate gym rat who during games has almost as much fun as his players, and you get an entertaining evening whenever the Angels take the court.  I put these clips together from Tuesday's game to try to show what I like so much about these guys:






And speaking of turning heads, I hope Matt Miller (sophomore USMMA hooper and former player whom I am also tracking) doesn't mind my sharing a text exchange from earlier this morning regarding the Alleluia boys.  He was evidently following my live tweeting of Tuesday's game.  And I neglected to send the most important tweet of the night:  the one with the game's final score.  Matt wanted to know how one of our new favorite squad's game ended.  Here is the exchange:

I am in blue. Matt is in white.
And I meant "layups," not "labs," Siri!

Matt and his teammates will soon discover their own secrets to having fun AND winning.  Just like Alleluia is currently learning to do.  And they are learning in good style!


***Here are posts from the past about Alleluia***

Nov 26, 2014
Alleluia Wins 6th Straight

Nov 19, 2014
Video Breakdown of Key Alleluia Players

Nov 5, 2014
Alleluia is on the Rise

Video Breakdown of Key Alleluia Players

I have tried my hand at "community building."  No easy task.  But like all experts, Alleluia head coach and community builder extraordinaire Dennis McBride makes it look easy.  I am happy to say I have gotten to know the players and families associated with the Alleluia basketball program.  And it is an impressive bunch.  Through all the years of hosting basketball activities, the Alleluia Community School is the only place that allowed me to use its facility rent free with no strings attached to offer the free basketball leagues and programs to Augusta's schools and children.  And after I stopped coaching the GAIS Eagles, Dennis even allowed me to coach his guys during a recent fall league, meeting whatever urge I may still have to teach the game to young people.

Today is Dennis' birthday, so I'll repay him for everything he has done for me with this analysis (what a bad birthday present!) of his exciting 2014-15 Alleluia Angels, the team I call "pound for pound the most skilled group of basketball players in town."  The core of this group has been taking its lumps in "AugBball off-season leagues" for over three years against the city's best teams and players.  But the guys have recently established themselves as a force.  And after an opening weekend split of games in a tournament hosted by Victory Baptist, I can't wait to see what kind of damage the Angels will do this season in GICAA (Georgia based private school league) action.

McBride has installed a new offensive system.  And he has done it the right way, using almost every minute of available preseason practice time to drill the principles from the ground up.  As each day and week passed, the players' use of the "read and react" principles became more advanced and second nature.  I visited a practice roughly two weeks before the team's opening game, a narrow loss to the homeschool Augusta Eagles team.  Between that practice, the practice shown in the video footage below (taken roughly a week later), and the team's first game (about another full week later), the players' grasp of the required spacing, cutting, passing, and reading of the defense has progressed significantly.  Watch the guys put into game use the principles learned in practice here:




Of course it's easier to get a lot out of a passing and cutting offense when your players are highly skilled and extremely unselfish.  Almost everybody on the team can shoot from deep.  Sophomore Ben Dresser is probably the most dangerous long range bomber.  I have him pegged as our area's best long range shooter.  See here:




As shown below, Junior Mac McBride takes on a lot of responsibility, initiating the offense, penetrating the defense to get to the foul line, and giving teammates easy looks.




Hayden Hebert is a very versatile forward who gives inside players fits with his ability to face the basket, shoot from deep, and penetrate and finish with either hand.




I underestimated Steven Milligan's ability to score.  His instincts are great.  He is always moving without the ball, and putting pressure on the defense.  He consistently makes shots from long range and finishes in the paint after a dribble drive or a pass from a teammate.




The Angels are scoring over 70 points per game after the season's opening weekend.  After playing in a tournament this weekend in North Georgia, Alleluia returns to face Curtis Baptist Tuesday, November 19.

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.