Youth basketball: Team F.L.Y. wins championship
Published 12:00 am Monday, July 31, 2017
- The USBA championship team. Players, left to right: Raheem Walker, Brevin Goodlett, Ian Stamey, Derrick Page, David Broaddus, William Fisher, Quintous Smith, Jailen Williams, Gabriel Hinceman, Cameron Gill. (Not pictured Dayjuwon Cooke (injury), Hayden Murdock (church missionary). Coaches: Quintous Smith (head coach), David Broaddus (assistant coach), Lonnie Hinceman (assistant coach). Submitted photo
Staff report
Team F.L.Y. was the 10th-grade champion in the 12th annual United States Basketball Association Boys National Championship held at the Charlotte Convention Center on July 18-22.
The team is made up of players from Salisbury, North Rowan, East Rowan, Carson, West Davidson and Northwest Cabarrus high schools.
Team F.L.Y. (For Love of Youth) went 3-o in pool play, winning 67-56 against the Rock Hill Ballers; 61-41 against the Carolina Basketball Club Shockers (Charlotte), and 66-44 over the Gate City Grizzlies (Greensboro).
In bracket play, Team F.L.Y. won in the quarterfinals, 58-35, against Team Heat of Jackson, N.C. Team F.L.Y. won in the semifinals against the G2G Elite team from Pennsylvania.
In the championship game, Team F.L.Y. won, 54-43, against the Hardwood Warriors from Summerville, S.C., to finish 6-0.
The tournament, played on 21 courts, attracted about 500 teams in all and crowned champions from second grade up to 11th/12th grade.
LeBron James’ sons (4th-grade and 6th-grade) participated in the tournament and attracted large crowds.
Lucille O’Neal, mother of Shaquille O’Neal, and the Miami Heat’s Justise Winslow were speakers for the tournament.
Team F.L.Y. was runner-up in the USBA tournament last summer and finished third in this year’s National Travel Basketball Association tournament in Myrtle Beach, S.C.
Team F.L.Y. coaches are head coach Quintous Smith and assistants David Broaddus and Lonnie Hinceman.
Players pictured, left to right, are Raheem Walker, Brevin Goodlett, Ian Stamey, Derrick Page, David Broaddus, William Fisher, Quintous Smith, Jailen Williams, Gabriel Hinceman and Cameron Gill. Not pictured: Dayjuwon Cooke and Hayden Murdock.
