Grind Region Preview: ABC Basketball
We may be in the middle of high school basketball season but it’s not too early to look ahead to what’s coming up on the AAU circuit. Over the next few months we will be taking a look at the teams that will be participating in the PrepHoops Circuit Grind Region and here’s a look at ABC Basketball out of Oklahoma.
ABC Basketball will have teams in the 17U and 16U divisions of the Grind Region and will be at the #Grind Szn Kickoff, Midwest Grind Session, and Grind Region Finals.
Here’s a transcript of a conversation we had with coach Shaun Norton.
Why did you start your program? How long have you been around?
I have been here since the start back in 2015. We created ABC (American Basketball Club) to give ALL kids a chance to play summer ball and travel some. We have kept the dues really really low so that everyone can play ($250 for a complete season of 8 tourney’s). But with doing that we have had kids with tons of talent come through that couldn’t afford to travel 70 miles out of town to practice twice a week come and play with us. And most of our graduates go play at the next level somewhere. We wanted to create something for the kids to do other than get in trouble. And it has worked. We have never told a kid “no” that has showed up to practice. Yes we have different level of teams that play at different levels of competition but we find a place for every kid that is willing to show up and put in work. To some of our players we are the closest thing to a family they have and we wouldn’t have it any other way.
What is the goal of your program for 2019?
Man to be honest our goal is to just be competitive and have fun doing it. We have a team of extremely talented Jr’s this year with a couple of Sr’s mixed in. This year will be a learning year to set us up for a even stronger year next year. We also added for the first time a 16U team. Usually we make the underclassman play up and get experience of playing at that level and it has worked well for us. But playing in the Grassroots Circuit we decided to split them off and let them be successful playing players their age.
What is your program’s mission each year?
To grow and prepare this kids for not just basketball but for life. There is a life lesson in every tourney and game.
Do you know of any players that will be back in your program this year? Who should we have our eye on?
We have our entire team coming back this year with the addition of a few players.
2019 – Michael Barns: 6’3 Guard Great all around athlete with length
2020 – Jack VanDaley 5’11 Shoots lights out. Has two 40+ games averages just over 20 and a full court buzzer beater
2020 – Hunter Parson 6’1 Guard Sharp Shooter. Averages almost 20 w/ game high of 29
2020 – Brenden Dan 6’2 Guard averaging 20 per game and has that awesome game winner buzzer beater that put the loss in un-defeated team.
Why did you choose the Prep Hoops Circuit?
Respect and exposure. Lets be honest who plays basketball and doesn’t know or hasn’t heard of “PrepHoops”. So we took a chance put in our application and here we are.