Hartsville's Evans Gilliard is leading a group of talented young men to Greensboro, N.C., today to begin the USAA 12 and Under AAU National Tournament.
The tournament will begin Saturday, July 5, and run through Monday July 7.
The team is sponsored by the Hartsville YMCA and enters the tournament as a number six seed. Teams are seeded by the number of tournaments they have won prior to entering.
During the tournament, several different games will be played simultaneously; therefore, Gilliard said, it is important for the kids to stay focused.
The Rockets are playing in USAA’s Division III. Divisions I and II are teams that select from state-wide talent pools and from large metropolitan areas, respectively. Given the fact that the Rockets are all from either Hartsville or Bishopville, Gilliard said the team falls into division III.
“The last couple of practices, the kids have looked good,” Gilliard said. “We had a three-week lull while kids were on vacation, so we couldn’t practice at full level. But, these past few weeks they have looked good.”
The coach, former head coach of the Runnin’ Red Foxes, said the main issue facing the team is that each player played recreation basketball and was a star on his team. That, Gilliard says, has made learning to play as a team a priority. “All of these kids played rec ball and were stars on the team,” said Gilliard. “Now when you pull them all together, you have to teach them how to play team basketball. If we stay focused and play as a team, we have a good chance.”
The team is getting the opportunity due to the donations of some of Gilliard’s former players. Roderick “Moo Moo” Blakney gave them the money for new uniforms to participate in the tournament. Albert Haynesworth, who now plays football for the Tennessee Titans, donated the money for the hotel rooms the players will be staying in during the tournament.
The team also received donations from Eldridge White and Herman Montague.
Hartsville head coach Aric Samuel is also excited about the prospects playing on the team as well, Gilliard said. “When these kids become juniors and seniors, they have the talent to win one or two state championships,” Gilliard added.
The team will be departing from the YMCA in Hartsville at noon today. Gilliard said they still need donations to keep the parents’ cost as low as possible and encouraged anyone who wants to donate to stop by the YMCA before the team leaves.
“We want this to be an experience they will remember their whole lives,” Gilliard said. “The kids that have gone [to the tournaments] in the past have always remembered the trips they went on. We want to thank all the people that are helping make this a possibility for these kids.”
The Rockets will be facing 40 teams from all over the nation as they represent the city of Hartsville.
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