Middle Row (L to R): Zaewuan Baines, Tee Bryan, Trevor Johnson, LA Gates
Front Row (L to R): Mehki Hines, Corey Brown, Landon Johnson, Kani Turner
8th Grade AAU Basketball Team Raises Season Record to 43-7
The Roanoke-based Virginia All-Stars 2020 beat the Central Kentucky Magic (Lexington) 69-54 in the National Travel Basketball Association National Championship game on Saturday, July 16th.
Zaewuan Baines scored 24 points in the game to lead the All-Stars in scoring and to cap a week which saw the team complete a perfect 7-0 record against leading competition from all over the Southeast
“Two years ago we lost in the championship game,” said Coach Shannon Taylor. “And last year we finished in the Final Four, so we really wanted to get it done this year.”
The championship team includes rising freshmen (class of 2020) who will attend high school at Patrick Henry, William Fleming, Northside, William Byrd, and North Cross. The team set winning the championship this year as their primary goal according to Taylor, who has coached most of these players since the fourth grade.
“We started conditioning work a few times a week at PlayFitStayFit in the fall and kept going all through the spring to build our strength,” said Taylor. “Then we added some key players during the winter and installed some new sets throughout the summer. These are some incredibly hard working kids and their passion and heart showed all season.”
The All-Stars won their pool with a 3-0 record. After avenging a loss from last season’s tournament against PSB Select (Charlotte, North Carolina) on Tuesday by a 51-39 score, they beat the Strictly Business Ballers (Greater Atlanta, Georgia) on Wednesday 65-22 and CKY Magic 53-29 on Thursday. Baines, a 6’2″ guard, led the Virginia All-Stars in scoring during the pool play with a 16.3 average and forward Tee Bryan (6’4″) chipped in with 10 points per game.
In the round of sixteen, the All-Stars held off the Northeastern Georgia Warriors 52-45. A
5’8″ point guard, Kani Turner scored 11 points for the team and directed a strong floor game. Baines and forward Trevor Johnson (6’2″) paced the team with 12 points each.
“That was a tough game,” said Taylor. “We played great defense in the first half, but struggled some offensively and from the free throw line. That kept them in the game and we had to stay strong when they made their runs in the second half. In the end, our tough man-to-man defense was the difference.”
Later Friday evening, the All-Stars beat the Upward Stars Riverfront (South Carolina) 55-42 in what was a close game early before the Roanoke based team pulled away in the second half. Baines and Bryan each had 11 to lead the team, 6’1″ swingman LeAnthony Gates added 10 in the win.
“This tournament tests us every year,” said Taylor. “It’s a long week and you play teams from all over with a wide variety of playing styles. We have to adjust to effectively compete and we did just that throughout the week.”
The Virginia All-Stars 2020 had to rally early on Saturday – with the semi-finals and the finals both during the morning – it was a tough end to a long week.
The NoVA Cavaliers (Loudon County, Virginia) won a close game against the Fairfax Cowboys (Virginia) to set up a semi-final matchup with the All-Stars. Battling through a competitive matchup, the All-Stars pulled away in the second half for a 60-46 win. Baines, a rising freshman at North Cross, led all scorers with 18. Turner played solid defense and scored 14, but it was 6’1″ super sub Corey Brown’s 10 second half points that fueled the run to the final game rematch later Saturday.
“It’s so difficult to beat a team twice in the same tournament,” said Coach Taylor. “I knew it would be a battle, but we’d prepared for it and I felt confident we’d beat them again.”
The confidence was validated as the All-Stars jumped out to a 36-19 lead at halftime against the very physical Magic team. Johnson hit four three-point baskets in that first half to jump start the run. To counter the outside success, the Magic switched to a man-to-man defense which was repeatedly attacked by Bryan and Baines who combined for 23 points in the second half. The two Roanokers closed out the game by going a combined nine for 11 from the free throw line.
The 7-0 showing at the NTBA National Championship Tournament raised the Virginia All-Stars 2020 record to 43-7 and while they’ve won many local and regional tournaments through the five years Taylor has coached the team, it was the 8th graders’ first National tournament trophy.
“It’s what we worked for all year,” said Taylor. “To see it happen for them was really satisfying. They are a great group of young men and I couldn’t be more proud of them. It was a hard run for us, but coaching them is pretty easy.”
