Aspiring NBA stars, in the sixth and seventh grade, from the City of Milton Basketball teams, took second place in the Starr Athletics 11th annual Spring Fest shootout. The tournament took place at the MalcolmYoungCenter and Legion Field in Pensacola the weekend of March 12.
Haylen Washington, the sixth grade boys assistant coach said, "I was proud of the boys for going out and competing against teams who have been together for a few months and for this to be our first weekend together we still placed second. I'm excited for the spring season."
Warren "Bubba" Hamilton, the sixth and seventh grade assistant coach, and eighth grade head coach said, "For the sixth grade, Raymond was the all around best and most consistent on offense and defense: points, rebounds, and steals. Guards and forwards: Zay, Cody, Javion, Caden, and Aaron created havoc with the zone and full-court press (causing turnovers that led to 60 percent of scoring). They got helpful minutes from reserves Deuce’s scoring and defense, T.J.'s defensive pressure, Brandon's rebounds and ‘big man’ presence in the paint and valuable minutes at the reserve ‘big man.’”
Hamilton continued, “For the seventh grade, Kam led the team in all around scoring. There was great guard played and all around handling and ball skills by Trent, and a mixture of scoring and tough defensive intensity from guards Kemontre, Bryson, Key, Jamari, A.J. Bigs. Marquise, Jordan, Jaden, and Jackson controlled the boards and limited other teams' big men from scoring and rebounding.”
According to Kris Long, director of the travel team program, the City of Milton youth will be playing in another tourney this weekend at the Guy Thompson Community Center. Teams, he said, will be coming from Louisiana, Alabama, and Mississippi. “There will be a lot of good competition.”
“My three girls teams play this weekend,” Long said, “and three of the boys teams.” Entry will be $6 for anyone over 18 and $3 for children.
Long said in the City of Milton program, there are eight teams. He said the program has been working with Milton High School and the community center, using the courts and high school uniforms.
Money from this weekend’s tournament will go toward items like uniforms, entry fees, which can cost around $300, and other travel expenses. Contact Kris Long at 687-9999 to support.
Long said, “I want to thank the community center and the high school for helping us as far as practicing and letting us use uniforms…Our program has 80 kids roughly, all Milton kids. We’ve got some military coaches, retired military, four women coaches for the girls’ teams.”
This article originally appeared on Santa Rosa Press Gazette: Milton Basketball takes second in Pensacola tourney