Sports

Bearcats eye national title

• The Albany Bearcats AAU team finished the regular season with an impressive 24-5 record, qualifying themselves in the process for the AAU Nationals.

Adam Alexander
Staff Correspondent

ALBANY — To all those who are not familiar with the Albany Bearcats — you might want to get to know them, because by the end this weekend they could very well be bringing an AAU National Championship back to Dougherty County.

Comprised of the best players from local high schools Monroe, Westover, Dougherty and Albany High, this dynamic group of young basketball phenoms finished up a 24-5 season recently, earning the team a shot at the 2007 AAU National Championships, which begin today in Orlando, Fla.

Head coach Reggie Boone says  the road to victory was not an easy one, despite the fact that the Bearcats have plenty of talent on their team to rely on.

"It's so much talent here in Dougherty County and the surrounding areas that we don't have to go that far to get (players)," said Boone, whose team already has played in four national tournament in preparation for the AAU nationals, finishing in the top four in three of them and second in the other.

The AAU season, which began a week after the conclusion of the high school season, is a time that the players brandish their skills to the many college scouts that come out to watch the games. Starting forward Arthur Blackmon and guard Dexter Ellington are just two of the five major Division I prospects on the Bearcats.

First-year Bearcat Blackmon, a 6-foot-2, 172-pound junior from Worth County High School, says that while he has his hopes set on playing for Florida State, right now he’s just enjoying being on a winning team that has a legitimate shot at also winning a national title.

"My first year has been a really good experience," he said. "All of us play team ball and I feel real good about going to Nationals."

While the players remain optimistic about their chances, coach Boone simply is trilled to once again work with a group of dedicated individuals. The fifth-year coach, who will be making his third trip to the Nationals, loves the role he has in ensuring the success of the players.

"I'm like a big brother to them. I try to make them feel as relaxed as possible and not put any pressure on them," Boone said. "It all starts with communication. Each guy I recruit, I talk to and let him know that he can come to me about anything."

The players agree that the closeness they share with the coaches really has helped shape them into what they have become. Ellington, another first-year Bearcats player from Randolph-Clay High School, understands the importance of bonding with his coach and teammates since he captains the floor as its starting point guard.

"So far, we got a lot of good players and I know if we continue to work hard, we can do some things come Nationals," said Ellington, who also has hopes to attend Florida State.

Making it to this point isn’t a surprise to those on the Bearcats, considering the level of talent and camaraderie on display at every practice and every game. But like each good team on its way up, there also were a few downs along the way. The Bearcats opened the 2007 season feeling unstoppable, but after a tough one-point loss in the first game of the Super Regional tournament in Macon, coach Boone said he had to rally his players together, assuring them the only way to recover was to stick together and realize that it was just one loss.

So the team regrouped, and since then have gone 24-4 in the last 28 games.

Boone’s long-time friend and assistant coach Darren Shannon pointed out that team ball is what got them where they are now, and it is what hopefully will procure a victory for them at Nationals.

"So many teams like focus on the individual game, whereas we stress the team concept," Shannon said.

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