5/22/09- The 15u Team Georgia Elite 2012 Dream Team dominated the 16u AAU State with an average margin of victory of 29 points.  Coach Al Outlaw had mixed feelings after the championship showdown between the 15u & 16u teams competed for the championship which was won by the 15u team.  "I was proud of the 15u team and I was proud of our guys also.  We were 6 - 0 going into the championship game against our 15u team.  Our guys fought hard to get to the championship." said Outlaw. 

The 16u team basically had six key players.  Coach Outlaw managed to get the rest of the team to over-achieve.  But in the championship game, his team couldn't compete against the deep bench 10 man rotation of the 15u Elite team.  "I expected a hard-fought game, but our guys played like they were happy to finish second and I didn't like it."  said Outlaw.  "I expected a family feud.  And I wanted our guys to know that it was okay to finish second. But deep inside I was proud of all of the guys. But I couldn't let them know that.  I have to prepare my guys mentally to compete in the national championship."

"I am not taking anything away from the 15u team.  They were clearly the best team in the tournament.  Everyone who played them weren't a test for team.  They cruised to victory all the way to the championship.  They played with a purpose and they were on a mission.  And their mission was accomplished with flying colors.  They haters are becoming admires.  They are the best young team I have seen.  They are even better than the Atlanta Celtic team that had Dwight Howard, Josh Smith, and Randolph Morris.  The current team is bigger and deeper.  I coached against both teams.  My 15u team defeated the Atlanta Celtics in the AAU State, and was the only team in Georgia that defeated  the Celtics.  But that Celtic team wasn't as deep as this Elite Dream Team, and the Celtic was always trying to find a point-guard around the country that could help them win a championship. This Elite Team has all the pieces right now, and they killed everyone inside and outside including us.  And when you breakdown each player on the Elite Dream Team, they all have a lot of room for growth and improvement.  It is scary to think where that team and each player will be in three years. I give Linzy a lot of credit for how he assembled that team.  He is on a mission to make this team the best team in the history of AAU when the final chapter is written.  Linzy is traveling around the world saving lives and changing lives.  He deserves a team like this that coaches can't steal away.  And college coaches will see the power of the Elite."

 

Tourcoing, France - 4/13/09 -  The USA jumped out to a surprising 27 - 20 lead by the end of the first quarter, but 6'9 William Coleman picked up his second foul with 2 minutes remaining in the first quarter, and was forced to sit most of the second quarter, and Serbia took full advantage of their size and strength.  Serbia's front line average height is 7'1, with players who can move, run, shoot, and rebound at a high level.  Serbia, like the rest of the international teams are filled with pro players with 4 to 8 years of experience.  Their life is FIBA basketball, and it showed rest of the game as the USA dealt with mounting frustration with the officials who called 5 phantom intentional fouls, of which 3 of those calls were in the last 48 seconds, with the USA trailing by 4 points.  The USA also had 4 goal tending calls, of which they were the blame of touching the backboard.  The USA also were in training on how to get a call when driving to the basket, as well as avoid a foul on guards driving to the basket.  The USA was also learning how to avoid intentional fouls when being charge by the offense.  "It was the most frustrating international game I have coached." said Davis.  "I told my players this is FIBA, not American basketball.  They have to relax, focus, and win in spite of the calls.  We can't negotiate with the officials. They will not change their calls, but good passing and screens, and back-door cuts will take the officials out of the game." said Davis. "At the end of the day, you must master position defense and play tough."
But is was Serbia proving to be the tougher and bigger opponent as they erased a seven point USA lead, and outscored the USA in the second quarter, 33-22.  "We went into half-time and emphasized defense." said Davis.  "If you let a team score 33 points every quarter, it will be very tough to win that game."  The USA responded in the third quarter by outscoring Serbia 21 to 19, and it looked like the USA had the right momentum to close in and win the game, but 6'9 Zach Hillesland picked up his 5th foul early in the forth period, and the USA lost their inside leader with the most experience on the team.  He was replaced with a very talented freshman 6'7 Willie Clayton, who played great, especially defensively, but lacked the experience of a Notre Dame starting senior.  However, the USA found a way to battle and close within 4 points, 99 - 95, with 48 seconds left, but were called with 3 intentional fouls, that stretched the final score to 105 - 95.  Serbia will defend their title against Belgium for the 22u World Championship.  The USA will play Russia for 3rd place.  Russia lost to Belgium in overtime 111-109. 

The USA was led by Nate Miles who scored a game-high 35 points, followed by Enrico Pickett 19 points, Zach Hillesland 18 points, and William Coleman finished with 12 points and 14 rebounds.

The USA will face another very tough opponent in Russia who is very similar to Serbia.  Russia defeated Serbia in pool play, but lost to the Netherlands by 15 points who are playing for 5th place.

"My major goal was to make it to the Final 4 this year and return with a monster squad next year. Now let's not get my words twisted, I wanted to win it all this year, but I knew it would be a great challenge because I really needed at least 3 more veteran players.  Each team here has two players 25 years-old and the rest of their teams are 22u." said Davis   "It takes a lot of work to pull in the correct players so you can gain instant chemistry.  We had just one practice before getting thrown into the fire.  There is a minimum 6-hour time difference for each player, and the food is very different from what the guys are use to.  That is just the beginning to this exciting experience.  There is a language barrier for the players, and an entire different way you have to play the game of basketball in order to be successful in winning the championship.  I have won five of these FIBA World Tournaments.  USA Basketball lost the world championship to Serbia with Johnny Flynn and Michael Beasley.  I would have donated blood to have those two players for this tournament.  But I have no regrets with the players we had here.  We were one game from playing in the final.  We were the youngest team here with players as young as 14 years old, who were able to play and contribute.  Our young veteran players performed very well, and learned a lot about the FIBA game.  The guys moving onto the pros know what to expect if they play in FIBA.  The college players will be much better players in the fall.  And the high school players will continue to grow into special players in the future.  Three of those players are freshman who play for me in the USA.  They will have an opportunity to compete on this type of stage about eight more times before they graduate from high school.  And what college coach wouldn't want a player like that with invaluable skills and experience. And the two junior guards learned a lot and can use this experience their senior year to show maturity and focus in their game which will help them have a recruiting edge over the competition.
And to top things off, we have figured out a niche, that will allow us to work with College, junior college, and high school coaches to find the right 10 guys to win over here year after year.  The best example for the USA to follow is the group that blew out all the National Teams, and was led by Chase Budinger (MVP), Thaddeus Young, Javaris Crittenton, Brook and Robin Lopez, and Nick Calathes.  You will be surprised to know that there are a lot of players in the USA with the type of potential of that special group of players that are willing to jump on the world stage and have their names known in 120 countries, while gaining valuable experience to take back to their respective schools." said Davis 

The USA players all expressed interest in returning to Europe with coach Davis. "I want to play in Douai in June.  And I want to return to Tourcoing.  I have unfinished business to take care of." said William Coleman. "I want to play in Douai also in June." said Enrico Pickett and Jamaal Trice.  And Willie Clayton capped off the entire USA Elite National Team experience when he said, "I'm having the time of my life.  I can't wait to show my mom, dad and coach all my pictures in the newspapers here.  The French fans love us.  We have been mobbed by fans the entire time we have been here.  I have signed so many autographs and taken so many pictures.  I haven't seen anything like this in my life.  I feel like I'm as famous as Kobe Bryant and Labron James.  The fans even follow us to our hotel.  This has really been exciting.  This is the time of my life and I can't wait to return with coach.  I learned a lot including some French. Merci."

Nate Miles leads USA Elite pass France

Tourcoing, France- 4/10/09- In game one, the young 22u USA Elite squeezed pass France 83-80.  6'7 Nate Miles, Toledo, OH, scored a game-high 37 points for the USA and did everything except sell popcorn.   He scored inside and from 3-point range.  The USA jumped out to a 26 -20 first quarter lead.  The high scoring pace is typical of coach Linzy Davis style.  Nate Miles thrived in the system scoring the first five points of the game.  But the USA was outscored 26 to 12 in the second quarter, and had to go without Zachary Hillesland for much of the quarter do to early foul-trouble as he was adjusting to the international rules.  High school freshman Willie Clayton, replaced Hillesland, and he made an instant impact scoring five points in the 2nd period. However, the USA trailed by 8 points at half-time.
"We had to make some defensive and offensive adjustment at half-time." said Davis.  "We are competing against pros and there is no room for error.  They capitalized on every mistake, and made us pay with dunks. We had to settle down and think.  FIBA is a position game.  And it is a game of skill and aggression.  We had to take away passing lanes and screens, and we had to contend all jumpshots.  We also had to double out the post and rotate defensively.  We can't afford to lose our bigs, especially, William Coleman."  said Davis.  "On the offensive end, we had to be more patient and trust each other.  We also had to establish an attack game." And that's what the USA did.  The USA jumped all over France in the 3rd quarter and outscored them 25 to 15, and took a 63 to 61 lead going into the 4th quarter.

Jamaal Trice was a big contributor to the victory as he shut down the best player on the opposing team while scoring 16 points, including hitting two 3-point shots under pressure.  He showed strength and poise and had no turnovers.  William Coleman was a beast on the inside as he scored 13 points and 15 rebounds.  "He jumps so high, he gives me noise bleeds." said Davis.

Enrico Pickett was solid running the point.  UCONN and Florida lead in his recruitment.  Jamaal Trice said he is solid with UCONN, and by his performance in France after his first game, it seems like UCONN has made a very wise selection.  And drama may build around William "Sky" Coleman.  It seems like Memphis and Kentucky have work to do. He is keeping his options open.  This guy is a "must" on recruiting list.  His upside is tremendous.  He is a special player who can take a program over the top...  Nate Miles looks like he's ready to impress NBA pro scouts.  He has tremendous poise and confidence, and he is a smooth scoring player.  And Zachary Hillesland can make good money in FIBA.  He is a point-forward, and skilled players that beats you a lot more ways than just scoring.  Gerald Williams and Zachary Bradley are proving to be two junior guards that need to be on every coaches wish list.  Both have a high IQ for the game.   Both can score, defend and find the open man. Steve Larking is also proving to be a good college prospect.  The future also looks bright for three freshman, Willie Clayton, Drew Davis, and Keenan Palmore.

The USA Team has players as young as 14-years old and all contributed.  The USA is preparing for Morocco.  The game will be played Saturday morning at 9:00 am.

Team Georgia Elite Outlaw advance to the Elite 8

Aiken, SC-3/29/09- The Super elite 10 of the Team Georgia Elite 2012 Dream Team decided to play up in the 16u AAU Super Regional.  The results have been astounding as Team Georgia Elite has blown pass the Southern Kings 16u team 85 - 71 and South Carolina Panthers 16u team 90 -53 "The most exciting thing I like about this team is the character of each individual.  All of these young men are honor roll students and model students." said Coach Linzy Davis. "I'm also excited about the addition of 6'2 Soph CG Larry Thompson (Creekside).  He is a dead-eye 3-point shooter like Drew, which takes pressure off our post players." 

Team Georgia Elite still has shown no weaknesses.  Willie Clayton, Joe Uchebo, Abdulwali Kasim, Robert Ojeah, and Ismail'a Douda, are the best big men in the state of Georgia and they are all on the same team.  Then coach Davis has managed to recruit the best guards in the state to bring together perfect chemistry with Drew Davis, Stanton Davis, Keenan Palmore, Mark Jones, and Larry Thompson.  The team is filled with players who play a minimum of three positions.  The team has been performing at a high level and is 11 - 0, with an average margin of victory of 25.5.  "We still have a long way to go and we are working on what we need to work on individually and collectively to keep improving." said Davis.  "I'm trying to prepare this team for FIBA World Championship Tournaments in Europe.  I want these young men winning world championships on the Global Stage."