We recently looked at a few standout players from last month''s Basketball Group Team Camp powered by Training Grounds. Click here for that offering.
As a result of the event, multiple high school players walked away being at least becoming known by new recruiters. Moreso, those competitors will be recruited by colleges, the first step in receiving a scholarship offer. many even received that actual invitation to attend college, for free.
A coach with a high school program he started and manages, why would Malcom Battle take on this BGTC workload?
"To introduce and connect more kids to NAIA, USCAA NCAA D2/D3 and JUCO opportunities" said Battle, head coach at Bard (DC) who also initiated a program at Chavez (DC). He's long helped kids throughout the DMV region, whether they played for him or not.
Battle then went on to credit Mel George for his central role end efforts making the BGTC a reality: "Mel was the mastermind that figured out the piece of getting schools here".
"When we discovered that the NAIA coaches largely didn't recruit the DC area due to travel budget restrictions" revealed George, "i saw this as an opportunity for our highly talented student athletes in the DMV", upon being asked about what motivated him.
George, a talented professional with feet in the marketing and non-profit worlds, immediately tapped his contact list, securing funding from sources new and old, while working with Battle planning the event.
Expanding the BGTC's attractiveness, George shared "Additionally we sold the DC TAG program's existence to NAIA and other coaches". A Washington, DC educational initiative for high school graduates, DC TAG provides financial support for graduates of the city's high school system.
Quite naturally doing so increased college recruiter interest, as DC TAG could "significantly reduce their (colleges') scholarship budget", a boon for any program, per George. Over 20 different schools attended.
Battle believes "our kids miss out just by lack of info on these schools and the level of play". A perfectionist,, he responded "It's still a work in progress" when asked whether the BGTC was successful: That's a hard grade indeed, and undersells just how many players walked away with collegiate interest/offers, previously unreceived.
To that end, a listing of colleges and the attending players participating they now recruiting follows. As more get recruited via the BTGC, their names will be added.
WVU Tech
Antwan Gross, offer
Isaiah Williams, offer
Donovon Flammer, offer
SUNO
Julian King, offer
Antwan Gross,, offer
Washington Adventist University
Bard - DeAngelo Fogle, offer
Arkansas Baptist
Cjhi Ekeagwu, offered
McDaniel College
Damari Thompson, interest
St. Thomas
Stephen Lamar, interest
Bowie State
Stephen Lamar, interest
Stilman
Stephen Lamar, interest
Plattsburg
Dylan Moore, interest
Damari Thompson, interest
Howard Community College
Marquel Thompson, offer
Vorhees
Aaron Jackson, interest
Kamari Pointer, interest
Brazil Hutchinson, interest
Kamali Burns, interest
Julian King, interest
Antwan Gross, interest
