Chattanooga Elite Hosts AAU Hoops Tourney At McCallie

70 Teams In Seven Age Divisions This Weekend

  • Friday, March 27, 2015
  • B.B. Branton
Former Riverside basketball star Leroy Alexander is a coach in the Chattanooga Elite AAU program
Former Riverside basketball star Leroy Alexander is a coach in the Chattanooga Elite AAU program
photo by M.A. Locke

Former Riverside all-star point guard Leroy Alexander has trophies and medals from long past championship seasons.

 

A conference title in college in 1971 and at 22 years old, coaching Riverside to its last of three state crowns in 1972.

 

More importantly than all the hardware and awards in a trophy case are three pieces of paper.

 

A high school diploma, an undergraduate degree from Alabama State and a master's degree from South Carolina State.

 

Today, four decades removed from that state champion 1972 squad (33-1) led by Anthony Roberts and Frank Jones and including five wins against Howard, Alexander still teaches the fundamentals of the hardwood and the classroom.

 

Coaching a sixth grade boys’ team under the banner of Chattanooga Elite, Alexander along with several other former high school players are volunteering their time several nights a week from now through early summer.

 

Volunteering to pour their lives into tomorrow’s leaders while following a well-designed blue print to give those who work hard using a ticket to college called basketball.

 

Chattanooga Elite Classic: This weekend, Chattanooga Elite is hosting a three-day tournament for all its age divisions at McCallie with the first games of pool play scheduled for tonight and the finals set for Sunday afternoon.

 

The Chattanooga Elite teams are on the road most every weekend and money raised, in part, by hosting a tournament helps defray out-of-town tournament expenses.

 

“We not only teach them basketball skills and offer these kids from fourth through 11th grade a chance to go to college,” said Chattanooga Elite president Kelcey Watson who is an assistant basketball coach at Tyner Academy, “but we want to provide the necessary tools to show them how to not only get to college, but to earn that all important diploma.

 

“We want them to earn that degree and come back and have a positive influence in our community.”

 

Now in its fifth year of existence, Chattanooga Elite is partnering this spring with the mayor’s office to provide tutors at various recreation centers so the kids in the Chattanooga Elite program (144 players on 12 age division teams) can receive help with their classwork between the end of the school day and the start of practice.

 

“With their parents’ permission, we are able to monitor each players’ grades on a weekly basis and to make it clear that if they want to play they must keep their grades up,” said Alexander.

 

Watson, who played at Kirkman and has a degree in Masters of Arts in Teaching from ETSU and teaches sixth grade math at Tyner Middle School, is pleased to point out seven alums of the Chattanooga Elite program have received college scholarships to play basketball.

 

“It is very important that we as coaches instill in our players the importance of graduating from high school and college,” said Watson.

 

While success on the court is an important end result of hard work – four age divisions teams won north Georgia tournaments last weekend and one fourth grade team has won a Super Regional punching its ticket to nationals - Chattanooga Elite has a well-designed blue print for success which includes taking players on trips to college campuses and walking them through the necessary steps of acceptance to college and the recruiting process.

 

Newspaper clippings touting great wins fade over time and shiny trophies become dull, but the hard work to earn a diploma and be a positive contributor in the local community will last.

 

“These kids won’t play basketball forever and we want to make sure they attain the skills and knowledge in the next few years to be productive citizens later in life,” Watson stated.

 

contact B.B.

Branton at william.branton@comcast.net

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