BN Roundup: Weathering the Storm

Two teams entered the Boys 10th Grade Division, three in the Boys 7th and 8th Grade Division, and two in the Boys 6th Grade Division in the Court 23 Summer Sizzle Shootout in Plano. "We were the tournament this weekend," Founder/CEO Brian Crawford said. "If you wanted to say you were the best in almost any division, you had to go through Ballers Nation Basketball."

Coach Elijah Coppock’s HS team started their weekend with back-to-back close losses, the closest being a 57-52 loss that was decided in the final two minutes. “It was a learning weekend for the guys. After getting the players to listen and know that I’m here to help, they understood and in the last two games bounce-backed games, they played hard and played the right way. They made it look easy and they all know it’s not personal, but there is a right way to play the game of basketball and it’s my job to make sure they know that,” said Coppock.  Those final two games were both double-digit wins of 69-56 and 73-43 to close the weekend with a 2-2 record. 

Head Coach Ricky Wilson coached a Junior Ballers team that played up a division as well as the MS White team over the weekend. Even after dropping two games early, both teams bounced back and tallied wins to finish the tournament. “The guys struggled early on adjusting to the speed of the game in the DFW area. Once they approached it with the right mindset they started playing our brand of basketball,” Wilson said. 

Head Coach for MS Blue Noah Radatz shared his thoughts after a productive weekend in Plano. “Our players have had a great season so far, with each tournament showing how much growth they have had in the heat competition and the development in practice,” Radatz said. “Watching their development from tournament to tournament has been exciting to view each weekend and excites me for the next tournament we participate in.”

After the initial games, a Ballers Nation team would occupy every hourly game window until the nightcap at 6:50. Heading into Championship Sunday, Coach Jeremy Tatum led the MS Grey team into the championship game against an AR DevilNation team with a raucous  Arkansas-heavy crowd behind them. The action got going early, with the largest lead of the contest being a nine-point DevilNation advantage in the early going of the second half. That lead was quickly taken back after an 11-0 Ballers Nation run coming out of a timeout. Similar to the Lady Ballers' 7th/8th-grade thriller against Platinum, multiple ties took place (6) and BN found themselves down one 47-46 with less than seven seconds remaining. After a timeout, Tatum’s team was able to get an open look at a game-winning basket. However, they were unable to hit and clinched 2nd place out of a ten-team field.

“I am extremely proud of how the boys competed all weekend as they put away teams in the fashion I expected! The championship game was an environment in which they never flinched one bit throughout the entire game,” Tatum said. “Even in a one-point loss, the growth and maturation they showed in that type of environment was tremendous! They never gave up and will only continue growing the rest of the summer!”

Coach Crawford offered this as his final overview of the organization’s weekend in Plano: “Overall I am truly blessed to be able to see in year 21 the fruition of such a great blessing of having 10 boys and girls teams competing in an event! To have all our coaches, parents, and kids under 1 roof and they all support each other throughout a weekend is truly remarkable. I truly give all the Glory to God, and thank our parents for their support of the PROCESS.”

PHOTOS FROM THE WEEKEND 2024 Court 23 Summer Sizzle Shootout