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| All-Ohio Red NYBL Championship Picture |
Two years ago, Jerry Francis’ All-Ohio Red squad joined
forces with Demarko Bradley’s All-Ohio Purple team with the intent to “put a
competitive team together, to survive and to win a national championship,’ said
Bradley. The coaches of 2 of the top 5th grade teams in the country
noticed that other teams had picked up kids and upgraded and realized a need to
do the same. Heading into the 2013 travel basketball season the newly
constructed All-Ohio Red received a significant amount of hype (admittedly from
this website) and was quickly ordained the number 1 ranked team in the country.
As luck would have it, the newly formed
National Youth Basketball League (NYBL) gave the elite squad a new platform in
which to display their talent, and they did not disappoint. Although they
dropped a close game to Carolina Preps (now Team CP3) in session #2 of the NYBL, All-Ohio Red would later avenge their lone loss to Carolina Preps in the NYBL
Finals in route to their first of 2 NYBL championships
Fast-forward to the 2014 season, and despite losing to
the then Carolina Preps in the AAU National Championships the previous year,
All-Ohio Red was still considered one of the top 2 teams in the country. After
a 5-0 start in session #1 of the 2014 NYBL season, and a Team CP3 loss at the
hands of Josh Woodson’s Texas Express Elite, All-Ohio Red was again considered
the favorite to repeat as NYBL National Champions, and possibly collect an AAU
National Championship as well. As most people know by now, All-Ohio collected
their second NYBL National Championship, but was again defeated by Team CP3 at
the AAU Nationals, thus, finishing 3rd for the second straight year.
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| Keion Brooks, Simon Banks, Sydney Curry & Kyle Rode |
Despite an impressive 107-3 record over a 2-year span,
Bradley’s team will look significantly different when the ball tips in March. The
2015 season will feature a revamped team with more size and more interior
scoring. Gone are Jordan Mitchell (will
run the point for King James), Gerard Reynolds, Greg Tribble Jr. and possibly
Chris Payne. Returning players include
Jeremiah Francis, Demarko Bradley Jr., Andre Gordon, Amari Davis, Malachi
Matthews and Chris’Sean Stringer.
According to Bradley, his 2015 team will “have 5 of the best players in
Ohio.” In an effort to keep pace with other elite teams who will upgrade in the
off season (Team CP3 has picked up Chris Hinton and Myles Pierre), Indiana’s
Keion Brooks (6'3 WF), Sydney Curry (6'5 C), Simon Banks (5'8 PG), AJ White and Kentucky’s Kyle Rode (6'5 PF) will join Bradley's team and will provide the size All-Ohio lacked this past season. Some sceptics of the merger might question if there are enough basketballs to go around on such a loaded team. "yes there are enough balls to go around. Our style of plays allows us to play a lot of kids," countered Bradley. "We will put kids in [their right] position. "We could not have survived with out bigs," continued Bradley. In addition to the players, Keion Brooks Sr. will join Bradley
and Francis on the bench next season.
Now that we know the make up of the new team, the
question of sponsorship and a team name remains. Currently, Bradley is in
discussion with Under Armour (UA) and All-Ohio’s Jerry Watson regarding
sponsorship for next year. According to Bradley, George Hill
was in the running early, but has since dropped out of the race. “Jerry
[Watson] and Benji [Burke) are still trying to keep the team. They are coming the right way with us now,” continued Bradley. In elite travel
basketball, it’s often about “show me the money,” and that’s apparently what UA
has offered to do. According to Bradley, “Under Armour will pay for
everything. They want the kids in their
tournaments and in their camps. They only want us to play at the AAU Nationals,
the NYBL and play up in the 9th grade division at several
tournament,” continued Bradley. If Bradley signs with UA the new team will run
as I-70 Elite next season. In terms of a time frame
for the decision-making, Bradley expects to have an answer from Watson (weather
to match UA’s offer) by this weekend.
Speaking of this weekend, the new team is set to debut in Fort Wayne,
Indiana.
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| 2015 Coaching Staff |
Despite All-Ohio’s tremendous success since the Red/Purple merger 2
short years ago, as is almost always the case, playing time, roles, positions
and publicity were partially to blame for the departure of a couple of players.
“There are so many hidden agendas; parents have hidden agendas,” said
Bradley. “It’s never enough. We go 107-3 in 2 years and only loose to one
team and it’s just never enough. “You guys [NYBL] gave too much pub to some guys
and not enough to some others I guess,” complained Bradley. Travel basketball at the elite level often
results in resentment, anger and jealousy.
When faced with losing elite status, most teams are forced to upgrade
their talent in order to remain relevant.
To make room for that new talent, coaches, players and parents often have to
part ways. This is a difficult process
that is often resisted until the very end.
Unfortunately, there is very little loyalty in the game.
Now that Bradley’s squad can score, rebound and can
handle zone defenses with the nation's elite, he feels his team is once again the team to beat, and
should be ranked #1 nationally when pre-season polls are released. "We will have 7 nationally ranked players on this team," Bradley said. With their return to year 3 of the NYBL in
2015, All-Ohio or I-70 Elite depending on the decision, will have to prove
their medal against new comers like D.C. Premier who has also upgraded an
already elite team. In addition to D.C. Premier, the NYBL will add several more elite teams, some of which have flown
way under the radar and will prove to be tough competitors. 2015 is already looking to be another very exciting year
for the class of 2019!
