DOUGLAS, Ga. \u2014 A new post-graduate basketball program in south Georgia is giving recent high school graduates a chance to spend a year developing their skills while maintaining NCAA eligibility and earning college credits at South Georgia State College.<\/p>\n
Flight 88 Elite is named after late NFL star Demaryius Thomas and was founded by Paul Williams, the basketball coach who first met Thomas when he was a 9-year-old growing up in Georgia, and Roger Whitehouse, a longtime friend.<\/p>\n
Honoring a legacy<\/p>\n
\u201cWe had nine players and I can still see him sitting in the bleachers with that ball he kept throwing up and down,\u201d Williams said. \u201cHe kept looking at me and I was on my cell phone. I just happened to look over there and he had that same smile, he didn\u2019t say much. I went over to him and I was just like \u2018I\u2019m gonna put you on our team. If you mess up, I\u2019ll play with four players.\u2019 Again, he just smiled, never caught an attitude with me. I didn\u2019t know it at that moment, but that smile changed my life.\u201d<\/p>\n
Whitehouse said the program was Thomas\u2019s dream.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe\u2019ve known each other for a long time and I knew this was Demaryius\u2019 dream because Paul used to talk about it all the time,\u201d Whitehouse said. \u201cAbout a year ago… we\u2019ve been talking about it for about three years and I finally just said dude lets do it. That\u2019s when we started to hit the trail and now here, we are.\u201d<\/p>\n
Program structure<\/p>\n
Players receive a meal plan and dormitory housing at South Georgia State College. The program will have its own row of rooms in the dormitory. <\/p>\n
\u201cLike I said, we couldn\u2019t do this without South Georgia State College. Everybody is just buying in and the main purpose is not for us; it\u2019s for the younger generation,\u201d said Williams.<\/p>\n
The daily schedule includes 5 a.m. runs and calisthenics, followed by 100-200 shots in the gym. Players then attend classes before returning for three hours of practice at 3 p.m., Whitehouse said.<\/p>\n
Player perspective<\/p>\n
Former Cairo Syrupmaker, CJ Hammonds, said the program offers a nontraditional path to college basketball.<\/p>\n
\u201cI just see it as an opportunity to grow as a player before I make the big step to go to a JUCO, DII or DI college,\u201d Hammonds said. \u201cI feel like with the tournaments that we\u2019re going to play in around the county I can get recognized and be able to make a big step next season.\u201d<\/p>\n
Whitehouse said success means placing all players in a collegiate program after one year. <\/p>\n
\u201cThe success of this group, this organization is to give them an opportunity that they weren\u2019t originally able to get,\u201d Whitehouse said. \u201cSo, a year from now? I want to be able to recruit 23 more kids because that means all our guys went off to their appropriate schools.\u201d<\/p>\n
First season details<\/p>\n
Three south Georgia players are on the inaugural roster: Jeffery Hicks from Fitzgerald, CJ Hammonds from Cairo and A.J. Franklin from Mitchell County.<\/p>\n
The team will host several tournaments and individual matchups at the Coffee Douglas Rec-Center starting in the fall. They will also travel across the country participating in other tournaments. <\/p>\n
Flight 88 Elite is a nonprofit organization that runs on donations. The first season begins Aug. 14.<\/p>\n
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