Baltimore's Team Thrill basketball program wins second national championship of 2016

BALTIMORE (WBFF) -- Charm City's own Team Thrill AAU basketball program has won its second championship of the year, thanks to the efforts of its 7th Grade Class of 2021 team.

Earlier this week, the 11-member team took on Team Suffolk from Southeast Virginia in the AAU National Championship for their division in Hampton, Va. The 7th-grade Team Thrill squad won 67-53, becoming the second group from the program to win an AAU championship in the last month. Two weeks earlier, Team Thrill 4th Grade Class of 2024 beat Miami’s Night Rydas Elite team in Tennessee.

Coach Donnell “Mookie” Dobbins said Ahmad Harrison help to lead the seventh-grade team to victory with strong perimeter defense and leadership, while Ryan Conway, Darrius Tilghman and Christian Moore provided the team with perimeter scoring.

He also noted the contributions of Detwan Montague, Malik Missouri down low, and Saveon Jackson, who he said contributed persistent rebounding and energy. William Lane, Karell Booker, Rasheed Dupree and Jalen Bryant supplemented the team’s championship play, Dobbins said.

“We worked hard for this all year,” said Dobbins. “When you surround them with greatness, this is what you will get in return.”

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Before July, Baltimore’s youth basketball programs had not brought home a national AAU championship trophy since 2001, back when Team Thrill’s founder, Denver Nuggets guard Will Barton, played AAU basketball in Baltimore, Dobbins said. The city has now broken that drought with two top performances from its Team Thrill squads. Furthermore, both teams won championships during Team Thrill’s inaugural year.

Dobbins said 2016 has been a period of transformation and sacrifice for the seventh-grade team. “I put a lot of pressure on them to figure things out for themselves this year,” he said in an interview. “Any of them could be the superstar, but they bought into that strength in numbers.”

Dobbins said he believes his teams’ recent successes have put Baltimore on the map once again as a place for young basketball talent. “Baltimore is traditionally known for good basketball players,” he said. “But for the last couple years there had been a drought. They’re kind of bringing that tradition and culture back to Baltimore basketball.”

While 2016 was Team Thrill’s first year in existence, Dobbins has coached the same group of players for the last five years under a different name – Bmore’s Finest. Dobbins served as the grassroots coordinator for that team before becoming executive director for Team Thrill.

Barton, who is now in his second year of a three-year contract with the NBA’s Denver Nuggets, founded Team Thrill as a way to give back to his home city, Dobbins said. “He had a vision that when he made it to the NBA that he wanted to start an AAU program and give back,” he said.

Dobbins has run the program and is helping his young players to achieve national success. Team Thrill has earned sponsorship from Under Armour, and was featured on a segment of “60 Minutes Sports” this past January.

For next month, Team Thrill has invited the top 40 players from across the United States to participate in Barton’s “Will Barton Elite Camp.” Those seeking to learn more about the Team Thrill organization can visit www.teamthrillbmore.com.