BY: CONTRIBUTING ONSITE REPORTER
When you think of the DMV, the first teams that come
to mind in the class of 2021 are New World Basketball Academy (DC) and Team
Takeover (DC), but just 30 miles or so down the road you run into Baltimore
City (MD), home of Baltimore’s Finest (Bmore’s Finest / BMF) for short.
Over
the past three years, Coach Donnell “Mookie” Dobbins has been at the forefront
of youth basketball in Baltimore City.
At such young ages these 11-12 year old's have hit the circuit as if they
were seeking scholarships, with stops in Ohio, Louisiana, Tennessee, Virginia
and soon to be Las Vegas.
Coach Dobbins believes that this is a special group
of kids that have an opportunity to turn into a special group of young men.
Baltimore has been through a lot in the past couple of months, but that has not
stopped this coach and his kids from doing what they love, and that’s to compete.
Bmore’s Finest finished 12th at the 5th Grade
National Championship Tournament last season, but with the new aged-based AAU
rule change, many on the circuit believe that they could be a front runner in winning
the national title this year!! The team doesn’t lose anyone from its
2014 roster, a roster that includes 6 nationally recognized players.
Coach “Mookie” (as
the kids say) and his boys have been able to make a run at its first trip to
the National Youth Basketball League (NYBL), with a third place finish and a 16-4
record overall in one of the most competitive leagues for middle school
ballers. Not to mention that, this group may have been the youngest team in the
field of 28 teams, half the roster will be turning 12 this summer.
This team is often identified by its tenacious
ball pressure and defense, often competing against bigger kids, they are
relentless on the ball and play an up in your face style. Bmore’s
Finest will be finishing up the year by competing in the Team Teague
Invitational (IN) mid June and both the East Coast (Hampton, VA) and West Coast
(California) AAU Nationals in July.
If you have an opportunity to catch these kids in action,
stop and take a look. They lay it all on the floor.
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