AAU basketball

[BLUEDOVE3]

They do have the two best players in houston regardless of class IMO. Jared Vanderbilt and Deaaron Fox. I think Carsen Edwards from Atascosita is also on the team as well as Janecek from scarbrough. The kid silsbee shut down.

And thats all that matters - Bingo!! 

[Mr. Buddy Garrity]

Houston Defenders 17u UAA team just beat Texas Lightning by 20 in the semifinals of the Great American Shootout in Dallas. The Lightning is made up of a lot of Bridgeport's HS team and is coached by Brad Chasteen, a former HS Coach from South Grand Prarie and Coppell with over 500 wins before being hired by Mark Cuban's brother in law to coach his AAU team. Devonte Patterson is a beast.

I will say this. Silsbee may have a state championship in its future but I can't imagine it will be next year.

His daddy was too ;)

[TxHoops]

His daddy was too ;)

Holy smoke - is that Andrae's boy??

[Mr. Buddy Garrity]

Holy smoke - is that Andrae's boy??

Finley

[TxHoops]

Finley

Ahh - I was thinking Andrae since you had spent time in Abilene. Finley even better.

[Mr. Buddy Garrity]

Ahh - I was thinking Andrae since you had spent time in Abilene. Finley even better.

Put 2 and 2 together. Mavs connect, Finley and his kid. Those boys were suppose to be in Flower Mound. Cuban $$$

[Tyler Dixson]

They played at the bridge city-orangefield tourney two years ago when they were still homeschooled

[Jbox]

Devonte Patterson is absolutely NOT Michael Finley's son.  This is a rumor that got started several years ago and won't die.  He was mistakenly referred to as his son on some basketball site years ago and it's still out there if you look him up.  Michael Finley and Neal Hawks are friends, but Finley is not Devonte's father.  I know that everyone is really interested in this story, so I've uploaded the best source.  Neal Hawks gave an interview to the local paper to clear up some things.  Enjoy!

[Jbox]

Well, unfortunately I guess I can't upload both pages and the bulk of the info is on the second page, so here's the whole thing in text.  Sorry for the crappy formatting:

 

BY TRAVIS LISLE
[email protected]

Before season
started, the buzz
was alive in North
Texas basketball
circles.
“Mark Cuban’s sister has
some foster kids at Bridgeport.”
“Michael Finley’s kid is
playing at Bridgeport.”
“Bridgeport moved in
these four kids and put
them in a house together to
play basketball there.”
Rumors and speculation
ran rampant about juniors
— Keenan Holdman,
Devonte Patterson, Caleb
Smith and Ethan Chapman
— that moved into
Wise County and enrolled at
Bridgeport.
With no offi
cial word
about them,
the misinf
o rma t i o n
snowbal led
and peaked
at the state
tournament,
where fans and media were
skeptical of the Bulls’ championship.
After hoisting the 4A
state championship trophy
and accounting for 456 of
the Bulls’ 519 playoff points,
people wanted answers
about their sudden arrival.
The story begins with Neal
Hawks, a Nebraskan often
referred to as a prominent
businessman and Mark Cuban’s
brother-in-law (they
married sisters).
Unlike the Dallas Mavericks’
owner, Hawks is reserved
and calculated in his
public life. He keeps to himself
and doesn’t like to do
interviews.
The son of Howard and
Myrna Hawks said his father
was the fi rst in his family
to leave the farm, attending
college at the University
of Nebraska before taking
a job with GM in Anderson,
Ind.
Howard is now chairman
of the board of regents at
Nebraska.
After GM, the Hawks patriarch
served as president
of three subsidiary groups,
Northern Natural Resources,
Northern Liquid Fuels
Group and Northern Plains
Natural Gas Co., before
founding the energy company
Tenaska.
Hawks also attended the
University of Nebraska,
earning a law degree, and
after working for a corporation
in Omaha, he began a
career in real estate.
He discovered a passion
for the game of basketball at
Nebraska and joined a traveling
basketball team comprised
of ex-Huskers who
played all over the country
for about 10 years.
Though Hawks isn’t one
to reveal his exact worth,
he humbly admits that he
has been fortunate when it
comes to his money and success.
He also gained a passion
for charity, especially involving
children. That passion
indirectly brought him
to where he is today with six
boys under his roof.
A single man at the time,
Hawks became the legal
guardian of Chapman in
2007, and after marrying
his wife, Jamie, in 2010, the
Hawks’ life changed even
more when they received a
call from an aquaintance in
Flower Mound where they
were living at the time.
“One day out of the blue,
my wife got a call from a
lady that she knew but
didn’t know well,” Hawks
said. “She told my wife
about this young man [La-
John Williams] who needed
help because of his home
and school situation. This
was about four years ago,
and we had him come over
and talked to him.
“Jamie and I really liked
him, so he moved in with
us and went through three
years at Flower Mound
High and is now at college.”
Soon after, Keenan Holdman
came into the fold and
found his place as part of
the Hawks’ family. Then Caleb
Smith followed.
Hawks said that he simply
saw opportunities to
give these kids a better
education and living situation.
He said the boys were
behind academically, so they
decided to help them “catch
up” by homeschooling.
 

“After my wife and I discussed
it, we decided that
homeschooling was the
way to go because we have
the ability to have a tutor/
teacher work with them
1-on-1 or 1-on-3 and you can
focus on the areas that they
need help in moreso than an
eight-period school schedule
where you’re in class with
a 30 other people and one
teacher for 50 minutes a
session,” Hawks explained.
Devonte Patterson was
the last boy to join the
Hawks family.
“We got a call one day
from a gentleman in Wichita,
Kan., that I had never
spoken to before in my life,”
Hawks said. “I didn’t know
his name or anything about
him. Somehow he had heard
that we helped kids.
“I fi nd it interesting that
it gets around like that,” he
said. “He told us all about
Devonte. Devonte’s grandmother
had recently died,
and she was the glue that
held the family together. We
had him come down for a
weekend, and we loved his
infectious personality.”
Though the transition
from Patterson’s life in
Wichita to his new home
with the Hawks wasn’t perfect,
they eventually became
a tight-knit family unit.
When Neal and Jamie had
their fi rst biological child,
Noah, Patterson’s relationship
with his new brother
was unbreakable.
“They share a bond that
is pretty incredible,” Hawks
said. “We’ve been very fortunate
to have Devonte come
into our lives. Where he was
then, and where he has gotten
himself to is nothing
short of incredible.
“When he moved in with
us, he had never played
an organized sport. So the
Devonte Patterson you see
down on the fl oor of the Alamodome
kicking some butt
is a long way removed from
the kid that moved in with
us and had never played
basketball almost four years
ago. He’s done that himself.
He worked and worked at it
and put thousands of hours
in the gym and weightroom.”
With fi ve young men living
and studying under their
roof, Hawks wanted the boys
to experience the thrill and
life lessons learned from organized
sports.
He formed the Flower
Mound Rebels with other
homeschooled kids.
“When we were the eighthgrade
Flower Mound Rebels,
we had nine or 10 kids,”
Hawks said. “It wasn’t just
kids that lived in my house.
There’s a lot of homeschool
teams out there. We had a
good time doing it. When we
were a freshman team ... we
probably played about 70
games, some were local and
others we had to travel to.
“We’d take our tutor along
with us, and that’s the great
thing about homeschool is
you can take kids all over
and they can still take care
of their school work,” he
said.
As the team traveled,
Hawks took the boys to
museums, making lifelong
memories and increasing
the boys’ knowledge and
understanding of how the
country works.
In 2011, Hawks approached
coach Brad Chasteen
to coach the Rebels.
Chasteen was teaching
and coaching at Coppell
High School at the time. He
was originally skeptical of
Hawks’ motives.
“Being a traditional
coaching guy, I was a little
hesitant,” Chasteen said. “In
2011-12, I worked them out
Sunday nights, and I got to
see up close and personal
what these boys were about.
“It was a unique situation,”
he said. “They had a
tremendous passion.”
After the 2012 school year,
Chasteen retired from Coppell
and began coaching the
Rebels, traveling all over
the globe with Hawks and
the boys.
“It was something that I
would never have had the
chance to do on my own,”
Chasteen said. “I got to ‘double-
dip’ as they say, being
paid to coach the Rebels and
also collecting retirement.
My kids were out of school
by that time so it was the
perfect situation for us.”
Being so close to the boys,
Chasteen said that they
showed all of the characteristics
of brothers.
“When you homeschool
and live together and play ball
together, you’re together more
than average brothers,” he
said. “If they didn’t care about
each other and love each other,
they couldn’t make it work.”
Chasteen believes the boys
not only advanced academically
with their studies, but
they also advanced at fi ve
times the rate of his average
pupil.
“There’s no question that
the extra work they have done
has sped up the learning curve
signifi cantly,” he said. “If these
kids were under my tutelage
in a traditional setting, they
would be good players but not
where they are now.”
The boys also got advice
and coaching from Mavericks
legend Michael Finley.
“If I had to pick a guy out
of the Dallas/Fort Worth metroplex
that I would like my
kids to mold themselves after,
it would probably be Michael
Finley,” said Hawks, who met
him during his charity work.
Hawks said that after Finley
took a front offi ce job with
the Mavericks, his ability to
work with the boys was limited
due to NBA rules regarding
employees and high school
athletes.
Last year, Neal and Jamie
decided that it was time to
bring the boys into a public
school environment.
Williams was heading to
Blinn College and the other
four boys were at a point
where Hawks felt they could
handle their studies on their
own.
“My wife and I talked about
it and we decided that if we
wanted the boys to be successful
in college, and we hope
that all four of the juniors and
LaJohn down at Blinn will
complete college, they needed
to get back into a setting
where they were responsible
to eight or 10 people a day,”
Hawks said.
Looking for the ideal community,
Hawks discovered
Bridgeport.
Bridgeport’s size and location
were a draw — a smalltown
feel that was out of the
Metroplex, but also close
enough to attend Mavericks
and Dallas Cowboys games.
With Jamie’s family in
Rockwall and Dallas, and
Bridgeport being right along
the road to to their ranch in
Rotan, the location couldn’t
have been better.
The Hawks built a home
on 15 acres that could house
two adults, a nanny/tutor, six
young men and a young child.
“I hope everybody noticed
that we didn’t come in and
rent a house,” Hawks said.
“We came in and built a
house. We’re here in Bridgeport
and we intend to stay in
Bridgeport.
“The people have welcomed
us with open arms and that’s
probably been the best thing
about our move. The friends
we’ve made and the kids just
being fully accepted in the
school and the community has
been amazing. We all know
about the awful stuff going on
in Ferguson, Mo., but I want
to say that we have not experienced
any of that in Bridgeport.
The people, community
and schools have been great.
We love it here.”
Hawks and the boys also
had fun with the Bridgeport/
Decatur rivalry.
“The kids had some great
signs,” Hawks laughingly admited.
“We took a lot of them
home. ‘Bridgeport Hawks’
and ‘Put in the Bridgeport
kids now.’ None of them were
mean-spirited and I thought
they were pretty funny.”
Hawks is puzzled by the rumor
that his boys were somehow
recruited by Bridgeport.
“Why would we come to
Bridgeport for basketball?”
Hawks questioned. “No offense
to anyone, but that
seems like a pretty unlikely
scenario.”
Other rumors regarding the
Bulls’ new players centered
on Hawks and his relationship
with the boys. To some
degree, Hawks understands
why people would question
their unique situation and
how it relates to youth sports.
“It makes sense in a couple
of ways to me,” he said. “I certainly
don’t want to include
everybody in Wise County
or everybody in Texas, but I
think there are a lot of people
out there in our society that
don’t think that you would
actually just help kids to help
them. There has to be some
kind of other motive, and
that’s a sad thing. I like kids.
My wife and I like kids. We’re
really fortunate to have these
boys in our home and have
them be part of our family.
We’re proud of them and happy
that we made the discision
to help them.”
He adds: “This doesn’t have
anything to do with basketball.
LaJohn, as a matter of
fact, is about 5’7” so I’m pretty
sure that when we told him
he could move in with us and
we’d help him, basketball
wasn’t at the forefront of our
mind. It’s not about that, and
I’m sure there are a lot of people
who will look at that statement
with skepticism. We use
athletics as a spring board to
success academically and behaviorally.”
When speaking on his role
in the boys’ lives, Hawks’ says
that it is close to father and
son.
“It’s maybe not exactly father/
son but it has a lot of
father/son components to it,”
he said. “We have our fun and
our love and our family time.
From the background that
some of them came from there
probably weren’t too many
rules and I’ve got a lot more
rules than they would like to
have.”
Those rules include a 10:30
bed time on school nights and
them leaving their cell phones
in the downstairs kitchen before
heading upstairs for bed.
Hawks also wants them
to keep some perspective on
life, buying them older, but
reliable used cars instead of
brand new cars. Hawks says
that if they weren’t involved
in sports, he would expect his
boys to get jobs and contribute
by paying for things that he
and Jamie currently provide.
When it comes to school
work, there is no compromise.
“We don’t care if you play
basketball,” he explained. “We
expect respect in our house
for Jamie and I and for your
brothers. We expect you to
work hard in school. You’re
not going to get anywhere if
you don’t work hard at school.
Basketball is irrelevant if you
don’t work hard at school. I
try to stay out of them deciding
what they want to do, and
what they don’t want to do.
When I get involved is when
they decide to do something,
we’re going to do it to the best
of their ability. We’re not going
to do anything half way. I believe
in that.”
Hawks appears to practice
what he preaches, teaming up
with John Robinson, owner of
JRob’s to establish a workout
regimen with the boys.
Robinson said that the beginning
of their training had
more to do with getting their
bodies right and preparing
a foundation. Once that was
accomplished, their performance
on the court skyrocketed.
Robinson also focused attention
to the mental aspect of
their training, throwing new
things at them in workouts
and forcing them to overcome
the mental walls physical
fatigue can build. Robinson
says that their mental toughness
was on full display at the
state tournament in the Alamodome.
“You saw the other teams
start to slow down or have
to substitute,” he said. “But
these kids got faster and
stronger as the game went on.
That’s because they’ve done
the work and earned that
ability. The training we do is a
lot about taking on more once
you’re tired.” They also continued
their work with Chasteen
which the retired Coppell
coach hoped would not step
on the toes of Alan Green, the
Bulls head coach.
“During the regular season
there is some shooting and
skill work,” he said. “I try to
coordinate with Coach Green.
Usually the travel team coach
isn’t in unison with the high
school coach. It’s the opposite.
There have been times when
the whole program comes and
works with me two nights a
week and sometimes three.”
He also praised Green for
how he molded the team and
guided them through the season
and the playoffs on the
way to a championship.
As much as Chasteen, Finley,
Green and Robinson have
helped the four boys understand
what it takes to be great
basketball players, Hawks
hopes that he can show them
what it takes to be good to
others.
“I’ve always tried to include
them in our Seats for
Soldiers night where we get
all of the front row seats for
a Mavs game and give them
to wounded soldiers from the
Brooke Army Medical Center,”
he said. “I think the important
lesson for them is that
they’re fortunate right now.
There’s a lot of people in the
world that aren’t as fortunate,
and whether they need your
help fi nancially if you’re able
to give it, or they just need a
hug or a smile and some encouragement...
there’s a lot
of people out there that need
help and I hope that if they’re
in position to do that, they will
step up and do that stuff.”
Last Christmas, Hawks got
in touch with a woman that
had recently moved out of
a shelter and into an apartment
with her two sons. He
and Jamie encouraged their
boys to help buy presents for
all three and give the small
single-mother family a special
holiday.
That Christmas was also
memorable for the boys because
it happened to be right
in the middle of their dominant
2014 basketball season.
At one point, however, it
seemed that their state championship
hopes might be derailed
when Devonte Patterson
was suddenly suspended
from the team. The suspension
only fueled the rumor
fi re that had spread across
the area. Hawks was willing
to shed a little light on what
happened that day.
“I’m not going to go into the
details for him because he is
still a student,” he said about
Patterson. “Devonte made a
mistake. He’s 18-years old
and he owned up to it. He has
satisfi ed the school’s punishment
for it. He’s still satisfying
my punishment for it at
home. I will say that it wasn’t
for the consumption of drugs
or alcohol, because that rumor
is out there. He also has not
failed a drug test or anything
like that. I’m actually proud of
him for the way he’s handled
it. He’s moved forward and,
like I said, he’s still satisfying
his home requirements but
we’re moving on.”
When Patterson returned
to the team after fulfi lling
his suspension, the Bulls
continued their trail to the
state tournament.
In San Antonio, speculation
about the Bulls picked
up.
But Hawks says the boys’
ability to play legitimately
under UIL rules was proven
well before the season.
“There’s different provisions
in the UIL bilaws
and constitutions for different
types of guardianship,”
Hawks said. “We’re aware
of those rules and we vetted
them. We went to the Bridgeport
superintendent and athletic
director and we’re comfortable
with where we’re at
on those rules and that we’ve
complied with them.
“One thing I’d like to clear
up is that we’re referred to
as transfers a lot. We’re not
transfers, we’re move-ins.
We’ve never participated in
any UIL contest for any other
schools, so we’re not tranfers,
we’re move-ins.”
Cuban was also brought
up at the tournament and
though Mark’s wife Tiffany,
and Neal’s wife Jamie are
sisters, Neal describes he
and Mark’s relationship as
a friendship that doesn’t
require them to hang out
together all of the time. He
says that they don’t see each
other that often and that
Cuban’s involvement with
the Bridgeport Bulls is nonexistant.
The real story is that these
move-ins came to Bridgeport
to be part of a community,
and in return, they brought
the town its fi rst state championship.
Hawks said that
it’s the community of Bridgeport
that makes the state
championship so special.
“They haven’t always had
that support,” Hawks said.
“They’ve played in a lot of
empty gyms. Now, they have
this community that they’re
entrenched in with all of this
support. I think it might actually
mean more to them
than anybody else, because
it means so much to them
being accepted by our new
friends in Bridgeport.”
Hawks says that the boys
have started working out
again with Robinson after a
two-week hiatus from their
more extreme training following
the title run. LaJohn
is doing well at Blinn.
Keenan Holdman was
named to the National
Honor Society Wednesday
night and Caleb and Ethan
are making A’s and B’s.
Hawks also says that Patterson
is close to being an
A/B student. Neal and Jamie
continue to work with
Big Brother Big Sister,
where Hawks says that he’s
been for 10-15 years. He is
also on the board of an organization
called Promising
Youth Alliance, or PYA,
a collaboration between
the Boys and Girls Club,
Big Brother Big Sister and
Phoenix house that allows
them to help underprivaledged
children who have
also been around drug and
alcohol abuse.
The two parents are bracing
themselves for the next
four kids leaving the nest after
next year.
“They will all have opportunities
beyond high school,”
Chasteen said. “Coach Green
and I talk to Divison I college
coaches all the time.
“That being said, there
will come a day when there’s
no more basketball. Hopefully
they can transfer what
they’ve learned from me,
Neal and Coach Green into
everyday life.”
Many have speculated
a great deal about this
team that came together in
Bridgeport and took the 4A
state title.
Many people have opinions
about who these boys are,
who Neal Hawks is, and how
the town of Bridgeport got
their state championship.
Many of those opinions had
little factual ground to stand
on. Perhaps now the stories
told about Bridgeport’s state
championship can just be
about a great team that won
it all.
Hawks: Guardian clears air about Bulls
Continued from page 1B
JOE DUTY/
WCMESSENGER
• Buy reprints at
wcmessenger.
com/reprints
SHARING
IN THE JOY
— Devonte
Patterson
holds Noah,
Neal Hawks’
son, after the
state title
game.

[TxHoops]

Thanks for sharing. Great article.

[Jbox]

Can anybody tell me about Houston Hoopstars Elite 17u. We play them this Saturday.

[TxHoops]

Our 17u (Defenders) beat them in the Finals of the Spring Ice Breaker. 6'10" kid Denzalle Henderson is a nice big. Pretty solid group.

[BLUEDOVE3]

Hoopstars always have the bigs

[BLUEDOVE3]

Good luck & be blessed  to all the local kids starting their Live Period sessions this weekend.

[Mr. Buddy Garrity]

So the duping (rumor) started in 2011 (when I caught initial wind of it) and has lasted for years?  Wow! (Finley) 

[Mr. Buddy Garrity]

Good luck & be blessed  to all the local kids starting their Live Period sessions this weekend.

Calipari will be making his rounds Dove. 

[BLUEDOVE3]

Calipari will be making his rounds Dove.

Yep!

[jabu84]

Hoopstars always have the bigs

Where do all these bigs be during the season?

[winwin]

Where do all these bigs be during the season?

Plano lol

[BLUEDOVE3]

As big as Houston is you would think there were quality bigs.

[winwin]

As big as Houston is you would think there were quality bigs.

Yep

[Tyler Dixson]

Houston Hoops and Nike Pro Skillz are two of only 4 remaining unbeaten teams after first session of EYBL play.

[Mamba]

Golden Triangle Elite feat Ozen John Comeaux looked really good at the Htown Classic made it to the platinum championship lost by 3 against Colorado Titans that featured the #1 player in Colorado

[BLUEDOVE3]

Fellas, yall gonna have to do better reporting AAU news for those of us not in the loop anymore. I mean, whose changing teams? Who are the rising stars not normally mentioned but with some good potential? This stuff changes so fast. Even Basketball University getting props & respect this season.

[ST413]

Yeah I really have only seen 1 team but the players have changed.