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Monday, November 10, 2008

PLAY MAKER

Houston, TX

By: Matt Malatesta

Top athletes compete in Houston tourney

“It’s where we go to work. No frills,just work.”

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Some of the region’s best basketball teams and most prolific players will be descending on the city of Houston in November for the 6th Annual Texas Jamboree put on by Elite Action Sports. The tournament, which will feature over 14 well-known basketball programs in the area, will be held November 28-29th at Strake Jesuit High School in Houston.
“This is the only event in the state that will showcase the top basketball players in the region under one roof,” Elite Action Sports, founder Rick Nelson said. “It will be a great showcase that will run for two-days, all-day.”

Nelson founded Elite Actions Sports eight years ago to mentor youth basketball players in the city of Houston. He is also the Reebok rep for the city and manages the Houston Elite youth basketball program, which has six teams that are nationally recognized. He is also an academic counselor in the La Marque Independent School District.
“We provide a platform for kids to showcase their basketball talent, but we also counsel these kids academically and spiritually,” he said. “Some may end up being professional basketball players, but most will go on to get their college education and become doctors, lawyers and teachers. I wish there was something like Elite Actions Sports when I was growing up. We just keep the kids from making the mistakes that we made and staying on the right path.”

Their Texas Jamboree will showcase schools from Houston, Austin, Dallas and the state of Louisiana. Houston Bellaire, Wheatley, Strake Jesuit, Second Baptist, St. Thomas and Westfield headline the Houston schools.

Bellaire is led by 6-foot-9 center Tobi Oyedeji who will be one of the city’s most coveted prospects in 2010. The guard tandem of Joey Brooks and Tim Frazier of Strake Jesuit will give a glimpse into Notre Dame and Penn State’s basketball programs, respectively. Westfield is paced by guard Mark Brooks, while St. Thomas is led by American University-commit Blake Jolivette.

While the Texas Jamboree is Elite Action Sports, most high-profile event in the fall, Nelson also hosts national Reebok tournaments in the area. But where his biggest impact is in what he calls “The Sweatshop.”

Some of the city’s best talent takes part in Nelson’s two-day-a-week workout program, where some of his pupils included Dallas Maverick Gerald Green, University of Texas’ Damien James and Javon Adams of the University of Nevada-Las Vegas. Specific basketball training and grueling conditioning take place at “The Sweatshop,” which draws athletes who are trying to get to the college level.

“We’ve probably had 200 college basketball players come through our doors,” Nelson said. “It’s where we go to work. No frills, just work.”
Members of the current sweatshop include Frazier and Rogers of Strake, Garlon Green (TCU-commit) and J.J. Richardson (Pittsburgh-commit) of Hightower, Matt Staff (New Mexico-commit) of Memorial and Kevin Williams of Pearland, just to name a few.

For more information on the Texas Jamboree, go to www.txjamboree.com.

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