The final tournament came and was gone for the Jets 2013 Blue and Orange squads. What was a long and exciting journey for almost 10 years ended for this group of young men in Fort Wayne, Indiana this July of 2012. Both squads finished up strong playing their best basketball of the AAU spring and summer season. The Blue squad won their pool on Thursday and Friday to move into the Platinum Bracket before falling to a hot shooting team out of Indiana. The Blue squad finished the July evaluation period with a 6 and 6 record going against some of the top AAU programs in the country. All of the Blue players showed tremendous growth this year and have set themselves up individually to have outstanding seasons with their high school teams this winter. The Orange sqaud exceeded expectations in July after losing Malcolm Hill to injury during the July evaluation period. The Orange squad went 4 and 1 over the weekend winning their pool and losing in the Elite 8 of the Platinum bracket Saturday night to The Family of Detroit a Nike EYBL program in a competitive contest. For the month of July the Orange team went 10 and 4 and once again proved that this Jets sqaud was one of the outstanding AAU programs in the country. These two Jet squads took the Jets program to another level over the years and made the Southwestern illinois Jets a national player on the AAU scene with numerous accomplishments that are too many to list. They have set the bar very high for Jet teams of the future and all these young men have a lot to be proud of. Thanks to all the players, parents, coaches, and supportors over the years for a FANTASTIC ride!

The Orange and Blue 17U Jet squads were back in action after a short break and headed to Louisville for the new USA Bluegrass Classic. Louisville over the years had been good to this Jet organization and the Jets were back at the Louisville Expo were all the games were under one roof. The Blue team competed hard and lost a real tough game to a team out of Canada in pool play. In the Copper Bracket the Blue team split their games to go 1 and 4 on the weekend. The Orange squad won their pool relatively easy with a 3 and 0 record and with the success it put them in the Gold Bracket on Saturday. On Saturday the Orange squad won their first game in the morning and than ran into a group of players out of Indianapolis that traditionally has cost the Orange squad fits over the years. Unfortunatley after leading 10 to 2 to start the game the Orange squad fell into the Kings Court trap of run and gun basketball and fell 76 to 68 in the Elite 8 of the Gold Bracket. Overall the Orange sqaud went 4 and 1 on the weekend. USA Bluegrass Classic

Both Jets squads began their final summer with the Reebok Showdown Championships in the city of brotherly love, Philadelphia, Penna. Both squads had fine showings and despite traffic jams all weekend it was a decent weekend for hoops. The Blue squad started off the weekend with two wins, with one of the wins one of the best victories in maybe the history of the Blue squad. The Blue squad beat Team Melo 54 to 51 in an excellent showing against the NBA player sponsored program. On Saturday the Blue Team suffered a tough loss to Kingdom Elite as they hit a desperate 3pt shot with 4 seconds to go in the game. Overall the Blue squad went 2 and 1 and played some excellent basketball. The Orange squad had a very nice showing reaching the Semi-Finals before losing to a loaded Sports U squad (ranked 10th in the country)sponsored by former NBA player Daryl Dawkins. The Orange squad started off the weekend with two sold wins in adjusting to playing without injured Malcolm Hill, before playing a showcase game when both Jets squads combined to take on 16U DJH5 on Saturday night. Sports U went on to win the Championship so it took the eventual champion to knock the Jets out of contention. 2012 Reebok Showdown Championships

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The Jets finished their Spring schedule by hitting the road and playing in one of the toughest AAU Tournaments in the country. This has traditionally been a great test for both squads against some excellent competition and this past weekend was no different. The Orange team had a disappointing finish by going 1 and 1 in Pool play and than losing to a very good Team Work squad out of Ohio in tournament play to end the weekend with a 1 and 2 record. The Blue Team went 0 and 2 in Pool play, but than won their first game of the 17U Bronze Tournament bracket before falling in their last game on Saturday to end the weekend with a 1 and 3 record. Indy Elite Adidas May Classic

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The Jets Orange and Blue squads finally got to play in their own backyards this past weekend as both teams played in the Battle for the Arch Tournament in St. Louis this weekend. Last year the Jets Orange squad took home first place honors in the 16U Silver Bracket division. This past weekend was also a "Live" period for NCAA Division I coaches for the final time until the July evaluation period. The Orange team fared ok with a 4 and 1 record, which included a 3 and 0 record in pool play, but lost their last game of the weekend to a very solid Minnesota Fury team from the Land of Thousand Lakes to finish at 4 and 1. The Blue team played people tough all weekend, but could not find a way to win and ended up 0 and 4 for the weekend. Both squads will be off this coming weekend before finishing up at the Indiana Elite Tournament in Bloomington, Indiana in two weeks.

The Jets headed back to the Chicago area for the final time of the 2012 AAU season as the Jets began pool play on Saturday morning. The event was a “Live” period for NCAA Division I Coaches to attend. The Orange squad finished 2 and 1 in pool play to move to the Silver Bracket for tournament play and won their first game on Sunday. After that the tournament was canceled and numerous teams left since the tournament schedule got so backed up. The Orange squad did get a bit of revenge by beating the Illinois Crush, a team who they had lost to the last time in Chicago. With the win the Orange finished the weekend with a 3 and 1 record. The Blue squad lost all three games in pool play to finish the weekend with an 0 and 3 record. Both squads will be right back in action this weekend in St. Louis at the Gym Rats Battle for the Arch Tournament. It will once again be a "Live" period for NCAA Division I Coaches.
Chicago Hoops Spring Showdown Tournament

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The Jets invaded the west side of Chicago and had a good showing. The Blue squad finished 1 and 1 in their pool on Saturday and took 2nd place in their pool. The Blue squad entered tournament play Saturday night and won their 1st round game before falling to Dorians Pride on Sunday, an excellent team out of the state of Michigan. With the loss the Blue squad ended up 2 and 2 on the weekend.

The Orange squad took home the top award in the 17U bracket as they redeemed themselves with a win over Dorians Pride who upset them in pool play. The Orange squad had to play an extra game by not finishing in 1st place in their pool, but cam back on Sunday to win all 3 games (two of them in overtime)to go 5 and 1 on the weekend.

A big shout out to the Blue 16U Jets team for winning the 16U bracket. It was a huge weekend for the Jets program with both Championships heading back to the Metro East area.

The Jets will be back in action this weekend in the Chicago Hoops Springshowdown Tournament.

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Both the Blue and Orange squads kick off the Spring 17U AAU season by invading Merrillville, Indiana on Saturday as both squads will play two games on Saturday in Pool play. The tournament portion will start on Sunday. Pool Assignments

Austin Place won first place honors in his section for Math as an individual for the WYSE Team Sectional competition (he is the sectional WYSE Math champion) and will be going to compete in the State Competition sometime in April. He will also be going to the State Finals for Math Team to represent his school too. Great job Austin and the entire Jets family is very proud of you.

Academics is always important and expected of the Jets 2013 players and Tyler Goldammer is a perfect example of the type of player the Jets program is glad to call one of their own. Tyler recently received a score of a 35 (a score of a 36 is a perfect score) on the ACT test, the leading college test predictor in the country. A Big Congrats to Tyler and his family on a terrific accomplishment. The entire Jets organization is very proud of you.

Bryan DeGeare was named Post Dispatch Athlete of the week for his 23 point, eight rebound and five blocks effort against Bayless to lead Crystal City HS to a District Championship.

Read more: http://www.stltoday.com/sports/high-school/athletes-of-the-week/bryan-degeare-crystal-city-basketball/article_a19dfd1a-67cc-11e1-a2ea-001a4bcf6878.html#ixzz1oRpvwjPj DeGeare named Athlete of the Week

The following Jets players were reecntly recognized with AP All-State honors: llinois Class 1A AP 2nd Team, Andrew Drone, Gallatin County 6-11, Jr., Illinois Class 2A AP Honorable Mention, Tyler Smithpeters, Harrisburg 6-4, Jr., Illinois Class 4A AP 1st Team, Malcolm Hill, Belleville East 6-5, Jr., and Illinois Class 3A AP Honorable Mention, Keenan Minor Cahokia 6-1, Jr. Brad Woodson, Vianney, 6-4, Jr. was named 1st team All-State by the Missouri Basketball Coaches Assoc.

Keenan Minor of Cahokia High School won over the weekend the IHSA Country Fiancial 3pt contest for 3A and than turned around and won the "King of the Hill" competition as Keenan competed against the other 3pt winners from the other IHSA classes. Keenan won the "King of the Hill" by hitting 8 of 10 3pt shots in the tiebreaker to take top honors.

The University of Illinois received a verbal commitment from Southwestern Illinois Jet Malcolm Hill on Monday night. Malcolm will now have the next two years to continue to work and raise the level of his game knowing that he has a Division I scholarship waiting for him. Malcolm will be able to sign a letter of intent in November of 2012.

Malcolm Hill verbals to the University of Illinois

Southwest Illinois Jets Orange team player Brad Woodson sees his recruitment take off after a super performance over the holidays for his high school squad the Vianney Griffins.

With standout effort at Meramec, Vianney's Woodson gets first offer

The Southwestern Illinois Jets finished in the top 40 of the 16U National rankings. The Jets played against 5 of the teams listed and held a 2 and 3 record against those 5 teams on the year. The worst loss of the year was to the Eric Gordon All Stars who finished 3rd in the country when the Jets had to play EG10's with only 6 players because of injuries at the Indiana Elite May Classic.The Jets are listed in the Best of the Rest section on the page.

Five Star Top 25 16U Rankings

SOUTHWESTERN ILLINOIS JETS BASKETBALL CLUB: MISSION STATEMENT
To be nationally recognized as the premier basketball club in the St. Louis Metropolitan Area. Through participation in basketball, the Jets will promote athletic and academic excellence in young men and women. Our goal is to return our student athletes to their individual schools as leaders!

JETS BELIEFS:
1. Recruiting the area's top players and coaches will keep our teams competitive.
2. Teaching the fundamentals of basketball.
3. Leadership is a learned behavior... and can be transferred from sports to other areas of life.
4. Building character in youth through hard work and striving to reach high expectations.
5. Our players will improve through exposure to the best competition.
6. Faith, family, and school are more important than basketball.
7. Coaches will emphasize team success over personal glory.
8. Giving back to the community is a vital part of teaching today's youth how to become solid citizens.