The Rising Pros Training 17U Gold basketball team, which holds several Chatham County athletes on its roster, earned second place in the AAU Boys 19U/12th Grade World Championship Sunday.
The AAU Boys World Championships ran from Thursday to Sunday at the ESPN Wide World of Sports Complex in Kissimmee, Florida. RPT Gold lost to DSA Prep Academy (Alabama), 45-37, in the Boys 19U/12th Grade final.
RPT Gold listed five Chatham County basketball players on its roster, including Reid Albright (Chatham Central), Luke Gaines (Chatham Central), Brennen Oldham (Jordan-Matthews), Beau Harvey (Northwood) and Hayes Burleson (Northwood).
In a rough overall shooting performance by RPT, Harvey led the team with 19 points, eight rebounds and two assists. Oldham, who also struggled offensively, made a huge impact on the defensive end and on the boards, blocking three shots and grabbing eight rebounds. However, his efforts weren’t enough to slow down DSA Prep Academy which caught fire from three in the second half and overcame a halftime deficit for the title.
Albright, who averaged 22.6 points, 9.3 rebounds and 4.3 assists per contest in the 2023-24 high school season, did not play in the game.
RPT went 3-0 in pool play, winning each pool game by an average margin of 26 points. In the actual tournament and leading up to the championship game, RPT Gold was just as dominant, winning the first, second and semifinal round games by an average margin of just over 22 points.
This is this group’s second straight tournament final appearance in the AAU World Championships. Last year, the team, playing in the 16U/10th Grade division, made it to the D1 final and lost to Longs Area Elite (South Carolina), 72-55.
RPT had three other teams participate in the AAU World Championships in different age groups.
The other 17U team, RPT Red, fell to 0-3 in its pool games and lost to YKD Kings (North Carolina) in the opening round of the 17U/11th Grade D2 Classic tournament, 57-39. Two players from county high schools, Jordan Holder (Northwood) and Carter Sykes (Chatham Charter) played on that team.
The 14U Gold team went 2-1 in pool play and lost to Texas United Gold, 65-47, in the first round of the 14U/8th Grade D1 tournament. Four rising freshmen to county high schools played on the 14U team, including Nolan Mitchell (Jordan-Matthews), Brooks Albright (Chatham Central), Turner Albright (Chatham Central) and Jameson Douglas (Chatham Central).
The 16U Gold team also went 2-1 in its pool games and made it to the third round of its D1 tournament, losing to Indiana Jammers, 65-63. Just three county players played on the 16U roster which were Jeremiah Young (Chatham Central), Joe Flynn (Northwood) and Kymani Wagner-Jatta (Chatham Charter).
RPT is based in Chatham County and is coached by former professional basketball player Johnny Thomas. Thomas played college basketball at NC State and Marshall and was drafted to the NBA D-League in 2011. He also made a stop in Germany and with the Harlem Globetrotters in his professional career. The organization also offers training opportunities.