Gator Hoops finishes with 13-2 travel record in first season of
program
GILROY – The garlic capital’s local AAU junior high basketball team may be in its first season together – but it has not taken long for them to mesh into a winning combination.
With a travel record of 13-2, Gator Hoops have shown that they are one of the top youth hoops teams in California.
The Gator Hoops squad have two wins over AAU’s top ranked Northern California team – the Oakland Soldiers.
With the winning record and with the quality of opponents, the Gator Hoops squad has been invited to the National Tournament – held at the end of July in Las Vegas.
“In order to do this, we are looking for support from local leaders and others that have the ability to help get this program up off the ground,” said Gators’ head coach Ed Jensen.
If anyone would be interested in helping in any way possible please contact Coach Ed Jensen at 408-464-3619 or go to the website www.g-hoops.com.
The local squad is made up of some of the top players from both South Valley Junior High and Brownell Academy. Gator Hoops travel and play in some of the most elite tournaments in Roseville, California at the end of June, to Stockton in mid-July, Las Vegas at the end of July, Sacramento in mid-August and Reno at the end of August. The team has been invited to the World Games in Hawaii at the end of July – but do to financing will not be able to attend this year.
Gator Hoops recently won the Slam-N-Jam League in Oakland. At the championship game, there were a number of college coaches in attendance who recognized Gator Hoops as the best junior high AAU defensive team they had seen.
Gator Hoops recently lost a close game to the San Francisco High Hopes AAU team that placed third in Nationals last year. The game was tied at half-time, but the team suffered too many turnovers in the second half that resulted in the loss.
Gator Hoops continues to get solid play from Jacob Dexter, Kameron Handy, David Alejo, David Nevarez, Derek Jensen, Ryan Costa, Jamie Jensen, Kendrick Azcueta, Frank tomasetti, Christian Lam, Adrian rodriguez, Marshad Johnson, and Kevin Stewart.
“There are a number of other good basketball players in the area and the Gator Hoops coaching staff wishes they could carry them all on the roster,” Jensen said. “With the many requests the coaches have received we are now looking at starting up other age divisions and turning this into a program that serves the youth of our community on a grand scale.”
