The mental image of seeing a pickup basketball game involving former NBA players Antonio Davis, Dee Brown and Kevin Whitted, plus former Major League Baseball player Delino DeShields and current Seattle Mariner Ken Griffey Jr. is being brought to the forefront. It has drawn parents, kids and coaches to gymnasiums across the South this spring, where they have seen Davis -- who is one of the tallest coaches on the club circuit -- lead a troop comprised almost entirely of freshmen onto the scene.
Those five current and former professional athletes now have teen daughters -- whose paths to the national basketball scene have exploded this spring and summer -- including claiming the AAU 13U national title on July 15.
At April's Boo Williams tournament, the 6-foot-9 Davis was hard to miss -- even in a complex filled with current and former ballers. The buzz about Davis' Georgia Ice team spread like wildfire among the parents and coaches.
While Kaela Davis -- already tall and skilled at 6-2 -- and 5-7 guard Alexis Brown have common surnames, there was no mistaking their fathers on the bench or the athleticism that was apparently handed down through genetics.
"I don't think we expected that level of attention because they are eighth graders," said Dee Brown, who helps train and coach the girls, and has worked the Nike Skills Academies. "When we played DFW, which is the elite team at that age, the place was packed. The whole sportsplex was watching and I don't think they understood."
"We were so focused on that game, I don't think we really noticed," Alexis Brown said. "But later, I went to pick up a ball that had rolled away and saw (Tennessee coach) Pat Summitt. She was like 10 feet from me and I got so excited I dropped the ball. I couldn't believe she was watching my game."
Not all of the girls were as quick with recognizing the coaches, especially in a packed gymnasium. By the final 14U game at Boo, the general seating and college coach sections were so full that some parents and players from other teams were turned away due to lack of space. With nearly every coach still in attendance at the game, some spilled into an end section of the bleachers, which needed added security to continue meeting NCAA guidelines.
"One of the girls went after a loose ball and ended up hitting a lady on the sideline in the face," Brown said. "She felt bad and said she wanted to go back and apologize to 'that lady', not realizing 'that lady' was (Rutgers coach) Vivian Stringer."
Davis and Brown are two of the five Ice players with fathers who spent time in a professional sport, while Peyton Whitted, Diamond DeShields and Taryn Griffey -- the team's true baby in the 2014 class -- round out the handful. The Ice also have MacKenzie Darrah, who is the younger sister of Alabama quarterback Thomas and Megan, who played ball at Georgia and now plays professionally in Spain.
"We do things to make sure we keep the kids humble," Davis said. "For my daughter, it really kind of gets on her nerves to tell the truth. ... But I'm 6-9 and 260, I'm not going to shy away from it. I can't."
It's not all celebrity and name recognition for the girls yet, because their coaches don't want their exposure to get out of hand or get to their heads. They are, after all, 14 years old and still don't know all there is to know about the sport or the way the club world works. But the dads' first-hand experience is a main reason behind the focus on basketball and not media or recruiting attention.
"My primary goal is just to teach them how to play this game," Davis said. "They each have to have that basketball foundation, so they understand how to improve their game."
But if the early crowds are any sign, it's going to take a bubble to keep these girls from all the hype that will build over the next four years, especially while they stay together during the club seasons.
