ROCKINGHAM — As the high school basketball season heads into its final stretch, Taneika Reader and the Richmond Jammers organization is gearing up for what they hope to be a successful run through the 2019 campaign.

Reader announced over the weekend that the Jammers — a local travel basketball club that competes on the Amateur Athletic Union (AAU), National Travel Basketball Association (NTBA) and United States Basketball Association (USBA) circuits — will be hosting tryouts on Saturday, Feb. 2, inside the gynasium at the Ninth Grade Academy.

This round of tryouts are for boys (in grades three through eight) and girls (in grades six through eight) who are “looking to continue to work on their game in a competitive, great basketball environment.”

The third-, fourth- and fifth-grade boys will go from 5-6 p.m., followed by the middle-school boys and girls at 6-7 p.m.

“They’re going to have to come out and compete. We don’t give anything, so they’ll have to earn their spots,” Reader said. “They’re going to learn a lot of fundamentals to begin with and we’re going to put them up against the best competition that we can find throughout to try and get them on that national level to be seen.”

Reader, a former basketball player at Richmond Senior High School and Johnson C. Smith University, started the Jammers organization back in 2003 as a way to give the local kids a chance to perform on a platform outside Richmond County.

A lot of recruiters from colleges ranks can be seen checking out talent on the different travel-ball circuits throughout the summer, so Reader felt like it was only right that her hometown had a program of its own.

“(I want) to put the kids on the most competitive playing level as possible and to get some to college. That’s our mission,” she said back in July 2018. “If I can get one into college, I’ve done my job. That’s all I want, is to see them get to that level.”

Things have worked out well so far for the Jammers, who watched as former member Josh Calhoun went on to become a Basketball Times First-Team All-American following his stellar senior season (2017-18) at Pfeiffer University.

Last summer, their 10th-grade boys team finished second at the AAU National Championships in Orlando, Florida, losing a 66-63 overtime decision to the Ohio Rebels in the title match. It was the first year together for coaches William Hunter and Patrick McLaughlin Sr., who were proud of the heart and passion their team showed throughout the trip.

Four of the nine players on that team currently play for Richmond’s varsity squad: juniors P.J. McLaughlin, Quamir Sivells and Jarvis Tillman and sophomore Nygie Stroman. Dalton Stroman, also a sophomore, plays for the Raiders’ JV team.

“We have a solid foundation. We’ve been at it for a while and we’re very competitive,” Reader said. “We push grades a lot because being a student-athlete (is important). They’ve got to have the grades as well as the athletic skill.”

Reader says the upcoming season is expected to begin on March 16 with a tournament in either Charlotte or Greensboro — the city hasn’t been finalized as of yet. The Jammers will more than likely hold a second tryout next Saturday, Feb. 9.

“We want as many as we can get to come to this first one, but I know it’s probably a little last minute,” Reader added.

There will be tryouts held for the ninth-, 10th- and 11th-grade teams, but Reader says the organization has to wait for the current high school season to end so that official tryout dates can be set.

Contributed photo The Richmond Jammers, a local travel basketball club, will be holding tryouts at the Ninth Grade Academy on Saturday, Feb. 2, for boys in grades three through eight and girls in grades six through eight.
https://www.yourdailyjournal.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/01/web1_IMG_3774.jpgContributed photo The Richmond Jammers, a local travel basketball club, will be holding tryouts at the Ninth Grade Academy on Saturday, Feb. 2, for boys in grades three through eight and girls in grades six through eight.
Richmond Jammers to host tryouts this weekend

By Leon Hargrove Jr.

Sports Editor

Reach sports editor Leon Hargrove Jr. by phone at 910-817-2673 or by email at [email protected]. For stories, scores and updates, follow the Daily Journal’s sports section on Twitter @RCDailySports.