Amateur Athletic Union Basketball… AAU.
When people utter that acronym these days, LOTS of images come to mind for the casual basketball fan; Ultra-talented kids, Ultra-involved parents, Shoe Deals, Peach Jam, College Scouts, Pro Scouts, etc…
You get the picture.
The basketball corridor between Southern Virginia and Baltimore is some of the most talent-rich property in all of prep basketball, and is a prime area for AAU visibility and attention. DC Assault became synonymous with the AAU scene here in the DMV, for both the right AND wrong reasons. We know the amount of high level, Div.1/NBA level talent that has cone through that organization. If you’re NOT from the area and not familiar with their alumni, here’s the short list:
Nolan Smith (Duke/NBA)
DeMarr Johnson (Cincinnati/NBA)
Michael Beasley (Kansas State/NBA)
James White (Cincinnati/NBA)
Roy Hibbert (Georgetown/NBA)
Jeff Green (Georgetown/NBA)
Keith Bogans (Kentucky/NBA/Overseas)
Romelo Trimble (Maryland/NBA)
Kevin Durant (Texas/NBA)
Dante Cunningham (Villanova/NBA)
Ty Lawson (UNC/NBA)
Etc…Etc…You get the idea. For better or worse, DC Assault under Malone’s guidance put a lot of players in the league, and brought a level of exposure to the DMV grassroots basketball scene that really hadn’t been seen before. Nothing’s going to erase the image of Curtis Malone trying to get his Pablo Escobar on and getting caught, but there are some positives that came from his involvement in DC’s AAU scene. As DC Premier (The re-branded and revamped org that took Assault’s place) looks to pick up where DC Assault left off, we’re left to wonder what actually COULD have been, if Curtis Malone’s demons didn’t get the better of him.
One thing’s for sure; the visibility of grassroots basketball in the DC-VA-Metro Corridor is brighter than ever. Whether it’s DC Premier, Team Takeover, DMV Elite, or even some of the smaller organizations in the area (i.e. Team Hustle, Fairfax Stars, Maryland Sharks, etc.), grassroots basketball in the DMV is on the map in a HUGE way.
Welp, that’s all for this week’s installment of HHG. Check out this inside look at DC Assault, from the players and coaches that were there in it’s heyday.
#ThisGroundISHallowed
#HHG
