Sin City Select basketball team tearing up summer courts

Derek Thomas says he has had more talented basketball teams to coach. Ones with more natural ability. But perhaps none with the chemistry of this latest edition.

Perhaps none that plays as well together.

Thomas, the longtime coach and former UNLV assistant from 2001-2003, has himself quite a squad in a 16U side of the Sin City Select program.

The team put itself on the West Coast map earlier this summer by winning the prestigious BattleZone championship at the Magic Memorial Tournament in Southern California.

It did so by beating Compton Magic Elite in the final. By finishing things off with wins against three of the top teams across the West.

It did so with six players.

“It’s a premier tournament on the West Coast,” Thomas said. “A couple kids couldn’t make it, so we had six Vegas kids. We had to play three games in a day to win it. That was very special. I don’t know if I’ve had a team be able to do that before.

“I don’t know if I have seen a team play that well together as they did that weekend. It was amazing to watch and be part of.”

Familiar faces

Many of the players have competed with and against each other for years, and many are products of the Bishop Gorman program.

Next up is the third session of Adidas events in Bryan, Texas, which begins Thursday.

Should the Select team finish high enough in pool play, it would qualify for nationals in South Carolina.

It’s a team that was put together just weeks before the summer travel circuit began, but familiarity with one another has made for a smooth transition of success.

“I think the way travel basketball is played now, this team is way different,” said Bishop Gorman junior Canon Mullen, son of UNLV football coach Dan Mullen. “No one is trying to play for himself. (Thomas) has done a great job teaching us how to play the game the right way. In our system, if you play the right way, everyone will prosper. We’ve all bought into that and because of it, have played really well.”

The program is a product of former Liberty High standout and recent NBA draft pick Joshua Jefferson, who asked Thomas to coach this 16U team.

Thomas was also recently named coach at Democracy Prep. He has seen all that Las Vegas youth basketball has known.

“I think things have slipped a little bit,” Thomas said. “We were at our height about 10 years ago. People saw what was happening here, and some states passed us up. I think it’s important we spread out the talent across Las Vegas more, that it can’t be 2-3 schools having all the players. If we can get back to leveling the playing field and everybody is able to compete, all the better.

“With more professional sports coming to town, the city is going to continue to grow. If we work together, we can be successful.”

Much like his Sin City Select team.

In the backyard

To a player, the talk is about that element of chemistry that defines the bunch. That knowing each other so well on and off the court has led to this opportunity of advancing to South Carolina should things play out well in Texas.

“It’s really cool to see how much we have connected as a group,” said junior Hudson Dannels, formerly of Bishop Gorman who now attends Santa Margarita in Southern California. “We know everyone’s strengths and weaknesses. I didn’t think we’d be this good to start, but once we won in California, I knew we could be really good.”

Practice is key and the fact the team — unlike many in the travel world that merely come together to compete — has had an opportunity to do so has also made a difference in results. Kids understand their roles and play to them.

Thomas said he has had many coaches this summer, those he did not know, approach him to say how impressed they were with how well his team plays together.

Said the junior Mullen: “This is the most fun I’ve had playing basketball. It’s like playing in the backyard with your best friends.”