10 BEST AAU BASKETBALL TEAMS EVER June 13 2014, 96 Comments

1. 1994 New Jersey Patterson AAU - Kobe Bryant - NBA. Vince Carter - North Carolina, NBA. Tim Thomas - Villanova, NBA. Rip Hamilton - Uconn, NBA. Kevin Freeman - Uconn.
Considered by many the great AAU team ever assembled. They won 2 AAU national championships as stated by Kevin Freeman. While a lot of legend and myth surrounds this team there is more than enough personal account to believe in its existence. Rumor has it that Kobe Bryant played point with Hamilton & Carter at the off guards. The team also featured man amongst boys in high school Tim Thomas. This New Jersey based team will forever live in AAU lure. Its hard to imagine they lost much.
2. 1996 Riverside Church NYC - Ron Artest- St Johns, NBA. Lamar Odom - Rhode Island, NBA. Elton Brand - Duke, NBA. Eric Barkley - St Johns, NBA .
A well balanced team that did not loose. Featuring NYC legends Artest and Odom, it was Brand who held down the inside. Eric Barkley also played significant minutes as the distributor. Featuring three future NBA All Stars Riverside Church was the most dominant team in the 1990s. By far the best offensive front line in the history of high school basketball.
3. 2003 Atlanta Celtics - Dwight Howard - NBA. Josh Smith - NBA. Randolph Morris - Kentucky, NBA. Jarvis Crittenton - Georgia Tech, NBA. Brandon Rush - Kansas, NBA. Mike Mercer, Georgia. The most intimidating front line in the history of traveling basketball. Future defensive Goliath's Josh Smith and Dwight Howard teamed to make the Celtics a dominant force. The often loaded Celtics featured 5 future NBA players and no one matched their talent level. Won the Adidas Big Time in Vegas. Won every game in the tournament (except 1) by 20 or more points.

4. 2002 Oakland Soliders - Lebron James - NBA. Kendrick Perkins - NBA. Leon Powe - Cal, NBA. Demarcus Nelson - Duke, NBA. Ayinde Ubaka - Cal.
In the 2001 summer the Soldiers had the number 1 player in the West and south. When Lebron James showed that had three of the top 10 players in the entire nation. The Oakland team went on to win ever major tournament they played in together. People in California still talk about the summer Lebron teamed up with Oakland to give the whole country a show.
5. 2006 Southern California All-Stars - Kevin Love - UCLA, NBA. Brandon Jennings - NBA. Renardo Sidney - Mississippi State. Taylor King - Duke, Villanova. Daniel Hackett - USC, Italy. Malik Story - USC
Only two losses in 2006 and both came without Kevin Love. They won just about every tournament a team can win including the 2006 Big Time Tournament in Vegas. They had big wins over Derrick Rose’s Mean Streets team, Oj Mayo’s D-1 Greyhounds and Tyreke Evan’s Team Final. Brandon Jennings and Kevin Love dominated while Renardo Sidney complimented Love inside. Taylor King who was a grade school legend, lit up the outside for SCA. Daniel Hackett played big minutes at the off guard spot with Story coming off the bench.
6. 2004 Spiece Indy Heat - Greg Oden - NBA. Josh McRoberts - Duke, NBA. Mike Conley - Ohio State, NBA. Daquan Cook - Ohio State, NBA. Eric Gordon - Indiana, NBA.
A loaded squad added Gordon and McRoberts in 2004, the team lost 4 times in 2004-2005 summer seasons. Led by number one center Greg Oden, this Indiana team was easily the best team ever assembled in the Midwest. With a bevy of NBA talent this team was assembled from almost entirely from Indianapolis. Featuring top 10 players from three classes. Oden, Conley and Cook would eventually team up at Ohio State and make it to the national championship game as freshman.
7. 1998 DC Assault - Dermarr Johnson - Cincinnati, NBA. Keith Bogans - Kentucky, NBA. James White - Florida, Cincinnati, NBA. Rodney White - Charlotte, NBA.
Perhaps the best layup lines in the history of AAU. Demar Johnson and James White were high wire acts that engulfed crowds across America. With 4 future NBA players the Assault simply overpowered and outclassed opponents to victory. This was the DC’s clubs best ever team in a strong line of history.
8. 2005 Friends of Hoop Seattle - Spencer Hawes - Washington, NBA. Martell Webster - NBA. Jon Brockman - Washington, NBA. Micha Downs - Kansas, Gonzaga, Europe. Isiah Thomas - Washington, NBA. Mitch Johnson - Stanford.
Best team ever assembled in the great basketball state of Washington. Spencer Hawes was the most dominating center on the circuit at the time, dominating the inside scoring load. Sharpshooter Martell Webster helped to space the floor while Mitch Johnson and future King Isiah Thomas shared the PG responsibilities. Hard nosed forward Jon Brockman did the dirty work for FOH.
9. All-Ohio Red 2009 - Jared Sullinger - Ohio State, NBA. Aaron Craft - Ohio State. Adreian Payne - Michigan State - NBA. Juwan Staten - West Virginia. Jordan Sibert - Ohio State, Dayton.
All-Ohio went 201-9 over a three-year stretch. One thing that holds All-Ohio back was the level of competition in their 2009 run. Never lost a single AAU game in the Midwest region. Featured a bevy of future Ohio State players. A tough and gritty team they were able to beat Belmont Shore, Dream Vision and Team Texas.
10. 2012 Oakland Soldiers - Aaron Gordon - Arizona, NBA. Stanley Johnson - Arizona, NBA. Jabari Bird - California. Shaqquan Aaron - Louisville. Trevor Dunbar - Washington State. Kendall Smith - UNLV.
Won the 2012 Nike Peach Jam behind the play of big 3 Gordon, Bird and Johnson. Went 6-3 in first 9 EBYL games but went 8-0 in Peach Jam. A long and athletic defensive team beat Nerlens Noel’s BABC, Andrew Wiggin’s CIA Bounce, Theo Pinson’s CP3 All-Stars and Julius Randle’s Texas Titans. Most of the Soldiers losses in 2012 came with leader Aaron Gordon out of the lineup.
Comments
Michael Cervellino on May 23 2023 at 08:21PM
One team no one knows about was the spring 2001 New Jersey Cyclones. That team was an outlier in that they were an independent team and not affiliated with any sneaker circuit. In only their third year of existence, all nine team members
went D-1. Two sophs on that team I believe. Watched them play the vaunted NJ Playaz on back to back nights that spring, with each team winning once. Playaz had 10 eventual D-1s. Not sure if there have ever been 19 Division 1 players on the floor in one game before or since. Playaz were legendary, but Cyclones were no flash in the pan program. They are still going today. I checked and they have had nearly 80 Division 1 players and over 100 scholarships overall since 1999. The spring 2001 team was:
Deng Gai – Fairfield
Eric Ferguson – Arkansas
Mike Goia – Vermont
Keenan Christiansen – Xavier
Eric Hazard – Rutgers/FDU
Russ Carter – Notre Dame
Terrance Todd – Fairfield
Sean Christiansen – VMI
Camel Drummond – west coast D1
Bean on May 23 2023 at 08:21PM
BABC 94’95 Ask around
J Wade on January 10 2022 at 12:18AM
Memphis Idlewild 96 was a monster. All home grown talent.
Travis Corpening on April 25 2021 at 05:14PM
No NC teams… Come on man! Jerry Stackhouses AAU team was legendary. I believe he played for two Raleigh Stars and a Charlotte team. LeVelle Moten was also a Raleigh Star. As many NC NBA players as there have been and are now… you gotta research some of them.
Coach Griff on January 10 2021 at 03:44AM
Since nobody from TX on this list, I thought I’d mention a team that I had a hand in. SA Rohawks/Hardwork. Back then they were called the SA Omega Flames. Back then we had:
Jordan Clarkson- NBA
Andre Roberson- NBA
Cam Griffin- Air Force Basketball Assistant Coach
Taurean Waller-Prince- NBA
…eventually they added
Johnathan Holmes- Univ of Texas
Yolonzo Moore- Hartford
And a couple of other pieces that went on to play D1 basketball
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Coachrob on November 02 2019 at 01:13PM
Dallas Slam Jam
Nike Invitational Las Vegas champs
Jimmy King NBA
Greg Ostertag NBA
Mario Bennett NBA
Steven Headache Smith NBA
And a bench full of high D1 players
Justin on June 30 2019 at 07:29PM
2004 Spiece Indy Heat…best “true” AAU team ever. You might as well throw out all those teams (including #1) with players from multiple states. All of those cats were from Indiana, mostly Indianapolis.
VC on a team from NJ? Stop. LeBron playing with Oakland? No. Kevin Love playing with SoCal? Cute, but that’s stupid.
To all the old school guys who say those teams from the 70’s and 80’s would have beat all these teams…get over your nostalgia. While Lew Alcindor and Charley Scott were definitely tough, Mike Conley, Jr., Eric Gordon and Daquan Cook would have TORN THOSE GUARDS UP!!!
Tom Kaptain on May 14 2018 at 12:10PM
a couple of points. First, many of these teams were not that good and lost games along the way, because they were essentially thrown together and didn’t practice and had stars that missed a bunch of games. Second, you are showing your generational bias by not listing any team before maybe 1990. There was an AAU team in New York that had both Lew Alcindor and Charlie Scott on it and I guarantee they would have beaten any team on this list.
M. Hanks on April 21 2018 at 10:12AM
Gauchos Team with Steph Marbury, Felipe Lopez, Gary Saunders was no joke too.
Joliet's Finest on October 09 2017 at 11:39AM
Illinois Warriors program from 1995-1998
-Won AAU Nationals in 95
-Won Peach Jam in 98
-Beat the Atlanta Celtics 4x’s
-Beat CMH team listed above with Maggette, Young, Rush, etc.
-Beat Riverside Church @ the Peach Jam with Barkley
-Beat Washington D.C. in Nationals
-7x Illinois State Champ
Need I say more!
Burnett Adams on September 20 2017 at 06:08AM
If you are going to make such a list please put in your homework. Obviously there are a lot of great teams but there were teams in the late 70s and eighties that these teams did not want to play. Trust
Dave on July 20 2017 at 09:08PM
Spiece Indy Heat Gym Rats 04. Hands down top 3 team of all time. That team with Ron and Lamar was great and so were the ATL Celtics with Dwight, Josh, etc. The 04 Gym Rats squad is rivals any aau team ever.
Greg Oden- One of the largest High School phenoms of all time. “Next Bill Russell”
Mike Conley Jr.- was underrated in high school because he played with Oden on high school team. Realistically he was a top 3 player in that class behind Oden and Durant. Was still a 5 star recruit in the top 15.
Eric Gordon-top 5 Indiana HS basketball talent of all time. Thats saying something with all the players that have come through the state of Indiana. Bird, Oscar, etc. Labeled as a Kobe Bryant level talent in high school. Best player in the nation for his grade coming out of high school. Playing Up 2 grades with this team .
Daequan Cook: One and Done college player that went to Ohio State with Oden and Conley. Top 15 5 star player in the country coming out HS (247 sports). Went on to play for multiple NBA teams.
Josh McRoberts: 2nd best player in the country, class of 05. Grade above Oden, Conley, and Cook. Went to Duke for two years before he was drafted.
Aaron Pogue: 6’9 bruiser that played D1 bball at Cleveland State.
Reece Cheatham: back up point guard that was a freak athlete. From Indy and went on to play D2 hoops and then was drafted into the MLB.
Five Mcdonald’s All Americans on this team alone. Could count the number of games they lost in 2 years on one hand.
Lidickey Ball on April 17 2017 at 12:24AM
Those Louisiana Spartans sound great and legendary but head to head with the #1 team on the list im betting on kobe
Ohio AAU fan on January 11 2017 at 01:59AM
That is not true about the #9 team on your list. The All Ohio Red team lost to Cleveland Basketball Club at King James Classic. CBC had Ryan Harrow (Kentucky), Noah Cottrill (West Virginia), Mychal Parker (Maryland), etc.I know they lost another game to Cleveland Basketball Club when they were 15-U as well. It was either at Pitt Jam Fest or King James. Those two teams were the top two in Ohio and HATED each other, so you better believe that every single Ohio AAU person was at the game when it went down.
That All Ohio team is still one of the more impressive ones of recent memory. Just as impressive was that they were able to keep the team together as long as they did!
EDWARD on January 11 2017 at 01:42AM
2001 NC Gators
72-0 National Champs
Raymond Felton, Carmelo Anthony, Rashad McCants, PJ Tucker, Todd Hendley, David Noel, Eric Williams, Trent Strickland, Chris Paul, Richard Joyce, Justin Gray,
Brandon on December 22 2016 at 06:29PM
No Slam N’ Jam teams huh?!
Lakersfan1 on December 22 2016 at 04:52PM
In 2001, the 15 & under Georgia Stars team with Louis Williams of the Lakers, Jared Cook of the Green Bay Packers, Sharaud Curry the German MVP, Mike Mercer from UGA and formerly an Australia league top player along with The Mosquito from Ball Up and about 7 others who either played D1 Football or Basketball in college; at the age of 15…they were named Georgia AAU team of the year. They beat out the 16u Atlanta Celtics with Crittendon, Dwight Howard, Brandon Rush, and Josh Smith, and the 17u Stars w/ former NBA player’s Patrick Ewing Jr. , Morris Almond , Georgetown & Ga Tech Legend Matt Causey & Shareef Abdur Rahim’s younger brother whom they handily beat at legendary Run N’ Shoot Gym in the heart of Atlanta’s roughest parts. These guys were incredible and gained instant respect from anyone who crossed their path. Playing mostly in 17u tournys and winning trophys with The Lou Williams show leading the way, Box-&-1 and even Triangle-&-2 were not options, as it only made things worse for their opponents.
They were the most hyped up AAU team I’ve ever witnessed. As 15 year olds, Lil Wayne and Young Money would hang around their practices at Pace Academy off West Paces Ferry, along with NBA scouts vetting Lou. Well they were right. Even tho he declared to his close friends that he would skip straight to the league his junior year in HS if they let him, everyone needed to witness for themselves . By 17, celebrities were nightly spectators at South Gwinnett’s HS games, with his top Fans being Jermaine Dupri, Michael Vick, and close friend Bow Wow. He even outscored Kevin Durant 33 to 14, while Ty Lawson seemed to be missing, on ESPN his senior year as his 2 man team beat #1 Nationally ranked Oak Hill.
Most stories like this seemed like trash talk and everyday hype during High School, until you sat in the stands for a game yourself. Although he was dunking easily as a 5’7 13 year old. Everyone was impressed but not convinced. During the periods of 1999 to 2004, he would embarass Steph Curry’s deep Charlotte Stars team and make Varsity HS Seniors look like rec league players, even though he was only in 8th grade going into 9th….It was a magical thing to witness.
Although LeBron James, Sebastian Telfair, Dwight Howard , an Ohio player now unkown named Chris Poellnitz, and Dwain Williams had the most hype. Lou had the most confidence and swag. I can only imagine he saw an image of himself dominating the NBA while having more fun than anyone along the way, hanging with celebs in his spare time and never let go of it. Even one of the world’s most famous rap artists became his biggest fan in Toronto, releasing a song “6 man” about the Raptor’s 6th man of the year award winning gem.
An image that would leave him a one-&-only in NBA history. He stuck to his dreams like only a few can say they witnessed. Unlike LeBron and the others who either were Goliath like human specimans or total flops, Louis has now become who those around him saw as a pre-teen/teenager reluctantly due to sounding crazy saw in the kid. He’s finally panning out like those lucky enough to cross the youngster thought he just might. The star for the Lakers, scoring almost a point a minute off the bench after staying in the 6th man of year race for 7 straight years, post-Kobe he is showing out. If a team gave him 38 minutes and a starting spot, he may be capable of an NBA scoring championship.
Still, he will go down as the last HS player to ever be drafted when the Sixers took a chance on him at age 18 with the 45th pick in the 2005 NBA Draft. The best 4th quarter player and possibly hardest to guard player the league has ever seen ( With the exception of MJ), Louis “Lou Will” Williams will go down as a legend in his own and nobody will ever match his unique skillset. This year he carries a highly anticipated to fail , 1st year post-Kobe era LA Lakers , very young team to a suprisingly decent season so far and continues to baffle coaches on how to guard him off the bench, as their back ups don’t stand a chance.
He also mentors future All Stars like Deangelo Russell, Jordan Clarkson, and 18 year old Brandan Ingram through the young years he struggled through, while backing up A.I. was a perfect place to break through that Rookie & Begginer barrier . Though yet to see him at his very best,but finally starting to hit his prime, Lou may already be the best example the world has seen that anything is possible in this world if you really put your mind to it.
Grizzle on October 05 2016 at 10:29AM
How can you forget the BABC AAU NIKE EYBL National Championship team of 2011. The defeated Memphis YOMCA 84-67. That team featured the best shot blocker in the country Nerlens Noel(Kentucky, 76ers), Wayne Selden(Kansas,Grizzlies) All American Georges Niang(Iowa State, Pacers), Goodluck Okonoboh(UNLV), Jake Layman(Maryland, Trailblazers), team was run by Rene Castro(Butler, Duquesne) who had the best turnover/assist ratio in the EYBL league that summer.
Eufemia Pickett on May 17 2016 at 02:43AM
Savvy article . I was fascinated by the insight – Does anyone know where my company would be able to obtain a fillable IRS 14039 version to fill out ?
Bloomington on April 21 2016 at 05:57AM
Check out the ’96 Bloomington Red team which won NIKE Vegas Tournament and several others that summer. Whole list of College guys that beat BABC and beat Riverside Church.
A.Page on April 20 2016 at 08:19PM
What about the Atlanta Celtics team with Ronald Blackshear,Jermaine Jones,Donnell Harvey an I forget the others.I think they had another NBA player on the squad.Blackshear played overseas for years after getting cut by the Knicks.Jones played for years in the NBA an Harvey was also a lottery pic.That team won a ton of games an championships an was one of the Celtics best teams ever!
Brandon Pruitt on April 16 2016 at 07:46PM
Mac Irvin adidas fire with me! And Illinois Warriors with me and Darius Miles, Yao dunk Darius. I sex only girls! Or wait even then in San Diego, California and personally Las Vegas with Adidas was best til Nike All America Camp 158 with room by self. Left early to catapault Lincoln Park H.S to win championship at Proviso West. Beat west side St.Mel…tired from girls and camp. Trying to be dad early. Fags still weird!
d on March 02 2016 at 07:48PM
the super friends ran michigan hoops in the 1990-99 era
Keeron Cooper on February 20 2016 at 10:35PM
1990 Jersey City Nj Boys Club 13year old National Championship Team ,, Led by Carlos Cueto (St. ANTHONYS, Richmond U) Jason Roberts St Marys (Wagner U) , Ned Felton St Anthony , (James Madison U ) Leopold Diaw Marist , ( Kilgor Jc , St Peters College ) coached by Ed Riche ,,
LD on February 08 2016 at 09:20AM
Most of these AAU teams recruit players from different states to make up a team, BABC only use Greater Boston talent….. So you can form your own opinions now…….
Coach Adams on February 06 2016 at 08:36PM
As a former Atlanta Celtics Aau Coach and a Mentor in the Rochester New York and Buffalo as well as Syracuse. I know Our teams were good enough to be mention. Quinn Smith (Seton Hall- St Bonnies) and. High Flying Three point shooter Tony Scott( Syracuse U) and. John Wallace (Syracuse U- Toronto, Knicks and Miami Heat) as well as. Power dunker Arthur Long Cincinnati Bearcats) as well as East High Star Terrence “jud” Mitchell (Seminole Juco Star along with Michael Sheppard. I also played for a Great High School Coach Ronald Jones. at Charlotte High School former Nys Class A three time Champ lead by my first cousin Devin"press" Murphy and Claude williams and Chris Tuck. Press and Chris average 30 ppg respectly for three years and three state titles. Lets have some love for the “ROC”
Al on December 07 2015 at 06:13PM
What about the Super Friends out of Detroit.Chris Webber. Jalen Rose. Vashon Leonard, Howard isley and 5 other gifted kids
Richie marion on November 19 2015 at 04:12PM
Do not know if anyone pointed this out, but the Glover brothers were every bit as good if not better then the names mentioned. Men against boys till acl injuries. Think Ron, Lamar, Elton were not the best players on the team!
OP on October 25 2015 at 10:44PM
Team “Can’t touch this” was tough. There was no other guard in the country as persistent as Tariq. Kid simply refused to be denied. I have 7 consecutive unresponded to texts to prove it
James Patterson on October 25 2015 at 10:35PM
Also team “Can’t Touch This” had variety of talent, SharpShooterSimpson and he’s from the Go, Quincy Miller (NBA), Tireq Muhammad (DePaul Walk on)
Andrea on October 25 2015 at 10:26PM
I also think that Savages team was one of the best ever. They had combo guard Cory Dolins who is very close friends with Jabari Parker
Cory Ryckbosh on October 25 2015 at 10:11PM
SHOCKED to see the 2013 Savage Savages left off the list. Highlighted by point-forward Joe Hanel, that team rarely was second to loose balls
Coach Louie on October 25 2015 at 06:37PM
San Diego Cougars 1993-Present never had to make or buy a powerhouses team and never got embarrassed. Just ask around.
Illinois1 on October 25 2015 at 04:10PM
Well I might as well throw what I believe is one the best teams I will say:
Illinois Gold 2001
Eddy Curry may have eat himself out of the NBA but was by the most dominate HS center I have ever seen! They simply didn’t lose when at full strength. Notable players
Eddy Curry 7’0
James Augustine 6’10- Illinois, NBA
Dee Brown 6- Illinois NBA
Najeeb Echols- 6’8 mizzou
Jay Straight 6- Wyoming
Marcellus Sommerville 6’8 Iowa/Bradley
Marcus White 6’8 Uconn
Not much NBA but they did that Michigan Mustang team. Whaley and White could come close to stopping Curry. Talked to a notable NCAA coach this summer. Direct quote of, “top 10 team I have ever seen”
Tim Farmer on October 24 2015 at 06:15PM
How is the Michigan Mustangs not top 10 really Bret Darby Anthony Robertson jason Richardson Desmon Farmer DeAndre Hulett Robert Whaley Kevin Torbert
Kareem Hailey on October 15 2015 at 05:37AM
Team Michigan ’91 featuring Chris Webber, Juwan Howard, Jalen Rose and Voshon Leonard not on the list. WOW!!
Tommy Herold on October 14 2015 at 07:55PM
Ditto what LJ said – you forgot the 1999, 2000, 2001 NY Gauchos led by Sundiata Gaines, Russell Robinson, and Ronald Ramon, coached by Marc Jones. We won the AAU title in ‘99 and ’01, and took 2nd in ’00. Not sure that kind of dominance has ever been seen in AAU history. We’re not talking regional titles, we’re talking National titles. Dwight’s team wasn’t good enough to advance far enough to play us, we beat Big Baby’s team, we beat Al Jefferson’s team, we crushed the top-ranked Memphis War Eagles by 32 in the Sweet 16 of the ’99 National Championships (and that was the year we finished in 2nd). Across all the tourneys we played in those years, I think we lost 4 games out of hundreds — 1 to Riverside Church, 1 to some team from Detroit, 1 to a team from Baltimore in the ’99 National Championship, and I think 1 to the NJ Boys/Girls club. I can remember each of those because it was such a huge and rare deal when we lost. We were probably about 300-4 over those 3 seasons.
Seriously, name another AAU team that was so dominant for so long. There’s a legitimate argument for this ’Choz team to be the #1 AAU team of all-time, it was a special club.
#5
Tim P. on July 24 2015 at 11:23AM
I’d definitely have to agree with the GA Stars team with Louis Williams, among many others. Although, in the end, not many would go onto the NBA, at that time, and still, they were something of legend. Witnessed it first hand on and off the court. I’d also agree somewhere in here I saw someone mention the D-1 Greyhounds with O.J. Mayo and Billy Walker. Another great team in it’s time. Couldn’t believe they weren’t on this list. If we’re talking about teams that just happened to boast the most successful NBA stars, then I can probably agree, but if we’re talk flat-out, talented, dominant, winning teams, this list definitely comes up short. Half of these teams didn’t even stay together for more than a couple showings they were forced to assemble for. There are other teams, that were real teams, that stuck together and dominated most of their high school careers.
James on July 21 2015 at 10:32AM
Putting together a list like this is always hard so, I have no qualms with the job the writer did. A lot of the people commenting could not write nor research themselves out of a paper bag, but that’s just my opinion. As for the list, and the teams that could have made it, I must say that the La Spartans were more than Randy Livingston. They also had Kerry Kittles and Scotty Thurman. I think Duane Spencer and Jerald Honeycutt might have played with them as well, but don’t quote me on that. That’s why these lists are hard. Some of you out there in the Bayou might know for sure. Anyways, here are three summer teams that I did not see mentioned in the article nor the comments, but should have been.
1.Georgia Stars 2004 – Everyone knew Louis Williams was the go-to-go and if you have seen him in the NBA you know he isn’t bashful. Still, he played well with others and sometimes it was his high school teammate Mike Mercer or high school rival Billy Humphrey who was carrying the scoring load. Plus, Alade Aminu and Daniel Emerson were quality players down low. In short, this was a team.
2. Illinois Warriors 1999 – They had tremendous balance with the explosive Darius Miles, Dwayne Wade, and Odartey Blankston, the imposing T.J. Cummings, and the sharpshooter Brad Melton to keep defenses honest.
3. Riverside Church 1987 – Kenny Anderson was a magician as he fed Malik Sealy, Adrain Autry, and Brian Reese. As far as star power while still in high school, I dare put many teams from New York ahead of them.
gus black on June 25 2015 at 01:19AM
yall forgot about that 1989 GAUCHOS AAU TEAM…….PG-ARNOLD “A-TRAIN”BERNARD,SG-ADRIAN "RED"AUTRY,SF-JAMAL MASHBURN,PF-KARLTON"DUNCAN HINES"HINES,C-CONRAD MCCRAE AND THE BENCH WAS DEEP
Coach Will on June 21 2015 at 06:03AM
So many different tournaments and levels;
Very difficult to determine who the best is, especially with players constantly being dropped
and added. .
Kenneth Gordon on May 23 2015 at 05:23AM
2001-2005- Raleigh’s Finest was one of the more dominant AAU teams in the Country. They was ranked amongst the nations best by Prepstars and Jeff Goodman.. Regis kounja- LSU, James Mays- Clemson, Kareem Cooper- Memphis, Troy Mathis- Clemson, Anthony Richardson- Florida State, Cameron Stanley- Wake Forest.. Many Many More High Major D1 ball players.. They dominated Atlanta Celtics, Sam Rhine’s, Team Florida, etc… Maybe not 10 but easily one of the best…
Buddy on May 11 2015 at 06:16PM
Cecil Kirk Baltimore 17u 1996-1997
Juan Dixon- Maryland, NBA
Mike King- George Washington, Europe
Kevin Braswell- Georgetown, Europe
Corsley Edwards- Central Conn., NBA
These kids won and finished in the top four in a lot of tournaments…. Unlike programs around the country, Cecil Kirk didn’t grab kids around the country to play for them, They were home grown and came up thru the program….
coach ro on May 09 2015 at 11:25AM
2006 Mt.Royal (baltimore)16u
Donte Greene Syracuse, NBA
Malcolm Delaney Virginia Tech, Europe
Sean Mosely Maryland, Europe
Wayne Dorsey, NFL
Andrew Fitzgerald Oklahoma, Europe
Won every major AAU Event (super showcase, Nationals) Boo williams, Nike memorial day invitational etc. Only lose was by 1 to Baltimore Stars in 17u super showcase final.
2009 Baltimore Elite
Will Barton Memphis, NBA
Josh Selby Kansas, NBA
C. J. Fair Syracuse, NBA
Bey Mousa Kieta Syracuse, Europe
Jamel Artis Pitt
Jordan Latham Loyola (md) Europe
Coach Reno on March 07 2015 at 06:20PM
Interesting list. Would like to see a list of:
1) most respected AAU clubs over a 5 year period
2) best AAU varsity girls and boys teams who played 20 tournaments together
This would weed out those teams that were just put together a for a summer and recognize teams that stayed together without stacking rosters
Trap lord Pepper Jack on February 27 2015 at 06:51AM
Randy Livingston and the Louisiana Spartans were way overrated. Over hyped. Lebron could have beat them single handedly.
Sharks Cejay on February 26 2015 at 08:56PM
95 CMH Kansas City
Mike Miller
Jaron rush
Kareem Rush
Cory meggette
Earl Watson
koreleone Young
Maurice Evan -10 years NBA
RcsSports on February 26 2015 at 10:10AM
If indeed the Louisiana Spartans feat Randy Livingston won 6 Nat’l titles plus BCI, that would be a very tough resume to beat. If the list was only based on their amateur careers, sounds like a no brainer.
Maybe the author should add a disclaimer or set of ground rules including the criteria for comparing the list.
LeRon R. on February 25 2015 at 08:09PM
Memphis Idlewild 93-96…dont play
Anthony E. on February 25 2015 at 01:37PM
I feel like the 2006 D-1 Greyhounds out of Cincinnati should be on this list. O.J. Mayo and Bill Walker were freaks in high school. It was like Kobe and Carter.
Legends Clothing on February 25 2015 at 06:40AM
Thanks to everyone who put us on game about the older teams of the 90s and 80s. A lot of these rosters can be hard to find.
Legends Clothing on February 25 2015 at 06:37AM
Looks like we have some reordering to do, and a top 25 to put out in a couple weeks. (80’s and 90’s teams included)
Amorrow Morgan on February 24 2015 at 11:08PM
2004-2005 Memphis Nike YOMCA
Was ranked #1 in the country for a long stint that summer.
With unbelievable size & depth! Thaddeus Young (6’8) & Shawne Williams (6’10) on opposite wings. Tennessee Vols -JP Prince (6’7) at the point w/ Wayne Chism(6’9), Tyler Smith (6’7), along w/ University of Memphis Pierre Henderson Niles (6’8) was a overpowering/dominating front court. Along w/ Willie Kenp who was a Top 5 pg that played at Memphis, along side 7 other D1s. We were definitely w/ no question more dominant on the circuit than FOH. Martell Webster was hurt the entire summer.
Robert Fortson on February 24 2015 at 11:05PM
Give me Spiece Indy Heat all day long as the chemistry of that team was special in Summer Ball.
SWOOP on February 24 2015 at 08:28PM
A better article would have been which players received the best “swag” [gifts & $$$] to play on these teams. Lamar Odom has told stories about this, we know he’s not the only one…
Coach Primetime on February 24 2015 at 07:14PM
I guess no one up here has ever heard of Boo Williams huh ? This list is tough but a lot of snubbs
Justin Peterson on February 24 2015 at 05:12PM
The Louisiana Spartans with Randy Livingston pounded the New York Riverside Church Hawks in the BCI Summer Prep Championship game at Arizona State University. OJ Fisher you are correct!
Louisiana Spartans the REAL DEAL!
Cory Arnett on February 24 2015 at 01:52PM
The 1986 NIKE ARC team out of California had 7 future NBA players on it and we only lost 2 games in 3 summers, even beating the NY Gauchos with Lloydd Daniels running the point.
So this team should be on the list, at least top 5
COLLEGE/PRO
CHRIS MILLS-KEN.,ARI./CLE, NY
SEAN HIGGINS-MICH./SAN, NJ
SEAN ROOKS-ARI./LAL,LAC
LERON ELLIS-KEN./LAC
DON MCLEAN-UCLA/WAS
DARRICK MARTIN-UCLA/TOR
CORY ARNETT-UNO/POR & OVERSEAS
JAMES MOSES-IOWA/OVERSEAS
KEVIN FRANKLIN-NEVADA/OVERSEAS
MARK GEORGESON-ARIZONA/OVERSEAS
DWAYNE BRYANT-GEORGETOWN/OVERSEAS
Zo on February 24 2015 at 11:56AM
Gotta go with that Riverside group that had Ron, Elton, and Erick being number 1, especially since they are all from the same area and they played most of the summer together not just a tournament here and there, but i’m not sure how the Southern Cal team that had Chandler, Sampson, Fox, Childress, and Bozeman didn’t make the list. Had one of the most impressive lineups ever and shout out to Wisconsin Playground Warriors that got that win in Championship game with the Diener’s
Red Taylor on February 24 2015 at 07:54AM
The Municipal Gardens 1990 AAU team won the 19 and under National Championship, played at the Suncoast Dome in St. Petersburg, Fla. This was the 5th National Championship Title that this particular team won. It consisted of Alan Henderson,(I.U. & Atlanta Hawks), Eric Montross,(North Carolina & Boston Celtics), Damon Bailey,(I.U. & Ind. Pacers/Ft. Wayne),Joe and Jon Ross, Elliott Hatcher, Steve Mozingo, Matt Waddell, Troy Terrill, LaSalle Thompson, Linc Darner, Ryan Greenwood, Brian Evans and Kyle Kenworthy. Very talented and very deep! Every one played at the college level!
!!!!! on February 24 2015 at 03:35AM
Raleigh razorbacks 1999 featured chris wilcox tyron downey an a few player that got caught up in the game of life that really made this team a force to be can’t forget a player named weston taylor possibly the best rebounder in nc aau history won stayes in 99 placed in top ten in 98 national best team to ever come out of north carolina
EJ Williams on February 23 2015 at 09:31PM
Anybody on here ever heard of a team called Flint Affiliation??? I know Robert Whaley should remember us (commented on this feed). We were a real team not a collection of flown in talent. We had a team for every age group at AAU AND YBOA NAT’L tournaments. Won plenty of state titles. The team that I was apart of finished 2nd in the nation in 95 & we lost in double ot. The Flint Affiliation organization as a whole deserves mention here. We did great things through the 90’s
Quentin on February 23 2015 at 07:56PM
Forgot about The Michigan Mustangs, and The Michigan Hurricanes. LeBron played with The Hurricanes at one point.
Aj on February 23 2015 at 04:54PM
Its just a list for NBA players guys.. If you don’t do it with NBA players no one would read it.. Right
Carley on February 23 2015 at 11:12AM
What about the Louisiana Spartans? Randy Livingston played on that team. Won 6 national championships in a row 1988 to 1993. I guess since their players were homegrown and notflown in from different states, they don’t count.
kevin Davis on February 23 2015 at 12:16AM
The Clique, led by the greatest coach in the state Mr. Prince Moore from Seattle, WA Should be on the list as well… With stars such as Brandon Roy, Nate Robinson, Aaron Brooks, Marcellous Kemp, Dwayne Wright, Tyrone Shepard and a host of other ballers that team dominanted the Pacific Northwest and other parts of the region…
dj dabe on February 22 2015 at 11:11PM
Yal forgot about the Wisconsin teams …Playground Warriors ..2012 was way deep….Najeal Young -Iona J.P.Tokoto -North Carolina, Sam Dekker….Wisconsin
ballislife on February 22 2015 at 06:44PM
Billy garrett jr started with us in jersey when he was 9 his father was a assistant coach at seton hall then he was on the team with kyle anderson -ucla spurs myles mack-Rutgers billy was my 3 guard system then they fired seton hall coach louis orr Billy got the assistant coach job at depaul university
Cg on February 22 2015 at 05:11PM
AAU doesn’t mean jack. This list is stupid. Just some person putting high profile names of people who played together for 1 summer. The team from Washington (FOH) had 2 future NBA lottery picks (a year apart in age) on the same high school team and didn’t even make the state tournament that year!
Ballislife on February 22 2015 at 02:17PM
CBC 2010 National championship team- Andre Drummond, Kris Dunn, Freddie Wilson, Tavon Allen to name a few. All division one players. Barely lost that summer
OJ Fisher on February 22 2015 at 11:20AM
Wow this list consist of players who had names and made it to NBA that doesn’t make your team great. Most of these teams were put together for 1 tournament then went to another team. The Louisiana Spartans with Randy Livingston ‘87-’93 was the greatest of all time winning 6 national championships, with all kids from LA no other state. Then decided to go to BCI in Az and blow out every team to win another championship to end our careers. Not everyone went on to play in college or pros but for those summers no one team in AAU could touch us. Charles Obanon and Jaque Vaughn in Cali we beat by 20. You name them we beat them. Do your research. Louisiana Spartans were the best ever.
Breck McClue on February 22 2015 at 08:59AM
Louisiana Spartans won 6 in a row!!! We are AAU HISTORY
Ricky on February 22 2015 at 08:44AM
Louisiana Spartans won 6 nationals in a row
Ricky on February 22 2015 at 08:27AM
whoever made this list don’t know shit, only going off of current nba players
Eric on February 22 2015 at 07:07AM
How do you not include Mark Titus as a notable player of the Indy Heat? #Clubtrillion
Mickey dean on February 22 2015 at 06:35AM
Arkansas hawks just look it up
Ljwalk718 on February 21 2015 at 11:43PM
I coached for the Ny gauchos, we went to 4 straight national championships and won 3. Not only did we beat LeBron’s team, we beat Dwight’s team as well.
We were the #1 ranked AAU team in America with Russell Robinson, Sundiata Gaines, and Ronald Ramon leading the way.
Lastly Riverside Church never has been an AAU team, only a traveling team. So how can they be on list of the best AAU teams ever..Lol
CLEARLY you need to do your research and get your facts straight…
Tom Kaptain on February 21 2015 at 11:27PM
You should at least be honest and mention that this rating is based on what these players did after high school, not how dominant they were in AAU Nationals, since more than one of these teams advanced while losing a game in pool play or lost in another tournament the same year they won AAU. When you have this many stars, your team doesn’t practice or run much in the way of an offense, the players come and go and the reality is that the best AAU teams of all time were probably teams that played together and practiced. Just as an example, there was a Louisiana team that played BCI (not AAU) that didn’t have any superstars, but beat Riverside Church which had five future pro’s by 32 in the tournament. That type of thing happened a lot and while these teams (when everyone was there) might have been the best collection of talent, it’s hard to say they were the best teams. I would also point out that before 1980, AAU (and BCI) teams traditionally were made up of one all star team from each region and they all practiced all summer. So there are several instances of teams with multiple NBA players that were also together all the time. Just something to consider.
Robert Whaley on February 21 2015 at 10:45PM
Michigan Mustangs wow not mentioned this shit fake
ronnie williams on February 21 2015 at 08:52PM
1980 Riverside church team,,,,, Mike moses, Steve burt, Richie adams, Gary springer, ronnie williams, ed pinkney, Alex hooper, , to name a few
anthony hargraves on February 21 2015 at 08:42PM
those teams I’m sure were great but can’t use the word ever
we old school cats may disagree with the list mad respect to those cats but
I’m sure there were other teams that could be mentioned also from years that you guys
dont know about
maybe best teams of the 90s and 2000 eras how bout that
Chi town on February 21 2015 at 07:08PM
The 2012 Mac Irvin Fire team got snubbed on this one
Jabari Parker- Duke NBA
Jahlil Okafor- Duke future first overall pick
Cliff Alexander- Kansas
Billy Garret Jr- DePaul
Thomas Hamilton- DePaul
Chi town on February 21 2015 at 07:07PM
The 2012 Mac Irvin Fire team got snubbed on this one
Jabari Parker- Duke NBA
Jahlil Okafor- Duke future first overall pick
Cliff Alexander- Kansas
Billy Garret Jr- DePaul
Thomas Hamilton- DePaul
nyc on February 21 2015 at 06:53PM
Forgot NY guachos
chianti on February 21 2015 at 06:31PM
And Kevin love played as well. They also had chase buddinger.
chianti on February 21 2015 at 06:29PM
And Kevin love played as well. They also had chase buddinger.
chianti on February 21 2015 at 06:27PM
The so cal Team lost in the final four to blessed ijn. A team of Indiana and a Wisconsin kid (quincy owens) they lost in championship game to syf. (Loaded) the whole Purdue Team moore, martin, hummell. The other went to nd and Virginia moore is a pro (nba). Team Memphis with thaddeus young was loaded as well.
Dee on February 21 2015 at 06:14PM
BABC: Nerlens, MCW, Shelden, Goodluck, Niang, Pressey, Bull, want me to keep going?
Al B. on February 21 2015 at 06:08PM
There’s no way that Team Breakdown 2006-2008 shouldn’t be considered to 10 ever! Back to back AAU champions. Lost only 2 games. players won mvp and to 10 honors in every summer camp they entered. Eloy Vargas UF/UK, Kenny Boynton UF, Kieth Clanton UCF, Brandon Knight UK, Peshon Howard Maryland, Raymond Taylor FIU , all played high level D1 and high level pro. This team either won or went to the championship of every major tournament entered in a 2 year stretch.
757 hoops on February 21 2015 at 04:37PM
http://articles.dailypress.com/1992-07-26/sports/9207260235_1_hampton-roads-allen-iverson-williams
Just gonna leave this here: 1992 squad of rising JUNIOR Allen Iverson, who put it on seniors McCinnis, Capel, and Stackhouse in this game for the 1992 AAU title. Joe Smith and Tarik Turner on board too.
Big guy on February 21 2015 at 12:11PM
Team michigan with Kevin Garnett Robert traylor Albert white Terrance roberson
Ken on February 21 2015 at 11:29AM
What about the team from Detroit in the early 90’s with Chris Webber (Country Day / U of M / NBA), Jalen Rose (Southwestern / U of M / NBA), Chad Varga (Catholic Central / Pitt / NBA), Voshon Leonard (Southwestern / Minnesota / NBA) and other?
Tye Hall on February 21 2015 at 09:51AM
Gaochoz should be #1
Johnny Hernandez on February 21 2015 at 09:11AM
2006 Southern California All Stars loss 1 Game not 2. Loss in Arizona by 1 Pt in OT without Kevin Love, Renardo Sidney & Daniel Hackett.
SCA 2006 is the Greatest Team ever Assembled in High School AAU as reported by CBS Sports & 5Star Magazine
FACTS ONLY… THIS IS NOT RUMORS!
CM on February 21 2015 at 08:50AM
M Squad – ARC – 1991 – chris mills – arizona, nba, McDonald’s all American
Darrick Martin, ucla , nba, McDonald’s all American
Don McLean, ucla – nba, McDonald’s all American
James Moses – Iowa – over seas
Doug meekins – washington
Shawn kemp – kentucky , nba , McDonald’s all American
Ron Reece – 7’2 – all American.