AAU with a twist: John Flowers wants to bring European style of development to West Virginia

Feb. 14—MORGANTOWN — It was an idea that went back to John Flowers' professional career while playing basketball overseas in France and Germany.

It wasn't until years later, once Flowers had helped create a brand with Best Virginia and then a chance meeting with Harley Jackson, that the wheels could be set in motion.

In theory, it's an idea that could one day revolutionize AAU basketball in the state of West Virginia, and it all goes back to Flowers' professional days in Europe.

"In Europe, there really is no such thing as high school basketball, " said Flowers, a former WVU standout who was a key member of the 2010 Final Four team. "It's basically all traveling club teams who are all sponsored and ran by the pro team in the area."

An example is the Bourg-en-Bresse team Flowers played for in the France LNB Pro A League. Bourg-en-Bresse also sponsored basketball teams for players in high school, middle school and elementary school.

Those players represented Bourg-en-Bresse and their coaches were selected by the pro team and their schedules were regulated in that they played against teams sponsored by other pro teams around France.

"We had a couple of 16-and 17-year-olds who actually got moved up to play on the pro team, " Flowers said. "They didn't play much, unless we were blowing someone out, but they got a chance to work, practice and travel with us. They got a chance to see how pros conducted themselves and how much they worked at their game."

BEST VIRGINIA AAU TRYOUTS BOYS: 4th-6th grade, 5-7 p.m., Feb. 27 at Mylan Park.

BOYS: 7th-8th grade, 5:30-7:30 p.m., March 4 at Mylan Park.

GIRLS: 5th-8th grade, 5:30-7:30 p.m., March 5 at Mylan Park.

HIGH SCHOOL: boys and girls grades 9-11, 5:30-7:30 p.m., March 17 at Mylan Park.

MORE INFO: bestvirginiayoungstars.leagueapps.com It is under Best Virginia—the pro team Flowers helped form back in 2019 to compete in the annual The Basketball Tournament (TBT)—that Flowers would like to create an umbrella in which players around the state would also compete under the Best Virginia name, while being coached by former WVU standouts.

"What we really would like to create is something more than just playing basketball, " said Jackson, a local Morgantown businessman who is partnered with Flowers in this venture. "What we want to create is an entire program where players from all over the state can become part of a program that's designed to give them an experience they can't get anywhere else."

Flowers and Jackson hooked up by chance a few years ago. Jackson was looking at buying some properties and Flowers just happened to be a realtor at the time.

Jackson was also coaching his son's AAU team and asked Flowers for some help.

That was the ground floor into what is now beginning to take off.

Other former WVU players such as Casey Mitchell, Jarrod West, Chase Harler and Spencer Macke have jumped on board to coach.

The bigger dream to one day house the program can be found at the old Cass Elementary School in Osage.

The school was closed in 2007, but Flowers and Jackson are renting and renovating the main floor, including the old basketball gymnasium.

Former classrooms will be turned into a weight room, a film-study room and lounge area.

It will one day help Flowers and Jackson turn the Best Virginia AAU program into a year-round experience, minus the time players spend during their high school seasons.

"We want it to be more than just about basketball, " Flowers explained. "What we would like to create is an atmosphere where players can come and work out whenever they want, or if they just want to come in and work on homework or sit and talk with a mentor, that's where we're trying to get. We'd like to be able to help teach life lessons through sports."

What began with two boys' AAU teams playing under the Best Virginia name turned into four a year later, ranging from grades 5th-8th.

Those teams were represented by players from Uniontown, Pa. to Beckley.

Flowers would like to branch out Best Virginia to the high school level this year, the next step in the process.

If the dream stays alive, eventually Best Virginia's AAU programs would stretch from fourth grade to high school seniors, for both boys and girls.

Players would simply keep moving from one team to the next, much like the process Flowers once saw in Europe.

"The goal is to be able to gets kids from West Virginia the chance to be around and work with former athletes from WVU, " Flowers said. "They can see how they worked and how often they were in the gym to get to the next step.

"And it would be great to help gets kids from West Virginia on the map, help them build better skills and help them get more exposure."

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