Gearhart said, “We always teach that communication is key.
Our team is made up of sophomores and juniors, and we had to play six games … teams from all over the state.”Įach team member was awarded a tournament medal. “We were excited to get back and play in the weekend tournament from Friday to Sunday. COVID derailed the tournament for the past two years. Scruggs explained that Team Swish played in the same event three years ago and took home second place. Winning the NCAAU championships was thrilling for all involved. I trust his opinion about so much that’s involved with game planning.” They may not have had that opportunity if we had stopped playing. Four guys got scholarships after that season. We had a meeting with parents that summer to see if they wanted us to shut it down, but they wanted to continue and we took every precaution and no one got sick. “Ryan joined the team in 2020,” said Scruggs. “Lee is a great coach and person and is doing a great thing for the boys, and it’s something I wanted to get involved in.” “I got into coaching when my son was young,” said Gearhart, who also worked in the past as an assistant coach at Highlands School. But I have had FHS students in the past.”Īssisting Scruggs is Ryan Gearhart, who is the fire chief in Highlands. “Most of the Franklin players will play for the Big Cats, which is another AAU team. “I don’t have anyone from FHS this year,” he said. schools, such as one from Greensboro Day School and others from Pisgah High School, Mountain Heritage High School, West Henderson School, and Enka High School. Plus, Scruggs has on his team players from other N.C. No tryouts I hand pick the team.”īecause AAU’s rules state that a team is allowed to include on its roster three team members from outside the division’s state, Team Swish includes three Rabun Gap students. Then I reach out to the parents and give them an invitation to play.
I go around and watch games and see who is a good fit for the team. Since I’m a basketball junkie, I learn who is good in the area. He added, “We’ve had nine guys to go on to play college ball, to Ohio, West Virginia, Nebraska, and other schools through the United States. It only takes one coach to like you – to be in the right place at the right time.” It’s not about winning and losing for us it’s about exposure. So recruiters don’t pay attention to Western North Carolina guys like they should. Growing up in Franklin, a lot of kids in Western North Carolina don’t get the credit they deserve because there is so much talent in the Eastern part of the state. “And then I got an itch to start Team Swish in 2018. “I got into coaching around 2010 due to a coaching opportunity at Rabun Gap, and then I started helping a buddy out with travel ball,” said Scruggs. When he retired from basketball, instead of walking away from the sport, he decided to use his skills to help high schoolers interested in pursuing the game seriously achieve their future goals.
He played for Georgetown and then for the NBA Developmental League in Asheville. Scruggs ended up playing for Daytona Beach (Florida) Community College, where he averaged 17.9 points, 10.9 rebounds, and 4.1 blocks over two seasons. Two years later, a strong junior season propelled Scruggs into the national recruiting news, where Clemson, Ohio State, and Western Carolina recruited him.” Team Swish was started by Franklin High School graduate Lee Scruggs, described in a Georgetown Basketball History Project report this way: “A gifted 6’11” forward, Scruggs grew up in the western North Carolina town of Franklin (pop: 2,845), where he was cut from his high school basketball team as a freshman. “The little team that could” is how Michael Carrier describes Team Swish, which just won the NCAAU (North Carolina Amateur Athletic Union) State Championship in Greensboro, N.C., during Mother’s Day weekend.Ĭarrier, who now lives in Greensboro, resided previously in Highlands and became involved in assisting with a basketball program called Team Swish due to his son, Reid, (then a freshman at Highlands School) who played for the team for three years.
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