How Team Teague is doin’ more than just teachin’ kids how to hoop! “Changin’ Lives”

Cooper Zachary (2nd grade) of Team Teague gets to the rack durin' the openin' game of the Teague Invitational on Friday night! Photo by Defroinc (David Dixon)

Deion Sanders once said, If your dream ain’t bigger than you, there’s a problem with your dream. Well playas…he didn’t have to say that to the homie Jeff Teague or more specifically, his family. Yes, both he and his brother Marquis were NBA first round draft picks and Jeff is currently the startin’ point guard for the Indiana Pacers!! 

You would think that a boy would be satisfied with bein’ the man in Indy because he graduated from Pike High School and is now playin’ for the home town team. But naw playa, it’s about givin’ back and showin’ the lil’ homies that love the game of basketball how it’s really done.

This weekend Team Teague is holdin’ it’s annual Teague Invitation Basketball Tournament and its NUTS!!! They’ve got more than 85 teams comin’ in from all over the country to get it in from second grade through the Varsity level. In speakin’ with Kim Fielder, the event’s contact person and Shawn Teague, Jeff’ and Marquis’ old man, they’ll have duns respesentin’ Memphis, Chicago, Louisville, Milwaukee, Ohio and they’ve even got a team rollin’ in from Canada!! That’s NUTS!!!!

Let’s keep it real or all the way 100, whichever comes 1st! Bring ya lunch box playboy!! This isn’t the tournament for boyz that aren’t competitive. Games jumped off on Friday night and they’ll go all day today and into tomorrow. If you love the game of basketball then you need to be in the buildin’!!

With 85 teams participatin’ they’ll be ballin’ in four locations, Pike High School, Lincoln Middle School, New Augusta Middle School and Northwest High School!!! Give Team Teague crazy props for doin’ it big bruh!! This is what it’s all about. God didn’t bless them just for them. Their cup is runnin’ over because they’ve got the capacity to create opportunities for other kids.

In August they’ll be openin’ a 33,500-square foot state of the art facility called The Factory D1 Sports on the west side of town. It will have three full basketball courts, 18 hoops, team prep rooms, 7,500-square feet of interior turf trainin’ and 2,500-square feet of physical therapy space.

Here’s what Jeff had to say about why the joint was so important to have here in Indy, “I want local athletes to have the same opportunities I had and more. This was the best way to accomplish that desire.”

This is the type of foolishness boyz love to see from their professional athletes bruh!!! Yeah, it’s cool to see a boy pull up in the Phantom but that doesn’t do anything for the dun watchin’ him pull up. It doesn’t teach or create an opportunity. It just gives a boy a chance to say, “Wow look at him.”

Do you know how many kids simply want to play basketball? And yes, not every kid is goin’ to be a D1 prospect or for that matter, a varsity athlete. However, givin’ kids an opportunity to play the game, learn the disciplines of the game and the structure of competition will have a tremendous affect on their lives beyond just hoopin’.

Sports is the ultimate teacher and Team Teague is doin’ their part to change lives and to inspire young people! Salute my brothers and now let’s get it in this weekend at the Teague Invitational!  Stop me when I start lyin’!

Playas Thesaurus: 

1) Dun: noun – the person in question, dude, guy, etc. It’s whoever I’m talkin’ about and its non-gender specific.

The G is excluded from the endings of all words because the G is near and dear to my heart because I’m from “The G” which is Gary, Indiana. So I only use the G when I’m talkin’ about “The G!”

The caption under the photo isn’t real but its real talk!