Hightstown Spirit hoping to travel to Florida next month for national championships.
By: Jim Green
Two Lawrence Middle School eighth-graders are asking their community to help send their Amateur Athletic Union (AAU) basketball team to the AAU Nationals in Cocoa Beach, Fla. next month.
Justin Freedman and Armstead Dickerson, both 14 and residents of Lawrenceville, have been selling subscriptions to ESPN the Magazine in order to raise money for their AAU team, the Hightstown Spirit. The Spirit finished second at the New Jersey state championships in May, qualifying them for a trip to the national tournament.
The 11 members of the Spirit so far have raised $6,000 of their targeted $10,000 for the trip to Florida. Freedman has raised $600 personally through donations and the sale of subscriptions.
"I started mostly going to people I know, and they all contributed to me," Freedman said. "Even people I don’t know have made smaller donations, like $10."
The tournament is scheduled to take place from July 13-21 and will feature the 90 best AAU teams from across the country.
"This is the first time I’ve been able to travel out of state for a basketball tournament," Freedman said. "It’s a great opportunity. There’s going to be a lot of college scouts down there. It’s going to be very exciting."
Freedman, who began playing basketball in 7th grade, was introduced to the Spirit by Dickerson, his friend and teammate from school. The Spirit were looking to add size, and the 6-foot-3 Freedman was the perfect addition to the team. The talented Spirit went on to go undefeated in the state championships last month before falling to the Tim Thomas Playaz from Paterson in the tournament’s final game.
The experience of playing with and against some of the better players in the state helped Freedman who plans to play for Lawrence High School next year mature as a player.
"I think I’ve been gaining from playing with these kids (on the Spirit)," Freedman said. "I don’t play all the time, because I’m playing with the best kids in New Jersey.
"Playing with these guys is really going to help me boost up my game. It feels like I’m playing at another level."
And Freedman knows he will only get better competing against the country’s top players in his age group at the national championships.
"It was like another level playing in the states," he said. "Playing in the Nationals is going to be another step up."
The Hightstown Spirit are looking for sponsors for each of the players to send them off to the Nationals. Contact Gary Williston at (609) 448-9565 or via e-mail at [email protected] for more information on helping the Spirit achieve their goal of bringing the national championship to Mercer County. Checks should be made payable to Hightstown Spirit and mailed to 14 Dover Lane, East Windsor, NJ, 08520.
For more information, contact Freedman directly at (609) 219-1480.