AAU Stars Of The Week Series Features Future Prospects, Nova Village in Week 1

 With the AAU basketball season in full swing, here are the top organizations locally and statewide in our new 

AAU Squad of the Week Spring Series.

YOUTH LEVEL - NOVA VILLAGE 

 Team Location - Columbus

Social Media - @novavillage

After falling in the national T3TV event in March, Nova Village has won 3 straight tournaments that they have competed in. Blake Kern, a 5th grader, is one of the top players in his class in Ohio and leads the team. Nova Village are ranked in the top 50 Nationally.

Nova Village also has a youth girls team that could be on the rise in a couple of years. 

Lead by Head Coach Kyle Kern, a former college hooper, "The Village" have been unstoppable of late. Can they keep up the championship streak this weekend?  

"We're very proud of what we have done so far, but we have the Under Armour circuit coming up, and we need to be prepared for that." Coach Kern stated.  

HIGH SCHOOL / PREP SCHOOL  

FUTURE PROSPECTS 

Team Location - Dayton

Social Media - @FutureProspects 

 

Future Prospects organization have won the last two events they have entered, and have had a very good start to the early AAU season. They were already a 2-Time National AAU Champion and had won 44 AAU tournaments going into this season.  

Future Prospects, which is based in Dayton, Ohio, went 21-5 in their inaugural Prep season, then won the Michigan Prep Showcase, then doubled back and won the Bearcat Classic recently.

Adrian "Spanky" Parks started the program and is the Prep School Coach. Parks starred in the City League before going to Eastern Kentucky. He would then play professionally overseas (Iceland) and in the IBL & ABA. 

His other coaches are Clifton Cook, who also starred in Dayton Public Schools before becoming a All-American at Howard College. He then would star at Texas A&M, becoming the Big 12 Newcomer of the Year and 3rd Team All-Big 12 as a junior. He then would play professionally overseas. 

Tracy Miller, starred in Dayton Public Schools before headimg to Eastern Arizona to play college ball. 

Miller and Cook coach the youth and high school teams, while Parks focus is on Prep and Unsigned Seniors, a group Parks has been coaching for a couple years now. 

Some of the former Future Prospects include Wes Enis (South Florida), Prophet Johnson (Sacramento St) and Mehki Elmore (Findlay), who are all thriving in college. 

Future Prospects became a National Prep Organization this season, and had a good season to boot. They also have Elementary, Middle school & High School AAU teams as well.

Future Prospects have placed over 100 kids (101) in college in the 6 years and also had 10 kids placed in college just last year.

 They also launched a successful Border to Border Series with Michigan & Canada, which featured some of the most high profile prep schools in the country involved. It was sponsored by McDonalds, and was a huge success in the first year of existence. Look for it to make a return sometime in the near future. 

"We're excited in what we have done so far. Fellas are stepping up their game. We got a lot more to go. We want to have a great AAU season." Parks stated. 

Congratulations and good luck to the FUTURE PROSPECTS TEAM & NOVA VILLAGE throughout the AAU Season.

If you want to nominate a AAU TEAM or PLAYER for STARS OF THE WEEK Series, email us at thesportseffect@gmail.com 

FOLLOW S.E.LIVE365 for Exclusive Interviews with the rising program next week. @SELive365 

Alstork Resignation Fuels Speculation, Shows Lack of Direction at Clark State

 Alstork Resignation Shows Lack of Direction at Clark State 

By Deon Cash

Quinton Alstork, in just three seasons, lead the Clark State Eagles from the basement of the OCCAC to nearly the top of the standings. 

With it came a bevy of opportunities for the staff, players, fans, and faculty. 

For the first time in nearly a decade, the Eagles had a winning record two seasons ago.

For the first time ever this year, the Eagles won 20 games. And with it, Alstork became the fastest player to win 50 games in Clark State history. 

He also was a legitimate Top 3 candidate for OCCAC Coach of the Year.

However, due to some reasons that were not explained, Alstork was given only one real option.

To resign. 

While it was noted that one player was deemed ineligible at mid-season, Alstork was clear and concise with the board about all the dealings with the player. Brandon Cromer, the star guard from Atlanta, was deemed ineligible, and sat out the 2nd part of the season. 

And while he had a minor situation in his first season with a player (in 2024), it was quickly dissolved after a meeting with the player and the coaches. 

So, after a program that has flown under the radar for decades, they decided that Alstorks' job was "under review" after looking at the recent events, and literally not even acknowledging the real growth of the program in Alstorks' short tenure. 

While Alstork has remained silent about  everything, he was "shocked" at what was presented to him by the Athletic Director, Naz Butler. 

Since then, the entire Southwest Ohio region has been abuzz about the sudden departure of Alstork.

While some thought Alstork had another job lined up, others were really stunned to see a program, that has been irrelevant for the most part of 3 decades, get rid of the guy who helped guide their way back into the mainstream for JUCO basketball recently. 

Alstork was preparing for a monster 2026 season, when the AD told Alstork the suprising news. 

After Alstork processed the information, he decided to step down.

"I didn't really understand why, and was never given a explanation. But regardless, what we did at Clark State, nobody has ever done before. 

We put that program back on the map. And we did it with respect and Springfield pride.

 I want to thank Clark State for the chance to show that I am a top tier head coach in college and can lead any college basketball program to the next level."  

Which brings us to this point.

With the current coaching changes that have continued over the course of 3  seasons, its clear that there is no rush around Clark State Athletics to elevate the program, despite the desperate need for it in the Springfield community. 

With the board and directors continuing to get rid of high quality coaches who graduate kids and send them to the next level, what is the ultimate goal? 

Many seem to think that the answer is to just be functional. 

While that works for some coaches, Alstork felt the writing on the wall. Alstork is not a "Functional Coach."

Alstork is a "program changing coach", and everyone saw and felt that.

A myriad of coaches, even some from the OCCAC, have questioned why Alstork left. 

With the loss, who will step into the position? It sounds to be a two man race, from the reports. 

While there will be no outside coaches who have been considered, the word is that it is between coaches that were under the Alstork umbrella, which makes this story even more worth watching.

Butler, the Eagles Athletic Director, could not be reached for comment. 

Follow S.E.Live365 for more information on the story.