Harrell hails arrival of Xtreme Basketball Xhibition

Ron Bailey, Publisher

Lonnie Harrell is giving players a chance to keep their dream going.

September 20, 2011 – A veteran of collegiate, professional minor league and exhibition basketball ranks, Lonnie Harrell has had his ups and downs in the sport, experience that has developed knowledge first hand of the sport's business side. Accordingly, he knows what it feels to be on the proverbial periphery of the sport, i.e. playing organized hoops post high school, some for money, yet not quite getting his big break.

With the Xtreme Basketball Xhibition, Harrell had developed an idea to help talented players live their dream, and possible make a living doing it.

“Things happen for a reason” shared Harrell recently via telephone during a break from his First Class Sports Academy, of what led to his XBX vision. “Everything is a win… (setbacks) are just a stepping stone for the next step”.

Of this vision, which took him “four years to make it complete”, Harrell realized “skills can be a showcase”.

Lonnie Harrell coaching hands-on during a recent First Class Sports Academy session.

According to Lonnie, himself a talented and tricky guard/forward as a player, the XBX will allow “One hundred top players from around the country to compete in Olympic style competition”: Harrell is presenting hoops track and field style, with competitors competing in shooting, ball handling, dunking, one on one, and skills challenges. Teams will consist of five players per team, but compete individually. Squads will accrue points, and the team with the most points wins, just like track and field.

Another model is that of skateboarding, where the sport is also segmented into individual events based on obstacles in a skate park and/or half pike, or as Harrell noted, “individual specialties”. Interestingly enough, his experience in skateboarding, which occurred in Europe on the And One Tour and included sponsorship from Boost Mobile (another XBX motivation), have informed the XBX plan.

“We are trying to take something not street ball and make it straight forward” added Harrell, “We wanted to stay away from gimmicks, nothing that can rise and fall”, which he experienced firsthand during the And One tour and its meteoric popularity and eventual demise.

Harrell sat down and broke the game down into components like good players do, understanding some are good at certain aspects of the sport. Why not allow them to showcase their ability/skills, and via sponsorship (ala skateboarding and some track athletes), get paid doing so?

Enter the Xtreme Basketball Xhibition, which will have a qualifier at Capital Sports Complex (District Heights, MD), October 15th, 2011. According to a recent press release “The competition is open to basketball players, male and female, of all ages, except for college age/athletic scholarship eligible athletes”. National Basketball Association players will also not participate.

Additionally “XBX will feature an “Expo where related global brands and local businesses will showcase and sell merchandise”.

All interested parties, or those simply desiring more information including which players are presently sponsored, should visit www.TheXBX.com (email should be sent to info@theXBX.com).

The main event will take place November 11th, 2011, again at Capital Sports Complex. Both this and the qualifier are expected to boast players from around the country.

“Some guys are good at something, others something else” said Harrell of the different specialties players have in the game of round ball. Just like a track meet or skateboard competition, XBX allows these specialists to do their thing, with the possibility of earning some money doing so though sponsorship: Speed guys don't necessarily compete in the mile race during a track meet. As such players primarily skilled in shooting will not attempt dunking in XBX play.

Harrell just may be on to something. Hugh ‘Baby Shaq’ Jones, one of XBX’s initially sponsored participants, is a guy who thinks he his.

“Anything Lonnie puts together is a good idea” shared Jones of Harrell’s business plan and vision. “As long as I’ve known him, he’s always had a plan”.

Jones, an outstanding finisher who takes no prisoners and is a fellow And One Tour veteran, indicated his experience with Harrell is extensive, as “I grew up watching him play”, including stints as “L-Train (college) and Prime Objective (And One Tour). He paved the way for me”.

Lonnie Harrell hopes to do the same for a broad swath of basketball players.

First Class Sports Academy Notes:

Those interested in a young person in their life being taught how to play the game, First Class Sports Academy stands as an option; in an after school format (2-630p M-F) and also during summer break, Harrell teaches the game from a player's perspective.

"I teach how to score" said Harrell of his focus. "We do drills, but they are based on game situations".

During a recent session, his young charges (elementary/middle school aged) displayed impressive moves and counters, all of which were taught hands-on by Harrell.

Contact hoops@primeandcompany.com for more info.