New Name, Same Results: CP3 Streaking In 2019
by Spencer Pulliam, Future150 (5:53 PM CT, Tue March 18, 2014)

High Point, NC (Future150) -- New name, same results.

The 2013 6th Grade AAU National Champions, Carolina P.R.E.P.S., made youth basketball headlines a few months ago when word spread that they planned to join the CP3 All-Stars organization.

Now a team comprised of seventh graders, the group of prospects from the Class of 2019 has been blazing a trail on the travel circuit to begin their 2014 campaign.

The first stop was the North Carolina Invitational Tournament, where the new-look CP3 All-Stars hoped to find competition by competing up a year and grade in the 8th grade division.

No such luck.

The squad breezed through the regional field, going undefeated on their way to a dominant performance in the NCIT championship.

Head coach Keyford Langley then challenged his group against less familiar competition, traveling to Pennsylvania, where the team again escaped unscathed; dismantling national contender Team Rio of New Jersey in the March Madness finale.

This past weekend, the CP3 All-Stars attracted a field from up and down the East Coast, hosting their own event in North Carolina.

The results were the same as Maryland-based Team Takeover challenged the group in pool play and again in the final, but fell short both games.

On the horizon is this weekend's return of the National Youth Basketball League (NYBL), modeled after the Nike-sponsored E.Y.B.L. at the high school level.

Odds are, this year's seventh grade CP3 All-Stars unit will eventually suffer a loss, and there are plenty of teams hoping to be the first to topple the North Carolina-based group.

If and when that loss occurs is yet to be determined, but the reality is the CP3 All-Stars appear to have the pieces necessary to make another run, and history is in their favor.

Keep in mind that all three of the most recent classes in the middle school ranks have competed for the AAU National Championship at the sixth, seventh, and eighth grade level.

The Texas Titans began their streak in 2009, simply dominating during a three-year run on the youth circuit, and capturing three consecutive AAU National Championships in the sixth, seventh, and eighth grade divisions.

Dunk Dog Elite (then called Louisiana Primetime) lost in the sixth grade AAU National Championship in 2010, but won both the seventh and eighth grade titles in 2011 and 2012, respectively.

California Basketball Club (also known as Cali Style) also lost in the sixth grade AAU National Championship in 2011, but won seventh and eighth grade titles in 2012 and 2013, respectively.

Georgia United is currently following a similar path, having lost in the 2012 sixth grade AAU National Championship, but redeemed themselves with a seventh grade title last summer.

And while only time will tell if the CP3 All-Stars can follow the same historical trail of their predecessors in youth hoops, the team is certainly off to an extremely hot start, and appears to be the early favorites as the nation's top seventh grade squad in 2014.