Select Basketball is excited to announce that our 17U Black, 16U Red, and 15U Purple teams have accepted an invitation to join the PRO16 basketball league. The PRO16 league (rebranded from NB16) is run by NXTPRO Basketball and is in partnership with New Balance. The PRO16 is one of only four major shoe circuits that financially sponsor the participating teams and provide the team with officially licensed gear.
The Select Basketball PRO16 teams will compete in league games that will take place over three weekends across the country in the spring. Two of the events will be during NCAA live periods in April and the third will be during Memorial Day weekend. All PRO16 teams will then be seeded for a nation-wide tournament during the July 6-9 live period to crown the top team.
“Every year we try to find the top level of competition and the PRO16 will provide us with that challenge,” said Clint Hordemann, Director of Player Development. “We are excited to compete with the best teams in the country.”
The Select program will continue to field multiple teams at all age levels for both men and women throughout the spring and summer. These teams will compete within our traditional schedule at a regional level. The PRO16 did indicate that Select teams that perform well may be invited to compete at the national level as well.
The New Balance brand has made a huge splash in the basketball world in the last few years. They started with the signing of Kawhi Leonard (Los Angeles Clippers) in 2018 and created a signature shoe for the 2-time NBA champion and 2-time NBA Finals MVP.
They have also signed players and entertainers such as Jamal Murray (Denver Nuggets), Dejounte Murray (Atlanta Hawks), Sydney McLaughlin (400m Hurdles World Record Holder), Coco Guaff (2022 French Open Finalist), Raheem Sterling (Chelsea Football Club), and Jack Harlow (rapper and actor).
Then, this past March, New Balance signed Chicago Bull Zach Lavine.
“When Select started 25 years ago, we weren’t sure where it would go,” said Hordemann. “Our goal was to provide more opportunities for high school players. As we evolved and the travel world evolved, we have been offered a variety of different opportunities to participate on different circuits. They all had pros and cons but the PRO16 was the first one that made complete sense for our players and program. This is going to be a fun ride!”
You can follow the PRO16 circuit on Twitter at @PRO16League
About Select Basketball
Select Basketball was established in 1998 as a local boys team traveling to two tournaments in July. Since then, the program has grown to over 30 men’s and women’s teams that compete in 9-10 tournaments a year. We also host multiple tournaments and showcases each year.
For more information and to stay up to date on everything we are doing, follow us on Twitter at @SelectHoopsUSA and on Instagram at @SelectBasketballUSA
