AAU Basketball Program

The OG Ballers, our AAU basketball team, is more than just a sports program. It’s family.

Coach Alex “Pali” Sanders started the program in 2014, and he modeled the team culture on the experiences he had growing up with Oscar. Coach Sanders played sports with Oscar, and he always admired Oscar’s competitive nature and dedication to improving his skills. In honor of his friend, Coach Sanders has grown the program from eight players to four co-ed teams, each comprising 12 at-promise youth.

In addition to helping our rising athletes get to the next level, a lot of the program is structured around personal and academic development.

Our overall mission is to provide our youth of color with the tools they need to become successful adults—on and off the court.

Learn More About Our Approach

The OG Ballers program has the motto, “Life is bigger than basketball,” for a reason.

We want to help our players achieve their greatest potential, and we do that by giving them personal and emotional development, academic and vocational training and skills coaching.

Throughout the season, players are required to complete an essay on current events, and they get access to motivational speakers, personal development seminars, mentors and high-level basketball instruction.

Our coaches form lifelong bonds with the youth and their parents, and coaches stick around as mentors for the players throughout the year.

Over the years, we’ve learned that this approach builds up the self-esteem in our youth and gives them a more positive outlook on life.