Salt Lake City (PRWEB) February 04, 2014
Utah club basketball teams Utah Pump-N-Run and Thurl Bailey’s X-Factor announced today they will merge and continue operating under the name Utah Basketball Club. The new club team will be sponsored by Nike, the first and only club basketball team in Utah to hold such an affiliation.
“I’m very pleased to have come together with the team at Utah Pump-N-Run,” said Thurl Bailey, Founder of X-Factor Basketball. “We’ve built a successful program over four years in existence, and now very simply, it’s time to take it to the next level. One of our main objectives is to provide opportunities to Utah’s basketball players that they wouldn’t otherwise receive without the best coaching and direction, and this new organization will do just that.”
Bailey, who is best known for his 16 year professional basketball playing career, currently owns and operates multiple companies, is an analyst for the Utah Jazz, and is a seasoned motivational speaker. He spends most of his free time coaching student-athletes, a passion he’s developed after his children were heavily interested in sports from a young age.
Utah Pump-N-Run was established in 2003 and is the leading basketball club in Utah. The organization has won 18 national tournaments at the 17U level and has helped more than 95 student-athletes receive grant-in-aid scholarships, 75 of which have been at the NCAA Division I level. Alumni include current Philadelphia 76er’s and former BYU star Brandon Davies, University of Utah sophomore Jordan Loveridge, BYU’s Kyle Collinsworth, Utah State’s Marcel Davis, Jalen Moore, and Kyle Davis, and many other well-known student athletes from Utah.
“Having Thurl and the X-Factor team join together with us will lead to new opportunities for student athletes in Utah that are not available right now,” said John Palica, Director, Executive Committee at Utah Pump-N-Run. “We’ve built a well organized group of like-minded individuals that care deeply about the kids and know the game of basketball. Our coaches are top notch. We’re excited to continue to provide Utah student athletes with the best possible coaching and skill development available in the region.”
Utah Basketball Club has already hosted a special Skills Clinic, where the top 40 basketball players from Utah came together to compete in front of evaluators from Nike. The event started with a Recruiting Clinic led by Thurl Bailey and head men’s basketball coach at Salt Lake Community College Todd Phillips. Following the clinic, the group participated in multiple skill development sessions led by Chris Fulton, who worked as a head coach overseas for more than 10 years. Fulton has worked with some of the top basketball talent in the country as a Nike Clinician, including NBA All-Stars, and college and high school All-American’s. The event successfully gave Utah student-athletes national level exposure to Nike grassroots basketball, setting an unprecedented standard for the state of Utah.
Coach Phillips, whose team at Salt Lake Community College is currently ranked #13 nationally and sitting at 19-4, will oversee all coaching initiatives for the new organization. Phillips has coached the top 17U basketball team in Utah for six consecutive years and has a significant understanding of NCAA rules and regulations, including best practices of helping student athletes receive college athletic scholarships at schools of their choice.
Utah Basketball Club will have a strong emphasis in year-round skill development. Bailey, already a well-known big man coach, is helping to set the curriculum along with Coach Phillips and Coach Fulton.
The new organization also welcomes Rich Paul, formerly with X-Factor, and Mario Sanchez, formerly with Utah Prospects, as new Board Members. Their duties include helping to guide the organization’s long-term objectives.
Starting in February, Utah Basketball Club will host tryouts for boys age groups 4th grade to 8th grade and will maintain two teams at each age group. Boys age groups 15U, 16U, and 17U tryouts will be held in March. Further details will be available in February 2014.
For more information about Utah Basketball Club, please visit http://www.utahpumpnrun.org or http://www.xfactorhoops.com, respectively.
About Utah Pump-N-Run
Utah Pump-N-Run's primary goal is to help student-athletes find grant-in-aid scholarships to colleges of their choice. The organization has helped more than 95 student-athletes receive a scholarship since 2003. Alumni include: Kyle Collinsworth (BYU), Jordan Loveridge (Utah), Marcel Davis (Utah State), Charles Abouo (BYU, Spain Pro), Rayes Gallegos (Nebraska), Brandon Davies (BYU, Philadelphia 76er’s), Nicholas Paulos (UNC-Greensboro), Jalen Moore (Utah State), and Steve Panos (Weber State, Greece Pro). For more information, visit http://www.utahpumpnrun.org.
About X-Factor
Utah X-Factor, founded by former professional basketball player Thurl Bailey, was created to give youth from all walks of life that love basketball an environment where they can use the sport to develop character on and off the court. X-Factor provides a positive experience for players by helping them to develop their individual skill set. Visit http://www.xfactorhoops.com for more information.
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