The Bainbridge Thundercats travel to the YBOA National Championship this weekend as the No. 1 ranked team in the nation.

The National Championship will be in Orlando, FL, from July 16-19. Assistant Coach Willie Scott said the players are eager for their opportunity to win it all.

“They’re hyped up and ready,” Scott said. “They told me they’ll hold down the best player. They don’t care who it is.” 

Scott has been implementing a new offensive scheme in preparation for the championship. He said he thinks the other teams have an eye on them, so he’s altering the playstyle to shock their opponents at the national championship.

“Basically, we’re just running pick-and-rolls,” Scott said. “We haven’t done that the whole season. Now, we’re trying to get the teams to where they don’t know what to do. They’ve probably been watching us on Instagram.”

The team will learn its opponents and schedule by Thursday, July 13th. They have been practicing three days a week and cut it to Tuesday and Wednesday this week in anticipation of the competition. 

“It’s going to be a breakdown of all the schemes and plans that we’ve got,” Scott said.

The coach said his players have been working on a press break in practices, and he plans to run the same defense they have been all season. 

The 10U AAU Basketball team earned its No. 1 ranking and qualified for the national competition after winning the Georgia State Championship in June. that 

Scott said he expects the team to play in pool play and then a bracket on game day. If the Thundercats play well enough, they will punch their ticket to the championship game on Wednesday, July 19th.