Hustle (NC) 4th Grade Champions – Junior Phenom MLK Kick-Off
Our staff made the trip to Charlotte, NC this weekend to attend the Junior Youth Phenom MLK Kickoff. This event provided us with a great opportunity to get an early look at more than 80 grassroots basketball teams (Grades 2nd-8th) from all across the east coast. Before we dive into some of our notes, we would like to take a minute to honor the late great Dr Martin Luther King Jr with one of our favorite quotes of his: “If you can’t Fly, then Run. If you can’t Run, then Walk. If you can’t Walk, then Crawl, but by all means, keep moving.”

At the fourth grade (2031) level you just have to sit back, appreciate and enjoy watching these young kids having fun playing the game of basketball. The joy, excitement of competing and learning how to play, can be seen all over their faces.

Stumbling across Coach Dijuan Harris and his Hustle 2031 team may have been the best surprise of the weekend. Coach Harris is no stranger to basketball having played Division 1 at UNC-Charlotte before going on to play professionally overseas for 7 years as well. He displayed an intensity and passion for the game that seemingly transfers over and shines brightly through his young team. It was amazing to see!

Hustle 2031 had a remarkable weekend going a perfect 4-0 and winning the 4th Grade Championship. They picked up wins over Augusta United (41-10), Win or Learn (37-20) and Team Thrill Black (37-32). They would pickup another win against Win or Learn in finals to be crowned CHAMPS. I’m sure the grassroots world will become very familiar with the following names in the years to come:
(2031) Isiah Ogirri (2031) Caleb Burnette (2031) KJ Brown (2031) Denim Love.

Hustle 2030 would also win their respective 5th Grade Championship Division as well. You can follow Hustle organization on IG (@HouseOfHustle30_31)