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Putting a competitive AAU basketball team on the court is a very big deal these days. There are a couple dozen dominant teams around the country and the Miami Tropics are one of them. Over 50 Tropics players have graced a division 1 roster. The Tropics also played host to one of the most publicized players ever in O.J. Mayo.

President and CEO Art Alvarez, recently caught us up on his teams’ history. We covered his teams prestigious past, his current division one targets, coaching O.J. Mayo and where he last seen the UofK and UofL staff. The History of the program is that of a fast rise to AAU dominance.

The Tropics have taken advantage of a talent rich South Florida area, to mold themselves into an AAU powerhouse. Alvarez was pretty excited to talk of his teams’ star crossed path with supremacy,

“We started the Tropics as a travel team in 2002 and have had great success. We are a NIKE Elite Travel team and have had the opportunity to play in all of NIKE’s top events, including the Peach Jam. In the past 7 seasons we have sent (or will send including 2008), 51 players in the program to play at the division 1 level, a fact of which we are very proud. In 2006 we ventured into the professional ranks, putting a team in the ABA, and immediately had success, finishing 18-5, and ranked third of fifty four teams in the USA and parts of the world. This past December we represented the USA in the FIBA Liga De LasAmericas, one of 16 teams, worldwide, invited to the tournament. After a final four appearance, we finished with the Bronze Medal after losing out on points, in the three way tie for first, with a record of 2-1″.

The Tropics recent success has led to yet another Nike Peach Jam Invitation. Alvarez is pleased to have his team mentioned among the top 24 teams in the nation.
“It is our fourth invitation in the past five years and we are always thrilled to get the nod. Representing NIKE well is one of our main goals, and being considered as one of their top tweny four teams under their umbrella is very satisfying”.
The status of the teams’ top two returning players, Emari Bailey and Richie Edwards seemed to be a good place to go next. Alvarez was more than happy to give us a detailed breakdown of the talented duo.

“Emari is athletic a wing as you will find. In transition, you see glimpses of Julius Erving, with the high flying one handed thunder dunks. He shoots it well but needs to tighten his ball handling to play that 2-3 position at the next level. He can rebound, when he wants to, and has great hops. He’s long and has good quickness, which makes me believe he will defend well, but he needs to be pushed in that direction, right now. Most of the Florida Schools are looking to get involved, but for the most part he is an unknown commodity”.

“Richie came with us to LasVegas last July and blew up! He had offers from many of the top west coast schools, including Arizona. He has prototypical size for a 2-3 guard and can do most everything well, but he needs to continue moving forward and improving. He needs to find a consistency in his game and make every possession count. At times he looks like a McDonald’s All American and at other times content being a role player. He’s also involved with the Florida schools and I believe has taken unofficial visits to UCF and USF, already. I’m sure a lot of others will be on him”.

The conversation then turned to recent UCF signee, Isaac Sosa. Alvarez pointed out that another one his talented players is gaining a lot of national notoriety,

“Isaac Sosa, who recently signed with UCF, made great strides after settling into high school in Florida. He was always a great shooter but his total game came of age, and for the spring part of the season, at Kingwoodand at Mississippi State, he was arguably our best player. He learned to play with a chip on his shoulder and be more aggressive which took his game to the next level”.

We then had a chance to speak about O.J. Mayo. We asked Coach what it was like working with the kid,

“Incredible!” Alvarez exclaimed!

“When he called and asked to play withus, I was dumbfounded. After one game with us, I could see why he got the hype, which was completely warranted. We used him at the point, and I believe that’s where he will end up as a pro. He has incredible vision and a high B-ball IQ and always put the ball where it needed to be. He averaged about 25 a game withus and could of had 40, if he was selfish. We put a good team around him with Javi Gonzalez (NC State), Freddy Asprilla (FIU), Luis Colon (Kansas State) and Jonathan Rodriguez (Campbell), and he made it go”.

We then asked Alvarez a bit more about Mayo, trying to find out if his “Hollywood” reputation is deserved. Alvarez seemed happy to be able to get his take on O.J. to basketball fans.

“Glad you asked, because I can’t believe all the garbage I’m hearing about him. He has to be the most humble, mega star I have ever known, and we have 3 kids in the NBA and 15 playing professionally, overseas. He’s a yes sir, no sir kid, who works and works to get better. I think he had to form a hard shell because of all the hype he’s had since 7thgrade, but to those he trusts and has a relationship with, its all smiles and good times. I’ve said it before, that whoever passes on this kid in the draft, are going to get the same ridicule the teams that passed on Jordan received. He’s that good and that versatile, and we played against all of them, Rose, Beasley, Gordon, Beasley, Lawson, Singler and Love.”

This Summer has been another successful one thus far for the Tropics and Alvarez updated us on the Teams’ most recent news,

“A pleasant surprise”. Alvarez said about these past few weeks.

“We have a very young team, but have done well. We got the Peach Jam bid for an Elite 8 appearance at the Kingwood Classic and have pretty much won two out of every three we played, most against high caliber competition. It’s been a good test”.

As we finished up, we thanked Alvarez for his time and asked if he had seen any of the Cat or Cardinal coaches around lately,

“I did see some in the stands at the Kingwood in Houston. I guess we’ll see them when it opens up at the Peach Jam in July”.

“No problem, we appreciate you giving our program a look and letting your readers see what we’re about”.

Click here to learn more about the Miami Tropics.