Photo submitted The 6-9 year old Mavericks are (bottom row) Bryant Whitlock, Tay Parham aka “Hard Rock,” Koheen Minick aka: Bam Bam, Carson Valentine; (middle row) Ja’Kobe Harris, Bryson Means, Desmond Herbert, Markquis Mobley, Hayden Whitlock, Garrison Smith; and (back row) Walt Whitlock Jr. (Coach), Tarik Briggs aka "Little Geek," Walt Whitlock.

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UNION — The 6-9-year-old Mavericks completed a perfect season last week at the Union County Recreation Department. The Mavericks didn’t rely soley on any one athlete throughout the year. They were a well balanced team that saw several different players step up to lead the scoring and the defensive effort.

In the championship game versus the Knicks, it was Bryant Whitlock who paced the offense with 10 points. Tirik Briggs netted six points while Hayden Whitlock and Koheen Minick contributed four apiece.

Coach Walt Whitlock Jr.realized fairly quickly that his team was capable of going undefeated.

“I had a really good group of kids going into this season and I knew after a couple of practices that we had a really good chance of winning the championship and also going undefeated,” he said.

Whitlock, like all coaches involved with Union County Recreation Basketball, believes in the importance of getting kids into a program at a young age.

“I truly feel that teaching them how to play the game the right way early on is the key to them succeeding in the future,” he said. “As a coach it always feels good to see your kids having fun and to see them succeed. They worked really hard this season and learned that you win games through defense and hustle.”

Sports Editor Tiffany Grady-Hudgins can be reached by e-mail at thudgins@civitasmedia.com or by cell at (864) 251-4330.