BEAUMONT, Texas — The Lamb Production All-Star Basketball Games brought together the top eighth grade talent in the region and gave both boys and girls the chance to showcase their skills in front of a packed West Brook High School gym.
High school coaches and local high school talent were seen in the crowd and that's what Josh Lamb, the mastermind behind the all-star game, said he wanted. Lamb said he wants the games to act as an early opportunity for younger athletes to make connections and get the exposure they may not receive during the regular season.
"'Cause I follow the high school sports and I realized there was no one following middle school, and I don't want to say no one, but it's not as big as high school, so when I approaced my first middle school game I seen the attraction they brought and I was like we need to do something bigger," Lamb said. "Hey, the middle schools deserve it too 'cause guess what, the Wesley Yates, the Trealyn Porchias and things of those nature, they just wasn't good in high school. They were also good in middle school, some good in elementary. I do want to support the middle school kids because they deserve it."
Lamb says he'd like to expand the all-star games into a tournament with teams from across Texas.
Ma'Riyah Alfred, JJ Mouton, and Austin Steward took home the all-star game's MVP trophy.