Submitted photos – The Orleans girls AAU team pictured in Arizona at the recent 2025 Native American Junior Nationals.

It’s been a good summer for a group of young Orleans basketball players, who have been busy honing their skills ahead of their middle school season next winter.

Two AAU teams of seventh- and eighth-graders from Orleans traveled to compete at the 2025 Native American Junior Nationals in Mesa, Arizona, late last month, including a boys team that placed third in their bracket.

An Orleans girls team also traveled for the tournament that featured over 500 teams from around the nation and also made an impact.

The young Orleans boys played eight games in three days, and rebounded from a disappointing start to make it all the way to the third-place game.

They opened by going 0-3 in pool play, including two loses by two or less points, but would rack up three straight wins to reach the semifinals, where they would lose to a team from Washington that would go on to place first in the bracket.

They closed out tournament play with a dominating 50-18 win over a team from Arizona in the third-place game.

And, according to head coach Bubba King, they succeeded with a tight-knit group of players.

“They’re like a family, that’s how close they are,” said King, who added “This group of boys plays the best team basketball I’ve ever coached. They have a team-first attitude.”

Willie Simms Jr. was the team’s lone representative on the all-tournament team after a big few days.

“He played well in every aspect of the game,” the coach said of the guard. “He did everything for us, rebounding, defense, scoring, passing.”

Simms was far from the only standout on a deep team, with Lenny Hart and Wayne King IV each also impressing.

Hart stepped up big-time for the team with a game-clinching, buzzer-beating 3-pointer in a 47-46 win that qualified the team for the semifinals, while the young King ran the team offense at point guard and also hit some timely 3s when his team needed them.

“He’s the coach on the floor,” head coach and father Bubba King said.

The Orleans boys team.

Darrell McCovey also impressed for the Orleans boys and played some excellent defense, according to his coach, while Ma-kaych McConnell gave the team a big presence in the paint and was a force on the boards.

David Sylvia also made his presence felt in the paint and “got a lot of buckets down low for us,” according to Bubba King, while Evan Nicholson played a key role on and off the court, playing some solid on-ball defense and keeping his teammates focused.

“He really kept the team motivated,” the coach said of Nicholson. “He was really good at keeping everyone together.”

Lorenzo Coloumbe, Joe Nix and Axel Tripp rounded out the talented roster and each also made an impact.

Coloumbe played some strong defense and excelled at creating second chances on the offensive end, while Nix, who is the youngest player on the team at just 13, anchored the team’s full-court press with some inspiring play.

Tripp got hurt in the team’s second game and was sidelined for the rest of the tournament but he still made his presence felt.

“He’s a really good on-ball defender,” Bubba King said, adding that “he stayed and cheered his teammates. He’s a great teammate.”

Willie Simms Jr., was named to the all-tournament team for the Orleans boys.

The tournament was the fifth of the year for the young Orleans players, who also placed first at a Team Beasts tournament in April.

Next up, they will travel to Hawaii for one more tournament in early August.

Willie Simms and Tyler Mitchell both are assistant coaches on the team.

The Orleans girls also impressed in Arizona.

A roster that includes Alexis Warden, Jessie Moon, Alyse Kelley, Shiah Murphy, Bella King and Vuunsip E-kor played in the higher level Diamond Bracket at the tournament.

They finished an impressive 2-1 in pool play, but unfortunately were unable to carry that momentum in the tourney playoffs, losing in the first round.

However, the team earned the respect of head coach Chook-Chook Hillman and Bubba King, who also served as an assistant coach with the girls team.

“They played hard too,” Bubba King said. 

The Orleans girls certainly appeared ready for the challenge from the start and came out fired up.

“(What impressed me was) their fierceness and how hard they played every possession,” Bubba King said. “They are a very scrappy team.”