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It's mid-afternoon, the most important basketball games of their lives almost set to begin, and the Mid-Atlantic Select U-17s look anything but ready.

Nine boys, all set to begin their senior years in high school, are playing for much more than wins and losses at the July 14-16 West Virginia Jam Fest — annually one of the top Amateur Athletic Union events of the summer.

But the Selects, all but one of them Montgomery County natives, need second winds desperately. Their last three days included multiple games in New Jersey and Connecticut, and pre-game warm-ups showcase more yawns than jump shots.

"We're grinding right now," says James Lee, Selects head coach. "But these guys are used to it. We'll be all right. ... We'd better be."

AAU basketball has earned controversial headlines in recent years, dominated by seedy coaches, disreputable scouts and million-dollar shoe deals — all built on the exploitation of naÔve teenaged athletes.

This is the other side of it.

At its best, it's a platform they cannot get with their high schools. Each player has the same goal — to play college basketball — and good performances in this three-day tournament can make it happen. Countless NCAA Division I, II and III programs are on location, hot after talents they envision one day playing for them.

"Cherish the moment," Lee says. "Family on three. One, two, three — family!"

The casualties

"They're not even trying!" says assistant coach Dave Parks from the scarcely filled bleachers at University High School, one of seven locations where games will be played in the Morgantown, W.Va., area. "This is the worst I've seen them this year."

With the team since they formed as U-15s, Parks can point out their tendencies mechanically — the good, the bad and the ugly. The good shimmered two years ago, when they medaled among more than 100 teams. The bad followed at the Jamfest a year later, with a 16-point loss to a Pennsylvania team "that was just — not even us that day."

The Selects need to win their four-team group to play on the big stage the next day, in front of the bigwigs at West Virginia's Student Recreation Center. But within 5 minutes, they trail Canada's Whitby Wildcats, 13-4.

Murphy's Law has come to pass. The Selects are already without one of their top prospects, Ryan Frazier, whose ankle is "still too tender" to play at the Jamfest.

It's a vital showcase for everyone in a Mid-Atlantic uniform, though the 6-foot combo guard has twice the time to shine as his peers. After leading Blake High to the Maryland Class 3A state tournament during the winter, he decided to follow the footsteps of club teammate Zaid Hearst by transferring to the Salisbury School (Conn.), a preparatory boarding program that gives him an extra year of high school eligibility.

Frazier won't be in college until the fall 2012, but that serves him little consolation.

"Man, this hurt," he says. "There were some schools that were up there for me and I feel like I could have gotten an offer. If I had a really good showing here, maybe I could be done with all this. The insecurity part, you're just always worried about, ‘Are you going to go to school for free?' I just want to get all that off my back."

Bucknell is "ready to offer me right now," Frazier says, but he'll need to impress at the AAU Super Showcase in Orlando, Fla., to secure a scholarship extension.

So, too, will 6-foot-8 Taylor Abt, who lands awkwardly on his right foot just after halftime.

With size, touch and ball-handling skills, Abt is one of the Selects' coveted prospects. Wagner (N.Y.) College and Loyola University have already offered, and "there's like 25 or 30 other schools talking to me," Abt says. But he struggles with the Wildcats' athleticism early, and later turns his ankle going up for a rebound.

What later turn out to be strained ligaments are originally feared to be a break, but while he escapes serious injury, the Selects will miss their tallest player for the tournament's remainder.

"I was playing terrible in the first game, and then this," he says. "The whole car ride home, I didn't say a word. There were probably like six schools there for me the first game, a bunch of others looking at me, and I didn't do anything. But they'll all be there in Orlando."

Like father, like son

When Brandon Hedley comes off the bench, the game changes. His first shot, a 3-pointer from the wing, finds nothing but net.

As do his next five shots.

"He's been doing this since 10-and-under," Parks says.

All of a sudden, the Selects are unstoppable. Gaithersburg's Malcolm Miller, a recent addition, hurls in a three at the halftime buzzer, and the early deficit turns into a double-digit lead. Hedley is even dominating without scoring, sneaking in for a steal and finding Hearst with a gorgeous bounce pass midway through the second half.

"He's smooth — man, is he smooth," notes a scout from Rider (N.J.) University.

"And he might be our smartest player," Parks tells him.

It's no coincidence. The son of a Montgomery County recreational basketball coach, Hedley long ago learned to buy into the hackneyed "team" concept. Despite often being the best player on the floor, he has been a sub since his sophomore year, with his club and for two varsity seasons at Blake.

"‘B' is the perfect sixth guy," Lee says. "He's Vinnie Johnson, the guy they used to call ‘The Microwave.' I bring him in when the tempo slows down, and as you can see, he gets it heated up."

It's a role he claims "is by choice," but his actions speak louder.

Hedley has already transferred from Blake to Silver Spring rival Springbrook, a powerhouse gunning for an unprecedented fourth consecutive Maryland state title in a row.

"I feel I've got the potential to be a D-I player," he says. "But I'm not really known around the area. I feel like at Springbrook, the connections we have coach-wise, I just have a better chance of getting into college. Plus, like ... I have a starting spot there."

And so, Hedley becomes the latest link between two basketball factories. The Selects' first U-17 team three years ago had two-year Springbrook starters Jeremy Williams and Jamal Olasewere heading the class. Lee met both while working at the East County Community Center in Silver Spring.

Olasewere's progression is a constant talking point within the program. A project when he joined the U-15s, he not only led the Blue Devils to a pair of 4A crowns, but started all but two games as a freshman at Long Island (N.Y.) University. Assistant coach Rodney Glasgow's son, recent Good Counsel graduate Rodney Jr., played several years with Mid-Atlantic before signing with Virginia Military Institute.

"It's not just about y'all nine sitting here," Lee tells his team. "It's about the organization, the community, and building this family. Just like Jamal and them, Rod and them ... We want you to make your mark too. But each year, I'm going to coach each team differently."

Every team has its own personality, and this one plays with a definitive emotion — or lack thereof. As assistant coach E.J. Jones puts it: "Y'all swag is below zero!"

His son, Enerio, will share Springbrook's starting backcourt with Hedley next year, and he starts ahead of his longtime club teammate at lead guard.

He gets twice the abuse.

No one catches more heat on this day. His father rips into him for not being a leader. Parks notes his defense as below his standards. And Lee calls his demeanor into question, taking umbrage with his "dirty looks."

"It's something all my coaches say to me, but I don't notice it," Jones says. "I'm trying to figure it out myself, like ‘What's the look that I'm giving?' I guess it's just like a careless face, maybe? They all say it, so obviously I'm doing something wrong, but I just don't know what it is."

The Jamfest is especially important to Jones, who considers himself under the radar, much like Hedley. His skill set is similar, with advanced dribble-penetration abilities, only he's a state champion running a team used to playing on the big stage.

In the end, he wants to be like his dad, who walked on at Georgia and played at UNC-Charlotte. But he considers his first day "really bad, underachieving," and not just because of what he considered a personally subpar opening game.

"Hopefully I can make it happen in these other games; I have to," he says. "That goes for all of us. We kick back a lot too early in games. To me, we definitely need more toughness."

His sentiments have company.

Now or never

Even in disjointed early moments, the Selects are clearly better than their first challenger. Whitby looks disorganized by comparison, misses shots Mid-Atlantic can hit effortlessly, and handle the ball far less fluidly.

But it is tougher.

The Canadian club conquers a 52-37 deficit with 16 unanswered points. Most result from hustle — offensive rebounds, forced turnovers and "50-50 balls" turning into layups.

"It's apparent y'all never played on the playground," E.J. Jones says afterward. "Every one of y'all is gym trained, played every day in the gym. Everybody all nice, ‘Let's pop some jumpers,' and they're just so much hungrier for the ball."

The scoreboard shows it. Hedley finishes with 29, but the Selects fall, 73-70. They play four hours later, needing to beat PYO (Penn.) by at least five points to win their pool.

Pool play is important because the best teams draw the most scouts. The Gold Bracket, composed of the tournament's top 32 teams, will play in front of hundreds of scouts Thursday.

Mid-Atlantic plays to its competition. E.J. notes how they "played hard as s**t against CP3," a North Carolina-based team regularly ranking as one of the best in the country.

But wins and losses are not on the agenda after game one. It's been nearly a decade since Lee played junior college ball in California, but time hasn't sapped his knowledge.

"It's called men's basketball, and high school is called boys' basketball, for a reason," he says. "We don't have enough young men; we have boys. All of y'all face drops when I say something, your body changes, you look disrespectful. I wasted about two years doing that dumb s**t. None of y'all have accomplished what me and E.J. have accomplished, but we want you to go farther than us."

Thursday, July 15 marks the end of the NCAA Evaluation Period for high school hoopsters, in which college coaches can watch, write or telephone recruits. The Dead Period begins the next day, and scouts cannot have any in-person visitation or contact with players.

The summer includes one more Evaluation Period, but opportunities are almost up. Most of the U-17s began playing together three years ago, then considered the future of Mid-Atlantic's program.

Hundreds of games later, that future could depend on the next 24 hours.

"Half of y'all ain't gonna play college ball at the level you think you can," Lee says. "It's almost over, man. Show what you can do and cherish the moment. We've got to do it tonight. ...

"Man up on three. One, two, three, man up!"

Next week: Vindication

Mid-Atlantic Select U-17 Montgomery County player profiles

-Taylor Abt

Georgetown Prep

6-8, 215

Lee says: "Agile; he's got a great skill set for a big man. He's the prototypical big man; not a grinder or a bruiser, but he just knows how to play, period."

Abt says: "Oh, my gosh, I'm so excited about next year. I'm going to be averaging a bunch. I'm going to be running the team, kind of. I can't wait."

-Ryan Frazier

Salisbury School (Conn.)

5-11, 165

Lee says: "Me and little Ry never have arguments. All we do is communicate and make adjustments, and that's why he's moving onto the next level. ... Tough kid, and plays hard at all times."

Frazier says: "You put so much time into this. I've been playing since I was 9, all year, so it's a lot of pressure to do well."

-Zaid Hearst

Salisbury School (Conn.)

6-4, 200

Lee says: "He probably has six, eight offers right now. You remember what he used to be when he was at B-CC, Springbrook, and how much his game has progressed. He's pretty much mastered the offensive side of the ball."

Hearst says: "Everything is just about getting a scholarship. I still haven't signed yet, so I'm trying to get all the coaches I can here to believe in me."

-Brandon Hedley

Springbrook

5-10, 147

Lee says: "I think he showed a lot of schools what he can do. If we're against someone playing zone, he's in there. People think he's a shooter. But ... he has the instincts of a point guard."

Hedley says: "Of course a couple times during the game, I looked over to see if anybody's writing something down. I'll hit a three and be like, ‘Yeah, put that down.'"

-Enerio Jones

Springbrook

6-0, 157

Lee says: "He's really good but it won't necessarily show up to the crowd. He has a beautiful jump shot, he's willing to run the team and out of our guards, E is probably our best defender."

Jones says: "I was playing good this whole summer until this week. It's no excuses, but I've been traveling and playing ball three games a day for the last two weeks. I'm just trying to get my wind back."

-Matt McCarthy

Good Counsel

6-1, 180

Lee says: "He doesn't know how good he can be. He really could be a primetime player. Offen-sively, man, he has all the tools."

McCarthy says: "On my high school team I can kind of be the man, or whatever, but on this team there are so many people that are really good. I don't need to do everything so sometimes I shy off a little too much."

-Matt McGugan

Blake

6-3, 180

Lee: "If you sleep on him, he'll kill you. The thing I love is he don't mind scrapping in for rebounds, layups, whatever. He'll be a valuable piece wherever he goes."

McGugan says: "My sophomore year I was playing more of a four. Now I'm a two. Going from a big forward to a guard is hard, but it can be done."

-Malcolm Miller

Gaithersburg

6-6, 180

Lee: "It's really coming together for Malcolm. There's going to be a lot of eyes on him in Orlando, actually. Everyone that sees us is like, ‘Who is this guy?'"

Miller says: "I'm still trying to find out my role, and with our big man Taylor hurt, I've got to get rebounds. ... I joined this team so I could get further. I'm trying to go as far as I can in basketball, and whoever can help me get that far, maybe I can help them too."

-Jarid Watson

Springbrook

6-7, 183

Lee: "His size and length are things college coaches love and can't teach. Coaches will come to see Z or Ryan and be like, ‘Man, this kid runs the court, dunks, moves. ... He's going to develop more at the college level."

Watson says: "I like the word ‘potential.' It gives me that confidence that I know I can do more."