Texas billionaire flies fifth-graders to Spiece
If you see a chartered jet at Fort Wayne International Airport with an NBA logo on the side, don’t get too excited about the Dallas Mavericks or San Antonio Spurs being in town to scrimmage against the Mad Ants.
No, these players are a little younger – in fifth grade, actually.
The jet will contain members of the Texas Titans traveling team, who are in town to compete in the Martin Luther King Classic on Saturday and Sunday at Spiece Fieldhouse.
The Titans boys basketball team is backed by Texas billionaire Kenny Troutt and often gets a lift to tournaments on a jet that NBA teams use. The team was featured in a recent Sports Illustrated article. The team has flown on the Arizona Diamondbacks’ plane, stayed at Caesars Palace for a tournament in Las Vegas and practiced at the Mavericks’ practice facility.
The Titans organization employs full-time coaches, skill instructors, a general manager, a traveling secretary and a trainer, all thanks to Troutt.
“I believe if you do something, you try to do it as best as you possibly can,” Troutt said in a 2006 Dallas Morning News article.
gjones@jg.net
There’s no certainty that DeKalb’s dual-match winning streak will end this season. But if it does, the safe bet to beat the Barons, who enter the season with a 63-match winning streak, head-to-head will be East Noble.