Earlier this month, Alcovy and assistant coach Roger Whitehouse hosted a tryout for Flight 88 Elite, a new prep academy that has strong roots in Georgia.

Whitehouse is one of the program’s founders, along with Paul Williams. The program was created in the memory of the late Demaryius’ Thomas, the former Georgia Tech and Denver Broncos receiver.

Williams is Thomas’ Godfather, and the passing of the former Yellow Jacket in 2021 led to the decision to start something new.

The mission: Giving an opportunity to young athletes who are in need of one.

“We got to talking when Demaryous passed away,” Whitehouse said. “Paul was pretty distraught and he was telling me one day, ‘You know what one of Demaryous’ wishes were? We travel across the country to kids who don’t have a chance, especially with the portal, the kids that were getting left behind. [We] teach them that it doesn't matter whether you are black, white, purple or green — if you have love in your heart fo the game and for somebody, you can advance in life.’”

Ultimately, the initial meeting between Willimas and Thomas served as foreshadowing for what the program is all about.

”He [Williams] met Demaryius a long time ago, I would say about 25 years ago, in a small gym in middle Georgia,” Whitehouse said. “Demaryious was in the gym and no one was watching him, so Paul took him under his wing. He started playing basketball with the big boys, and the relationship blossomed from teacher to almost a family-like relationship — a father-son relationship.”

After six years of planning and scouting, Whitehouse and Williams have hit the ground running with Flight 88 Elite.

The program’s mission is to offer athletes in-need of an opportunity the chance to play college ball and eventually move on to an even higher level.

While the work of Whitehouse and Williams has been instrumental to where the program is today, a connection with South Georgia State College(SGSC) made it even more possible.

“Our goal is to not just play basketball,” Whitehouse said. “Our students, we call them our ‘family’ — when they commit with us, they are committing with South Georgia State College as well. We are one of the first in the country to house our kids on campus in regular dormantories, also eating their food and getting their classes. We are pulling them to play basketball and travel with us while they get their education.”

Players in Flight 88 Elite will live, train and learn on campus at Flight 88 Elite and will have the chance to earn a diploma from the institution.

“South Georgia State College has been absolutely the best thing I can say because the last six years we have been back-and-forth negotiating and Dr. Jimmy Harper has been great for us,” Whitehouse said. “He has been our liaison. He has done everything he could and they are actually going to give us a whole wing of one of their own dormitories. We are going to call it the ‘Flight 88 Demaryius Thomas Wing.’”

The team has been busy over the spring and the recent tryout at Alcovy was no different. Flight 88 Elite has already received six commitments from the eight players it has offered. 

Whitehouse and Williams hosted a large group from a variety of different backgrounds. The tryout included players from out-of-state, overseas and even from Alcovy’s current basketball team.

In fact, Alcovy seniors Jakori Pinelle and Marc Moore have already committed to Flight 88 Elite. Kellin Hendrix was another Alcovy Tiger that took part in the tryout.

In the case of Moore, Whitehouse noted how it is the true embodiment of what the program is all about.

“Marc didn't get a fair shake, we brought him in and Marc had no talent at the beginning of the year because no one developed him,” Whitehouse said. “They always cut him because he is tall, long and lanky. When we had a scrimmage the other day with the work we put into him this year…he scored 17 points, 11 rebounds and three assists for a guy that had only played basketball for a year.”

While they were not in attendance for the event on April 18, Whitehouse shared that players all the way from Nigeria and Belgium are on the way to tryout in future camps.

Whether it is local players or prospects from other continents, Whitehouse hopes to see all players develop and excel before he hopefully sees them move on to bigger opportunities.

“We had some top-notch ball players that came in that just didn't get a fair shark,” Whitehouse said. “We want to put them on the national stage. We want to keep the kids one, maybe two years. Our goal is to get these young men into a situation where they can play basketball and get education on a higher level. We are here to mold them and make better men, not just basketball players.”

Looking ahead, the program will soon host a Puerto Rico camp before one more Atlanta-based tryout.

Then, the team will report once over the offseason before the team regroups at SGSC in August. When the season starts in September, Whitehouse noted that the program will feature two sections — a national team and a regional team.

The regional team will compete against JUCO, Prep and NAIA teams in the local area. The national team will hit the road to play in states such as California, Illinois, Florida and Pennsylvania.

Whitehouse noted that the program has already reached out to Oxford-Emory for a possible matchup between the two programs.

While the mission of Whitehouse and Williams will go beyond Alcovy and even the state, the two continue to do so in honor of Thomas — who shared the same vision.

“We have taken our mission on the road, and this is our discipleship back to the students and giving back in Demaryious’ name,” Whitehouse said.