THE SAVANNAH SIXERS: BIG MARK, ALAMEEN & BOBBY — THE COACHES BEHIND THE COMPETITOR

THE SAVANNAH SIXERS: BIG MARK, ALAMEEN & BOBBY — THE COACHES BEHIND THE COMPETITOR

Before the high school honors, military basketball, and Mr CRUSH, there were Savannah youth teams and coaches helping George Ransom Turner III develop his game.

CRUSH MAGAZINE EXCLUSIVE | THE SAVANNAH ATHLETIC BLOODLINE | FEATURE 001

SAVANNAH, GEORGIA

Every basketball player remembers certain names.

Not just the teammates who scored.

Not just the opponents who challenged them.

Not just the schools and gyms where they competed.

The coaches.

The people who stood on the sidelines.

The people responsible for organizing young athletes into a team.

The people whose voices became part of the experience of learning the game.

For George Ransom Turner III, better known today as Mr CRUSH, three names belong to an important chapter of his Savannah basketball upbringing.

BIG MARK.

ALAMEEN.

BOBBY.

The coaches Mikey remembers from the Savannah Sixers.

Their names deserve to be recognized in the story of the athlete before the entertainer.

Because the Savannah Sixers were part of a larger youth basketball network that helped develop a generation of young competitors.

And for Mikey, they were part of the foundation.

THE SIXERS: A TEAM BEFORE THE PUBLIC RECOGNITION.

Long before the world knew the artist identities Mr CRUSH, PartyPlugMikey, and Plug Not A Rapper, Mikey’s life included organized youth basketball.

The Savannah Sixers were one of the teams in that journey.

They belonged to a developmental period when basketball was about more than personal statistics.

Young players were learning how to compete.

How to understand their responsibilities.

How to work alongside teammates.

How to respond to coaching.

And how to participate in an environment where individual talent had to function within a team.

For Mikey, the Sixers were part of a wider basketball experience that also included the Savannah Jazz, Savannah Panthers, Savannah Elite, South Georgia Kingz, and AAU competition.

But every team deserves its own chapter.

And every coach deserves to be named.

BEFORE THE PLAYER COULD BUILD A LEGACY, HE HAD TO LEARN HOW TO BE PART OF A TEAM.

COACH BIG MARK: A NAME THAT STAYED WITH THE PLAYER.

Some people remain part of your story long after the seasons have ended.

For Mikey, Big Mark is one of those names.

Remembered as a Savannah Sixers coach, Big Mark belongs among the adults associated with his early basketball development.

The significance is not dependent on inventing a dramatic locker-room speech or an undocumented championship.

It begins with something simpler.

He was there.

He coached.

And years later, Mikey still identifies him as someone who belongs in the history of his athletic upbringing.

That recognition matters.

Because community coaches often contribute to young people’s development without receiving the public attention later given to accomplished athletes.

THE PLAYERS MAY GROW UP AND CHANGE JERSEYS. THE COACHES WHO HELPED DEVELOP THEM REMAIN PART OF THE STORY.

Big Mark’s individual coaching philosophy, achievements, and influence deserve further documentation through firsthand recollections.

For now, his name takes its rightful place in the Savannah Sixers chapter.

COACH ALAMEEN: ANOTHER VOICE IN THE DEVELOPMENT YEARS.

The second name Mikey identifies with the Savannah Sixers is Alameen.

Youth basketball requires adults willing to work with developing players.

People who understand that the learning process is rarely perfect.

That young athletes need repetition.

That teamwork takes practice.

And that competitive environments can teach lessons extending beyond the game.

Alameen was part of the Savannah Sixers coaching environment Mikey remembers.

That makes him part of this personal history.

It also places him within a larger community tradition of adults participating in organized youth athletics.

NOT EVERY IMPORTANT CONTRIBUTION APPEARS IN A BOX SCORE.

Some contributions are remembered through the people who experienced them.

For Mikey, Coach Alameen is one of those names.

COACH BOBBY: COMPLETING THE SAVANNAH SIXERS COACHING TRIO.

The third Savannah Sixers coach Mikey names is Bobby.

Together, Big Mark, Alameen, and Bobby form the coaching trio he associates with that period.

Their individual roles may have differed.

Their coaching styles may have differed.

And their influence may have appeared in different ways.

Those details belong to the firsthand history that can be documented through future interviews.

But their shared connection to the Savannah Sixers is already part of Mikey’s account.

Three coaches.

One youth basketball program.

And a young Savannah athlete developing through organized competition.

WHEN WE TELL THE STORY OF THE PLAYER, WE SHOULD ALSO TELL THE STORY OF THE PEOPLE WHO HELPED CREATE THE OPPORTUNITY TO PLAY.

Coach Bobby belongs in that recognition.

WHY THE SAVANNAH SIXERS MATTER TO THE BIGGER CRUSH STORY.

Mikey’s life would eventually extend far beyond Savannah youth basketball.

He would compete in high school athletics at Calvary Day.

He would receive Wendy’s High School Heisman recognition.

He would serve in the United States Army.

He would continue playing basketball during his military experience overseas.

And he would pursue careers and creative ventures involving sales, marketing, entertainment, and entrepreneurship.

But none of those later chapters erases the earlier ones.

The Savannah Sixers belong to the period when his competitive identity was still developing.

When the future had not yet taken shape.

When basketball was part of his everyday world.

And when community coaches were among the adults involved in his growth.

THE ACHIEVEMENTS CAME LATER. THE DEVELOPMENT WAS ALREADY UNDERWAY.

SAVANNAH’S YOUTH COACHES ARE PART OF ITS CULTURAL HISTORY.

Savannah’s cultural history is often told through schools, neighborhoods, churches, music, festivals, and influential public figures.

But youth sports deserve a place in that history too.

Because basketball teams connect young people.

They bring families together.

They create relationships across neighborhoods.

They give adults opportunities to mentor.

And they become part of the memories that people carry into adulthood.

The Savannah Sixers were one part of that environment for Mikey.

Big Mark, Alameen, and Bobby were part of the coaching community he remembers.

Their inclusion in CRUSH Magazine is about preserving the names behind the experience.

Not claiming that one team created every later accomplishment.

Not reducing a community’s history to one athlete.

But making sure that the people associated with the foundation are recognized.

YOU CAN CELEBRATE THE SUCCESS WITHOUT FORGETTING THE PEOPLE WHO HELPED BUILD THE FOUNDATION.

GIVE THE SIXERS THEIR FLOWERS.

To Coach Big Mark.

To Coach Alameen.

To Coach Bobby.

To the Savannah Sixers.

To the teammates whose names and stories deserve to be preserved.

And to the families and community members who supported youth basketball in Savannah.

This chapter is for the people who were part of the beginning.

Before the public recognition.

Before the larger opportunities.

Before the music.

Before the brand.

Before Mr CRUSH.

There was Mikey.

There was basketball.

There were teammates.

And there were coaches.

BIG MARK. ALAMEEN. BOBBY.

THE SAVANNAH SIXERS.

PART OF THE FOUNDATION. PART OF THE JOURNEY. PART OF THE LEGACY.

BEFORE THE WORLD KNEW THE NAME, SAVANNAH WAS HELPING DEVELOP THE GAME.

CRUSH MAGAZINE | THE SAVANNAH ATHLETIC BLOODLINE

https://OrangeCrushFestival.net

Historical note: The coaching affiliations in this article are based on George Ransom Turner III’s firsthand recollections. Full names, individual coaching achievements, seasons, and team records have not yet been independently documented.

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