Welcome to the 2010’s
Time Capsule
Picture it: Largo, 2011. Coach Allen and Coach Daryl wanted to give kids a place to play basketball and get help with their homework after school. Coach Daryl had access to a warehouse, and The Basketball Warehouse Academy became a reality.
Since then the Warehouse has grown in both size and reputation, but we’ve preserved some of the data from the early days. You’ll notice some Shorecrest Prep footage mixed in too, because both founders were Shorecrest basketball coaches when TBWA was established. The full story is on the About page.
Early days at the Warehouse
Practices, open houses, camps and the old green court, as they were. Most of these are small photos from before today’s cameras, and we kept them anyway. More recent moments live in the gallery.
Longview of the court, before the makeover
UNA Hall of Fame induction, September 24, 2011
Court, before the 2013 renovation
Back wall, before
Equipment corner, before
Shooting machine practice
Dribbling drill
At the 1500 Club wall
Open House, January 2014
Open House crowd on the court, 2014
Coach Blume at practice
Both founders at a Shorecrest game
Summer camp stretch circle, June 2014
Lady Ballers team photo
Article archives
We kept the first articles published about the Warehouse. Here is what each one says, with the date it first ran.
May 12, 2011
Director of The Basketball Warehouse Helps Children Make Positive Changes
A profile of Allen Williams, who was coordinating all the basketball activities and writing the curriculum while the Warehouse was still being considered for 501(c)(3) status. He names the values he wants to teach: discipline, perseverance, respect and teamwork.
2011
Kids Who Love Basketball Find a Home at a Local Warehouse Turned Gym
The press story of how it began, with Shorecrest's gym being demolished and a vacant warehouse holding one hoop and a shooting gun. It carries Coach Allen's line about the place: when you walk through that door, you're family.
September 13, 2011
TBW Receives 501(c)(3) Status
The Warehouse announced it had received 501(c)(3) status from the IRS, which brought benefits for the organization and for donors giving money or volunteer hours.
September 30, 2011
Clearwater Native Allen Williams Inducted into Athletic Hall of Fame
Coach Allen went into the University of North Alabama Athletic Hall of Fame on September 24, 2011. The piece covers his two seasons as a starting guard for the Lions and his four years playing pro in Germany, the Dominican Republic and the United States.
January 31, 2012
Jordan Jacobson Donates Training Equipment to The Basketball Warehouse
A 7th grader who came to the Warehouse without much basketball background gave back as part of his Bar Mitzvah training by buying a new 8000 Shooting Gun, which can change settings remotely and digitally track shots and locations.
March 2, 2012
National 3 Point Contenders
Two TBW players had made it halfway through round 8 of voting in the Men's 3 Point contest of the American Family Insurance High School Slam Dunk & 3 Point Championships, with a final round in New Orleans on national television on the line.
Warehouse renovation
The Basketball Warehouse Academy was started in an actual warehouse. The facility was cleaned up to hold basketball gear and computer equipment for the kids. It was always a great space, but in 2014 the Warehouse went through a total makeover.
Two posts from the archive cover the work. See the programs that run on the new floor under Training & Programs.
October 22, 2013
TBW Closing for Renovation
The Warehouse closed October 28 through mid-December for a new wood court, new overhead goals and an improved facility.
January 8, 2014
Open House January 11, 2014
An open house on January 11 from 1PM to 3PM celebrated the grand re-opening, with food, drinks, hotshot contests, prizes and travel team signups. The hotshot preliminaries started at 1PM and the finals at 2PM.
1,500
The 1500 Club
Early TBWA had a club to honor any player who made 1,500 three-point baskets in a week. A wall in the gym honored the members. According to a 2012 post, the youngest player to make the club was a 7th grader, and he credited the shooting gun for his fast progress.
Shared Shorecrest videos
Got footage?
We used to have a lot more Shorecrest footage shared with us, and then YouTube made a change: starting July 23, 2021, all unlisted videos uploaded before January 1, 2017 switched to private. Not many people have changed the setting back to unlisted.
If you have old footage online, let us know and check your privacy settings. We’d love to share it. Reach out through the contact page.
The floor is new. The family is the same.