MACON, Ga. — Every week, scores and highlights from area basketball teams are captured on 13WMAZ, but a lot of the best hoopers in Central Georgia train at the same gym, with the same coach. The best kept secret in Central Georgia is the HypeSouth Skillz Lab.
On any given afternoon you can come into the basketball gym of the Pentecostal Temple and hear the bounce of balls, the squeak of sneakers and the bark of Monquencio Hardnett, trainer of the Hypesouth Lab.
"He don't take no BS, like always going 100 percent," said Quentin Hardnett of Tattnall Square Academy.
"Everybody has to work hard. You have to go in there no playing, no talking. Go in there to work. It's not about you going in here and playing with your friends. We're here to work," said Ta'Niya Pryor of Central High School.
That's the mentality Hardnett has instilled in his mentees. Hardnett is a Central Georgia son himself who played at Central High before heading to UConn and an overseas career.
"The game doesn't owe me anything, but I feel like I owe the youth of Middle Georgia a lot, because God blessed me with the talent. I have to give them what he gave me," Hardnett said.
Hardnett started the Skillz Lab about seven years ago. It works in conjunction with Hypesouth Media run by Kowacie Reeves, Sr. to give Central Georgia kids exposure to colleges. Hardnett said the talent has always been here.
"We have guys all over the place. The only difference is now, you have Hypesouth Media and Athletics that have built the relationships in order for these kids and these guys to get that exposure," Hardnett said.
The exposure is important. In the last few years, they've sent a ton of kids to colleges and universities to play ball. Most notably Kowacie Reeves, Jr. who is committed to the University of Florida. Now kids like Travion Solomon of Northeast, Tre Grane of Northside and Ta'Niya Pryor of Central all train with Hardnett.
"It helps a lot especially when you've got somebody like (Kowacie) next to you going hard. We works hard, everything is full speed. When you see somebody like that going to a big school like that, you look at him and say, 'ok, he's doing that. I need to be doing that,'" said Grane.
"From a competitive standpoint it just makes me go harder because everybody's going hard. These other guys are busting their butt trying to get better just like I am," Reeves said.
No matter how old you are, everyone has to have a mastery of the fundamentals so often Coach Hardnett will have kids as young as 11 working alongside D1 prospects like Reeves, Jr.
No matter who it is, Hypesouth treats every athlete like one of their own.
"I'll go in there and say 'Coach Q, my shots not falling, I need help.' He'll open the gym up for me like he's always there," Pryor said.
"They're my family. They're really my family if I need anything they'll be right there," Grane said.
Because it's ultimately about seeing the kids of Central Georgia succeed.
"You have to promise me that you're going to get your degree first. Because eventually the ball is gonna stop bouncing. Then what are you going to do after that?" Hardnett said.
Hypesouth Media and the Skillz Lab say they want to continue to bring exposure and opportunities to the basketball players in our area. It's all about bringing the spotlight to Central Georgia.