By Jordan Divens

The 17U action of the Oakland Soldiers' Spring Hoops Festival will stream live from FloHoops.com starting Friday, April 9, at 11AM CST.

The event will begin at Jamestown in Oakland on April 9, and end at The Ultimate Fieldhouse in Walnut Creek, California, on April 10. The festival will preview the Nike Elite Youth Basketball League (EYBL) season with early looks at the Oakland Soldiers (CA) and Seattle Rotary Style (WA). 

One of the premier AAU programs in the country, the Soldiers have gone a combined 58-28 in regular-season play over the last five seasons, and have made the Peach Jam every year during that span. Their notable alumni include current and former NBA players such as LeBron James, Chauncey Billups, Brandon Jennings, Matt Barnes and Drew Gooden. 

Last season, the Soldiers finished 11-6 in regular season EYBL play and featured class of 2016 Division I commits Solomon Young (Iowa State), Ben Kone (Oregon State), Carlos Johnson (UNLV), Jordan Ford (Saint Mary’s), Christian Terrell (UC Santa Barbara) and Oscar Frayer (Grand Canyon) alongside 2017 standouts Damari Milstead, Remy Martin, and Ira Lee. This year’s team will feature a loaded backcourt starring 2017 6’ 2” PG Alex Barcello, 2017 6’ 0” PG Remy Martin, 2017 6’ 3” SG Christian Popoola, and 2018 5’ 10” PG James Akinjo. In the front court, the Soldiers will line up 2017 6’ 7” PF Ben Davis, Jr., 2017 6’ 6” SF Abu Kigab, 2017 6’ 5” Alfred Hollins, and 2018 6’ 8” PF Amadou Sow. A few more key players are sure to pop up on the roster before the regular season begins, but the Soldiers certainly have enough talent to continue their success in the AAU circuit this summer. 

This year’s NCAA tournament featured six Soldiers alumni, including PF Ivan Rabb (California), SF Rex Pflueger (Notre Dame), PF Chimezie Metu (USC), and veterans PF Kyle Wiltjer (Gonzaga), SF Jabari Bird (California), and SG Langston Morris-Walker (Oregon State). Other notable alumni for the Soldiers include Eddie House, Chuck Hayes, Kendrick Perkins, Leon Powe, Nick Johnson and Corey Higgens.

Two of the Oakland Soldiers' best teams of all time featured up to four future NBA players on their roster, with two of them featuring the legendary LeBron James. In 2012, the Oakland Soldiers' championship team featured current NBA players Aaron Gordon (Orlando Magic) and Stanley Johnson (Detroit Pistons), as well as current college players Jabari Bird (California), Shaqquan Aaron (USC), and Kendall Smith (Cal State Northridge).

The team's most talented roster contained LeBron James, NBA champions Kendrick Perkins and Leon Powe, and quality contributors Demarcus Nelson (Duke) and Ayinde Ubaka (California). These are two of the toughest teams that the Oakland Soldiers have formed over the years and two of the toughest teams in the AAU circuit over the last 15 seasons. 

Make sure you catch the live stream of the Oakland Soldiers Spring Hoops Festival on FloHoops from April 9 to April 10. This event will be held at a state-of-the-art facility in Walnut Creek, California, and feature at least two Nike EYBL schools. The AAU season is underway -- don’t miss your chance to catch the early-season action of one of the top AAU programs in the nation.