King’s Fork High School boys’ basketball Coach Rick Hite and some Suffolk natives recently came back from Florida victorious in an AAU national tournament.

The Boo Williams Premier-Hite 14U team coached by Hite had a strong summer that saw themselves finish up as national champs in the yearly AAU Nationals Division I tournament in Florida.

“It was some great competition down there,” Hite said. “The team we beat in the championship game actually gave us our first loss of the summer. So, to be able to be those guys in pool play and then again in the championship was good for those guys.”

Hite coaches four Suffolk natives on the team, with two being from King’s Fork. His son, Ryan Hite, and Javon Taylor Jr. both attend King’s Fork. Kaleb Brown and Samuel Brennan both helped contribute to the national tournament trophy as well. Brown and Brennan attend Nansemond-Suffolk Academy and Norfolk Collegiate, respectively.

“When guys see a team like this one, we have they wonder if it’s going to work because of the type of talent assembled,” Hite said. “But those guys put their egos aside. Those Suffolk guys wanted to be a part of something special, and they all bought in.”

On the AAU circuit, teams are able to see quality competition as they face teams with players with national rankings in the country for their graduating class. Hite appreciates the advantage it creates for his guys.

“It all accelerates your learning curve when you get to compete against elite competition,” Hite said. “It’s always good to challenge yourself and we did, and it paid huge dividends for us.”