How Atlanta Xpress Built a Peach State Powerhouse From Six Neighborhood Kids

Twelve years ago, Marcus Webb was coaching six kids from his neighborhood in a church gym. This month, Atlanta Xpress won the Peach State Invitational for the second year running.

Webb didn't set out to build a powerhouse program. He set out to keep a handful of local kids busy and out of trouble over the summer. What started as informal pickup sessions turned into a full travel program almost by accident, as word spread and more families asked to join.

Building without the shoe-circuit money

Unlike many of the programs it now beats regularly, Atlanta Xpress has never had a shoe-brand sponsorship. Webb says that's been a deliberate choice more than once, turning down a Nike EYBL invite two years ago because it would have meant restructuring the org around a small number of top prospects rather than the wider roster he'd built.

That approach shows in the numbers. Twelve Atlanta Xpress alumni have gone on to Division I programs over the life of the organization — a mark Webb is quick to point out came almost entirely from players who joined as unranked middle schoolers, not transfers from other top programs.

What's next

With the Peach State title defended, Atlanta Xpress heads into the Southern Roundup later this month as the favorite in the 17U bracket. Webb says the goal hasn't changed since that first summer in the church gym — just at a bigger scale now.