About Us
OUR MISSION STATEMENT
THE LAB Basketball Club was created in January 2022 with the goal of putting an emphasis back on skill development in the game of basketball at the youth levels. We believe that youth athletes are putting too much stock into competitive games and not enough time or effort into proper skill development and 5v5 offensive and defensive concepts.
Our "Development Over Everything" approach ensures that our athletes are given the tools necessary to suceed at all levels of the game. We strongly encourage a family atmosphere in everything that we do as we believe that fosters an environment that promotes inclusion, growth and development.
We call ourselves "THE LAB" because many high level athletes across all sports often refer to going into "THE LAB" in order to refine their craft and work on their game. Our program's name is a constant reminder to our athletes that when they are in the gym, they are working to better themselves both on and off the court.
WHAT WE OFFER
- Boys Winter Travel Teams (2nd-6th Grade)
- Girls Summer Club Teams (2nd-8th Grade)
- Boys Summer Club Teams (2nd-8th Grade)
- Girls and Boys Summer Skill Development Programs (2nd-8th Grade)
- Pop-Up Clinics
- 3x3 Events and Leagues
THE LAB LEADERSHIP STAFF
KEVIN JONES (FOUNDER)
Kevin Jones has been involved with and obsessed with the game of basketball for as long as he can remember.
He played for the Pekin Union Mission travel basketball program as a youth athlete and then for the undefeated 1998 Pekin Edison IESA 7AA State Championship team in junior high. Kevin was a three-year varsity letter winner at Pekin Community High School for the Dragons during an amazing stretch of success for their basketball program. In the early 2000's, the PCHS basketball program had several D1 signees and many others who played college basketball at the D2, D3 and JUCO levels. During this time, Kevin was a member of the 2002 Mid-State 6 Conference Championship team, three IHSA AA Regional Championship teams and the 2002 IHSA AA Sectional Championship team.
After high school Kevin was a walk-on at Bradley University, playing for the Braves for 3 seasons. Many of his BU teammates were members of their 2006 NCAA Sweet Sixteen team who had memorable victories over Kansas and Pittsburgh in the NCAA tournament. Several of these teammates went on to play basketball professionally in the NBA and top European leagues.
After his playing days, Kevin began his coaching career as an assistant varsity coach at Illini Bluffs High School under then head coach, Jeremy Crouch. Later, he returned to his alma mater as an assistant varsity coach and video coordinator under Jeff Walraven for 6 seasons for the Dragons.
As his kids grew older, Kevin started helping out with their youth travel basketball teams. It was at this time he realized that the focus at younger levels was more on winning games than building the fundamental skills he knew were so critical at the higher levels of basketball. It took many years, but eventually this led to the creation of THE LAB Basketball Club. He wanted to create an organization to give back to the game and community that had given so much to him as a young athlete.
Since 2022, there have been 350+ unique athletes who have participated in Summer club teams, Summer skill development camps, Winter travel teams, pop-up clinics and 3x3 tournaments under THE LAB umbrella.