College scholarship offers pour in for 2 Delaware freshmen teammates

The ninth graders ‘make plays that other kids don’t make’

Banks lives in Delaware and Brown lives in suburban Philadelphia, but the two have been playing together for several years on AAU travel teams that compete on the regional and national level.

So it’s natural that despite their geographic differences, they wanted to play together in high school.

GG’s dad Freddie Banks says it’s no accident that the duo chose Ursuline, an all-girls Catholic school in Wilmington that’s a perennial Delaware basketball powerhouse. The Raiders have won 17 state titles, far more than any other school, but none since 2017.

Ursuline also was the proving ground for two of the best female players to ever come out of Delaware — Val Whiting, who played in the WNBA a quarter-century ago, and current pro superstar Elena Delle Donne.

“It’s a dream come true. It was calculated,’’ Freddie Banks said. “They’ve been playing together like the last five, six years. So we thought it’d be a great idea for them to play in Delaware, build a legacy” and prepare for college and perhaps even the Olympics and the WNBA.

Kelli Brown, who drives her daughter to Wilmington every morning and works remotely while she’s in school and then practices or plays, said her family is grateful for the opportunity.

“It’s an honor and a blessing for her to be in the situation she’s in,’’ Brown said at the Sanford game’s halftime. “And to play with one of her closest friends, that’s another blessing. They already had chemistry growing up.”

While the girls have big basketball aspirations, they are also eyeing the future once they hang up their colorful sneakers  — currently neon green for Banks and pink/orange for Brown.

Banks hopes to be a coach, Brown a pediatrician.

But for now, they’ll grace the courts and push each other while shooting for state titles and weighing their college offers.

No matter what the future brings, Noonan says it’s a joy coaching such talented players.

“It’s enjoyable to watch kids playing sports that they love and have passion for,’’ Noonan said. “They make plays that a lot of kids don’t make and that’s why they’re drawing so much attention.”