With two years left in their high school careers, Keeley Chester and Emily Adams have plenty of time left to impress college coaches.

But they’re already off to a good start, thanks to their spots on one of the country’s most successful youth basketball teams.

Chester, who plays for Forsyth Central, and Adams, who recently transferred from North Forsyth to Buford but remains a resident of Forsyth County, are both rising juniors who recently helped the AAU 15U Georgia Elite to a
fourth place national finish.

“All the [college] coaches come and line up and watch us. Our jersey says Georgia Elite and they know that we have good coaches and that we’re good,” said Adams, who tried out for the team two years ago after her friend Chester made the squad.

With the team still needing a post, Chester’s dad recommended that Adams try out for the spot. It’s been a good decision, as Adams estimates she’s gotten around 30 letters from college coaches who have seen her play for the Elite.

For Chester, the chance to play on a well-known AAU squad is a nice way to complement the exposure she gets during the high school basketball season.

“The coaches get to come to more than just one season [to watch you play]. They get to see you all over and not just with a certain team. ... Playing with different people makes you play different ways, so it helps out a lot,” she said.

Greg Brown coaches the Elite, and says the team chemistry has been tremendous. The team features girls from around metro Atlanta and as far away as Chattanooga. Many of them are stars on their high school teams, Brown said, but have kept their egos in check.

“They get along really well, especially for this amount of girls to come from different backgrounds. ... To find a way to bring all those together and still find a way to play team ball, I think that says a lot about their character more than anything,” said Brown, who lives in Whitfield County and drives to Atlanta for practices.

The Elite played their final tournament of the season at Georgia Tech this week. They entered the week with a 26-6 record, and a slew of impressive achievements. The team won a state championship playing up a division at 16U, then followed that up with a Super Regional title.

In July, they headed to the national championships at the ESPN Wide World of Sports Complex at the Walt Disney World Resort near Orlando, Fla.

Once there, the Elite finished second in the Sophomore Super Showcase and took fourth place in the Division I 15U national championship.

The girls dropped a heartbreaker in the championship semifinals. Leading the Wisconsin Hoops Select by two points, the Elite were assessed a foul on a three-point shot with no time remaining. The Wisconsin shooter knocked down all three shots to eliminate the Elite from the title hunt.

“I think we kind of surprised a lot of people this year and if everything stays the way it was this year, I think next year could be even better,” Brown said.

The coach said both Forsyth girls have been important contributers for the team.

“As far as Keeley goes, she’s probably our most versatile player ... She’s played just about every position for us at various times,” Brown said.

“Emily is a big kid, does a really good job as far as rebounding goes and gives us really good minutes down in the post.”

Theresa Adams, Emily’s mom, teaches at North Forsyth, where her daughter played last season. She said it’s gratifying to see both girls get noticed by coaches at the next level.

“It is fun as a parent to see them get all this attention. I played basketball [in high school] and I got two or three letters [from college coaches], and I didn’t even understand what it meant.  ... The coaches, they really do flock to our court no matter how many [other games] there are. You see them picking up chairs and bringing the chairs [over] to watch them play,” she said.

“They have a really good chemistry and it’s very nice to see them all get along so well and there’s no competition among them to be the star. ... If you like to watch basketball, it’s amazing to watch them play.”