Gar-Field grad drafted by Groove

As he prepared to walk across the stage and officially be recognized as the Augusta Groove’s first-round pick last month during the Premier Basketball League’s Draft in Chicago, Dee Howard thought of only one thing.
“I definitely didn’t want to trip,” Howard said. “As long as I don’t trip, then it will be all right.”
As the No. 5 pick, Howard wanted to make a good first impression as he made his way in front of the cameras to accept a Groove hat during the draft ceremonies at the ESPNZone.
The 2003 Gar-Field High School graduate had been on big basketball stages before, first as a senior starter on an Indian squad that reached the Group AAA state tournament and then last March as a starter for an Augusta State team that reached the Division II National Championship game.
But what he encountered in Chicago was a new experience. Upon being the Groove’s top selection, Howard was thrust into the spotlight as the hometown face for a minor-league basketball franchise embarking on a new start in Georgia.
“We were definitely looking for a connection for Augusta,” Groove coach and co-owner Gary Perry said in listing one of the reasons the team drafted Howard so high.
The Groove, which relocated from Atlanta, got a glimpse of Howard at an open tryout in June. The 6-foot-5 forward impressed the staff with his play, enough so that they invited him back for another tryout in Atlanta.
Howard said few people turned out for that, so a third tryout was held in Augusta, which drew 50 to 60 people. The Groove told him afterward they were going to invite him to training camp Nov. 15th, but that’s where the conversation ended.
For two weeks, Howard did not hear anything more from the team until one day they called and surprised him. Not only was he going to training camp, but he also was going to Chicago first to participate in the two-round, one-day draft for the league’s 14 teams.
“It was good for me,” Howard said. “I felt good about it. It’s not the NBA, but it is one step under it and it is still big for me. I take it as a big step.”
Perry said the Groove liked Howard’s versatility, his ball-handling skills and his defense. They also liked his personality.
“He’s coachable and the way he deals with kids in the community,” Perry said.
Howard’s path to the Groove was helped by his decision to attend Augusta State. Howard originally signed with Belmont Abbey out of Gar-Field and played one season there.
But after the team’s coach, Dip Metress, went to Augusta State, Howard left Belmont Abbey.
Howard ended up in the Richmond area, hoping to play at Virginia Union.
Metress lost track of Howard and one day asked Gar-Field boys basketball coach Andy Gray where Howard was. Gray tracked Howard down and asked him if he would be interested in checking out Augusta State. Howard was and liked what he saw.
In three seasons with the Jaguars, Howard made 43 starts, scored 642 points and 137 3-pointers. As a senior, he averaged 8.2 points per game.
When he first learned about the Groove, Howard wasn’t sure what to think.
The franchise was founded in 2005, but since then has bounced around, playing in two different cities (Charlotte and Atlanta) and two different leagues before new ownership brought the team to Augusta. The Groove begins its 20-game regular-season schedule Jan. 3.
“At first, I wasn’t sure how legitimate it was or not, but it’s good to get my foot in the door,” Howard said.
And to get another chance to keep playing the sport he loves.
“It is a new lease on basketball life,” Gray said. “It is a wonderful thing.”