Marty Haws has seen this movie before when he was part of Lone Peak High’s basketball program that won many state championships and even a national title in 2013.
Now he’s at it again, this time at Anthem Preparatory School, a private nonprofit school located in South Jordan, Utah. The school (founded in 2005) is only in its third year playing basketball.
Haws did this before, years ago, with his sons TJ and Tyler, as well as a couple of other BYU-bound basketball players, Nick Emery and Eric Mika, with former Orem High basketball coach Golden Holt.
Now, in just his third season coaching Anthem, Haws will take Anthem Prep’s team to the Grind Session World Championships in Bowling Green, Kentucky, this week.
In a 16-team bracket revealed Sunday, Anthem was seeded 14th and will play No. 3 seed Bella Vista Academy Friday at 3:15 p.m. Anthem lost to Bella Vista in overtime 89-85 in Los Angeles a few weeks ago during NBA All-Star Weekend.
The season’s record is 29-7, despite continuing to adjust the roster with players from Africa as late as the first week of January, including 6-foot-11 William Makoi, age 16, from South Sudan. The most recent addition is 6-10 athlete Harris Lushiku from Congo, who arrived last Saturday. This January was the first time Makoi had played basketball with a roof over his head, as basketball in many parts of Africa is an outdoor sport.
Anthem’s leading scorer is Rooney Bagayoko from Mali, who is averaging 18.2 points per game. Sidy Diakhate, a 6-9 forward from Senegal, is committed to South Dakota, and Haws says he is the best individual defensive player he has ever coached.
“We have a mix of young, really talented players and a few players in their senior season leading this run, said Haws. “Sidy and Rooney have been great for us all year but it is a great mix of local talent combined with talent from around the world.”
“I don’t really know how it will go,” Haws continued, “but this group of guys will compete at a really high level. Just being invited is validation that we are building a national powerhouse brand right here in South Jordan.”
Anthem’s best young player is 6-8 guard Kiir Majok. Majok, Class of 2029, is very talented and also has joined The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints since coming to Utah.
More than half of Anthem’s team is from Africa.
“What we have is the next Keba Keita and Fousse Traore,” said Haws. “We have a really intriguing group of guys that are forming an exciting college pipeline.”
The squad also includes 6-8 senior Cameron Adams from Alpine, Utah, who just received a Latter-day Saint mission call to serve in Mozambique.
They’ve had to carve out a solid reputation to be included in high visibility leagues and tournaments.
To give you an idea of the level of this competition, the projected top two 2026 NBA draft picks, AJ Dybantsa (Utah Prep and BYU) and Darryn Peterson (Prolific and now at Kansas), also played this level of ball. BYU guard Robert Wright III played for Montverde Academy with the 2024 No. 1 pick from Duke, Cooper Flagg.
The Grind Session Power Conference is where major colleges target top prospects. That Anthem received an invitation to play in that league this year puts the school on a great trajectory.
Haws’ team is comprised of both native Utahns and a cadre of athletes from Africa, including Mali, Uganda, Senegal, South Sudan, Congo, Guinea and Cameroon.
Along with Anthem this week in Bowling Green will be Prolific Prep from Florida, which is the Grind Session Power Conference team that BYU five-star commit Bruce Branch III played with this past year.
Other teams include Anthem’s first-round opponent BV Academy (Arizona), Academy of Central Florida, Fort Erie (Canada), Southeastern Prep (Florida), Royal Crown (Canada), DME Academy (Florida), Mt. Zion Prep (Maryland), Huntington Expression (West Virginia), Balboa School (Florida), Gillion Academy (Virginia), West Oaks (Florida), Legacy SSS (Texas), iSchool of Lewisville (Texas) and Winston Salem Christian (North Carolina).
African roots
Anthem Academy was founded in 2005. School officials approached Haws about starting a basketball program three years ago. Haws asked his son TJ, a former BYU guard, Scott Rose, brother of former BYU head coach Dave Rose, and his former BYU teammate Greg Humphries to join his coaching staff.
Rose and Humphries are retired executives from Nike, with worldwide experience with the famous shoe and apparel company.
Haws and his staff have scheduled annual trips to Africa each summer to build schools and water projects and to help those from African countries find educational and basketball opportunities.
In June, Haws is planning a trip to Kenya, where his traveling party will build a school and name it after Scott Rose’s wife, who has been fighting a serious illness.
The experience with his sons in AAU ball, traveling all over the country, and this current gig with Anthem has been fun for Haws and kept him in the gym, which is what he loves.
“As part of that, we go to Africa and build schools and welcome these young men to America who have a dream to play at the highest level, while adding in many other areas at school and in the community.”
Haws said if he was going to do the high school team for Anthem, he wanted to do it right and jump in with all he had. If it involved going around the world to find athletes, he’d do it. The charitable building work has been a labor of love for years.
“It’s where players learn English while also learning how to play basketball. It’s been a rewarding process. In three short years of growing this from a small private school in South Jordan to becoming a national program. We said in the beginning that if we are going to jump in, we want to compete at the highest level.”
Haws says he’s had incredible support from the Anthem Academy administration and he’s always on the lookout for supporters also wanting to make a difference.
“We love meeting with people who love sports and education. It is an exciting time to give back to the next generation.
“The Power Conference is where many of the top high school teams play and during All-Star Weekend we got to go to Los Angeles to play in a 16-team tournament, where we did very well. That led to us being invited to the World Championships this week,” said Haws.
“We’ve began traveling all over the country. After just three years, I think we are ahead of schedule in where we want to be and this is something we can be proud of. I don’t think many people are aware of Anthem around here. I’m not saying we will go in and win this tournament, but the fact we are invited to be there with the top 16 team from around the country is something pretty special.”
Haws said his players understand the pecking order of AAU basketball and who they will play in Bowling Green at the Grind Session. “They are excited.”
The roster
Here is the roster for Anthem Academy:
- Sekou Bagayoko (Rooney): 6-6; combo guard; Class of 2028; Mali; speaks English, French, Bambara
- Ethan Wright: 6-4; guard; Class of 2026; Highland, Utah; speaks English
- Kiir Paul Majok: 6-9; combo guard; Class of 2029; South Sudan; speaks English, Dinka
- Ousseynou Sambe: 6-11; center; Class of 2026; Senegal; speaks English, French, Wolof
- Bakary Ballo: 6-5; combo guard; Class of 2029; Mali; speaks English, French, Bambara
- Praise Tshamala: 6-5; point guard; Class of 2027; Congo; speaks English, French, Spanish, Swahili, Lingala, Tshiluba
- Samba Barry: 6-8; forward; Class of 2026; Guinea
- Sidy Diakhate: 6-9; forward; Class of 2026; Senegal; speaks English, French, Wolof
- Cameron Adams: 6-8; forward; Class of 2026; Alpine, Utah; speaks English, Spanish
- William Dombai Makoi: 6-11; center; Class of 2028; South Sudan; speaks English, Dinka, Nuer, Shiluk, Bari, Sande, Acholi, Lou, Murle
- Tchoyi McBryant: 6-6; forward; Class of 2028; Cameroon; speaks English, French