FERRIDAY — Growing pains have thwarted the Miss-Lou Selects Amateur Athletic Union basketball team thus far in major tournaments, but that hasn’t stopped the team from reaping success off of the court.

If you ask coach and founder Marcus Martin, the team has been a success in the form of local athletes, such as Natchez High School’s Quavion Ellis, Trinity Episcopal Day School’s Garrett Vinson and Natchez’s Dearius Griffin, signing to play basketball at the next level. Martin said that’s the whole premise behind starting the Miss-Lou Selects, and it’s the reason for the team’s inception two years ago.

“We have too much talent in this area that goes unnoticed,” Martin said. “I want to get these kids on a stage where they can be recognized and get scholarships to go beyond this area.”

Martin has gathered high school talents from Natchez High School, Vidalia High School and Ferriday High School in his second year to form the traveling Selects.

As any young organization might have, the Miss-Lou Selects have faced a few hurdles along the way. The biggest is funding. Because of the lack thereof, the Selects won’t be able to participate in an AAU tournament in Dallas this weekend, abruptly ending the Selects’ AAU season.

“I feel like the kids are being deprived of an opportunity,” Martin said. “Coaches from Division I and JUCO levels will be there.”

Another stumbling block Martin and the Selects have faced is the lack of chemistry amongst revolving team members. Martin said his team has been in a constant shuffle since the AAU season began in March due to players playing baseball, players practicing for football and others doing organized summer workouts for area basketball teams.

One player that’s remained a constant for the team is Will Scott. Scott viewed the team as an opportunity to showcase his skills on a larger level, and despite the Selects’ failure to gel with one other, he still viewed the entire experience as a success.

“Playing with the Miss-Lou Selects is a great thing, because it puts a lot of people in colleges,” Scott said. “Marcus knows a lot of coaches. He just helped my classmate ShaKeria Kelly a basketball scholarship (to William Penn University in Iowa).”

Scott is a recent graduate of Ferriday High School, and he said he played with the Selects so he could have one last effort to get noticed and play at the next level. Though he hasn’t been contacted, Scott said it was great to be able to play against elite talents, such as highly rated prospect Malik Newman. Scott said it was even better watching his good friend “D” him up.

“Every game he played, he scored 40 points, but Vidalia’s Isiah Thompson, held him to 14 points,” Scott said.

Martin knows he has a long journey ahead of him before the Miss-Lou Selects become a staple for the community and a major provider for local athletes to chase their dream, but that day will come. As far as he’s concerned, the jump in players from eight to 12 this season is evidence that the team will only grow in numbers.

“AAU is an important thing nationwide, but here in Ferriday, it’s just getting here,” Martin said.