New London — The sphere of AAU basketball can get calculus-like complicated, what with all the layers, divisions, age groups, funky names and overall lack of context to the uninitiated.

Here’s all you need to know today: Three of New London’s most loyal sons just coached their sons — and several other high school kids from this corner of the world — to a national championship at the highest level of AAU earlier this month.

Team New England CT, formerly the New England Nightmare, the brainchild of 1999 New London High grad Eric Robinson, brought home the hardware by winning the 2022 Marquee Hoops National Championship in Manheim, Pennsylvania, 85 miles west of Philadelphia, at a 32-court basketball-palooza called “Spooky Nook.”

Or as Troy McKelvin, New London Class of 1992 and one of the program directors and coaches, called the place, “heaven.” Robinson, McKelvin and Leo Clinton led the former Nightmare to their dream summer.

“We formed the Nightmare about eight years ago,” Robinson said earlier this week. “I started coaching the Rhode Island Breakers (another AAU program). They wanted me to be their ‘defensive coordinator’ and I’m like, a defensive coordinator in basketball? So we decided to do our own thing. Find a name that can make a statement, represent our town and have a bite. So we came up with ‘Nightmare.’”

It wasn’t long until the Nightmare, coached by “a bunch of dads” went from two teams to 18. But then, they’re more than a “bunch of dads,” all of them with deep ties to the city and its rhythms, knowing the kids better than everybody else.

Soon, the Nightmare started beating Carmelo Anthony’s AAU team and Kevin Durant’s team in Baltimore, shedding that inferiority complex that often comes with athletes from here.

“Winning those tournaments,” McKelvin said, “helped us get recognized and opened things up to another level of tournaments. We started beating everybody but got to a point where we hit a ceiling with nowhere else to go, as high as you can be without being on a circuit.”

This is where the Nightmare eventually merged with Team New England, an established, accomplished program, that provided options like the one this summer. There were several qualifying tournaments against teams from elite circuits and ultimately a championship for players Jayvon Robinson, Amir Hall, Jamir Hall, Oliver Hibbard, Savahn Warren, Darin Robinson, Da’Shawn Phillips, Elijah Ellison and Troy McKelvin Jr.

Their accomplishments: noteworthy. But not nearly as much as why this has become such a passion for the dads turned coaches. It is a true New London Thing.

McKelvin: “I’m doing this because of the people who did it for me. I wouldn't be where I am now without them. Youth coaches, rec coaches. The only ‘travel’ I knew was through Mr. Johnson (the late James Johnson, who essentially began summer basketball in New London). This is my city and this is where I live. I want to work in the school system because I want to help the kids. Because I wouldn't be retired at 48 (from the state) if it weren’t for the people who came before me.”

Robinson: “The other day somebody asked me my ‘why?’ My ‘why’ is I love our community. I literally love this community. I grew up here. I played youth football. I played rec basketball. I played high school basketball in New London. So I said let's do something for our community and give the kids some opportunities.”

Clinton: “I started coaching an AAU baseball team with Luis (Martinez.)

“When we started that program, it was basically designed to blend kids. So we would take the majority of the kids that nobody would put on a team and got them out of this area. The response from the kids and the parents, all the love they gave us — like when you take a kid that's spent his whole life in New London, the furthest he's traveled maybe to Groton — and take them to Myrtle Beach or Baltimore, they loved it. Now I’m their coach. They’ll listen. We’re at their birthday parties, graduations and weddings. We take road trips to watch the kids play. It means a lot to me.”

Robinson, McKelvin and Clinton — as well as the many parents who made the trip — became quite aware that New London has nothing even close to the 32-court “Spooky Nook” complex. But it does have an evolving community center.

Opinions about the direction of the community center fly around town like horseshoes at the family picnic. But will city leaders actually listen to three dads and three New London grads who have spent their lives in the 06320 and know the kids best?

“We go to all these tournaments and look at all these facilities and we're saying New London needs one of these,” Clinton said. “When you walk into a gym and you see eight basketball courts … New London doesn't have that. So what we're doing is we're setting our kids up for failure.”

McKelvin: “They're talking about making it affordable for our community. But we don't have all these outside businesses and outside people paying to come use our facilities. They're going to make it cheaper for everybody? They can if they put enough courts in there and advertise and attract tournaments. It will take care of itself. Everybody can go for free because they’ll make so much money back.”

McKelvin said entry fees for AAU tournaments generally range from $300-600 per team. Team New England CT has the national cachet to attract and host. Imagine a tournament at the New London Community Center with four courts and 50 teams on multiple weekends, with out of town parents paying a fee to enter the facility and to park, too?

“When I went to the (community center) presentation (with city leaders), I brought this up to them,” McKelvin said. “They asked, ‘What do you cut in order to add more courts?’ I think that’s the wrong question. You add courts as a priority because more courts means more money. And then the whole place could be free for people or at least cheaper than they’re going to make it.”

Imagine: a home court of local origin for the national champs.

“We can help kids get to a bigger stage and the college level. And that's always been my goal from day one,” Robinson said. “I want the kids to play for scholarships rather than T-shirts. And there's a spot for everybody.

“But the best thing is that it’s more than just basketball. It's more like a family. We’re at each other’s houses. We go to bowling and to the movies. It builds that relationship bond.”

This is the opinion of Day sports columnist Mike DiMauro.