This year, the Doughboys brought together the best football talent on post. Carl Little wants to do the same with the Fort Benning Knights basketball team.

Little, of the 1st Battalion, 10th Field Artillery Regiment, a former player on the All-Air Force team, arrived at Fort Benning as a Soldier four months ago and immediately inquired about the post basketball team. When he was told the team had dissolved recently, he asked to coach a new team.

“I know Fort Benning used to have a good program, so when I applied for the coaching position in August and got it, I wanted to take that program like they did the football team and boost it back up,” Little said.

The Knights are currently playing in the Columbus Parks and Recreation League and have been invited to join the Southeast Military Athletic Conference in 2012.

“In this area, the Southeast Military Athletic Conference is the conference most military bases play in,” Little said. “We missed the deadline for it this year, but next season we’ve already been invited. It’s a very competitive league. A lot of All-Army and All-Air Force players come out of this league.

“My vision for the team is to make it a program, not just a basketball team. You have Soldiers that come here right out of high school that don’t have the chance to play college ball. I want them to be in a system … and of course, win championships. We want to prepare them to go to the next level, including All-Army.”

Playing on a post team could make all the difference for Robert Hartfield, who tried out for the All-Army team last year and missed the final cut. He was told he needed to be playing regularly in a system like the Fort Benning Knights.

“I was just rusty,” Hartfield said. “The other guys who tried out had a post team they played on. I was the only one who didn’t. Those guys are in better basketball shape.”

Little, who plans to apply to be an assistant coach for All-Army, said the Knights will provide other Fort Benning players the opportunity to obtain recognition from the All-Army program.

“I think it’s a good opportunity,” Knights guard Dionte Clayborn said. “It’s not a sport that seems popular on Fort Benning. This is a chance for us to show (that) Fort Benning has some great basketball players.”

Little said every program has difficulties in its first year, but the Knights won’t face some of the problems the Doughboys had to overcome this season.

For example, Little said the team is deep enough that if some players are unavailable to play because of duty or injuries, others can readily take their place.

The season began in early November and will last through February. The Knights got a taste of future competition they will face in the SEMAC as they defeated Robins Air Force Base 82-69 on Nov. 19.

“We just want to get used to our system,” said Hartfield, who scored 34 points in the game. “We want to grow in camaraderie so when we get to SEMAC we’ll be ready.”