But when you arrive at the campus, walk past the outdoor basketball courts, and venture into the sports hall, the basketballs thud repeatedly in unison, almost like a chorus line.
The basketball academy suddenly becomes real.
"Since rebranding in 2017, Storm Basketball has become one of the leading programmes in Sussex," said Storm's Karl Youngman, who previously led Crawley Cagers U16 team to a jaw-dropping 95-0 in the local leagues during a five-year period before the programme moved into the Storm fold.
"Merging with the Cagers and Worthing Thunder junior programmes, myself, Marnie Williams, and Daniel Hildreth have worked hard to quickly grow Storm Basketball."
"That was the idea behind Sussex Storm for our juniors and Crawley Storm for the men. We removed from the local league and made an intramural CVL, incorporating more players to help them better develop for the National Leagues.
"We padded out the National League sides and now are one of the only clubs nationally with an under-14, 16 and 18 men and women's programme."
That programme extends into the senior level of NBL, where the team currently plays in Pool III in NBL3 and is in the race for promotion to NBL2 South.
However, in a modern game where teams play to win and reach NBL1, Crawley Storm's primary purpose is to help youngsters coming through their pathway to experience senior men's basketball.
"We set up and started our Division Three team, and we need to find ways to give our kids the opportunity to be pushed," said Hildreth, the head coach of the NBL3 and U18 side.
"It's giving the youngsters a different experience on the court, how you have to play, how you have to learn to win, how you have to learn to play in this environment playing against grown men, alongside playing junior basketball."
Bordering Gatwick Airport, Crawley is the most deprived area of the West Sussex Districts and Boroughs, followed by Arun, Adur, and Worthing.
Around 20% of children under 16 live in low-income households, and more than 300 households in the area with a population of more than 180,000 are in temporary accommodation.
But more importantly, there is promise and good things in Crawley. Employment is up, with 78% of residents working, and with an ever-growing work trade, hotels, and a shopping mall located in the area, it's not all doom and gloom.
"We have players and interested people who come from very low-income families, a large group of low-income families, and single-parent families as well," Hildreth said.
"I think the narrative from outside of Sussex is that everybody's white and middle class, but that's very much not the case.
"So, we're constantly looking for funding and support to help us. We offer a multitude of bursaries for different individuals to ensure that money is never a reason their child can't play basketball.
"I think we're doing a decent job. I mean, obviously 100% - everybody can improve on what they're doing, and we constantly strive to improve and make things better for youngsters in the community."
Hildreth, along with Williams and Youngman, looks to uplift and help youngsters build a solid pathway to playing basketball if they choose to pursue a career in basketball, abroad or here in the UK, or go on to success outside of basketball.
And, of course, promotions up the National Leagues is an added bonus.
"I tell all of our kids, if you're good enough, you're good enough," Hildreth said. "And the only way you're going to do that is by putting the time in.
"I think there's a multitude of factors that relate to a person and an individual being successful. We want the kids coming through here to have an opportunity to pursue basketball but also to be successful in their own way.
"You can't define success because success for one kid is different to another. Somebody that is playing basketball until they're 18 and then they don't play anymore, they go and get a job, but the alternative was to get into trouble and do things that they shouldn't be doing in society, that’s a success.
"Just as a success is you going and playing in the ACC for Wake Forest, that's a success. It's all different pathways for these kids.
"We want to build these kids and give them the tools to succeed, and basketball is one of them. But, there are also other aspects that they might want to choose that come after basketball."
Under the Storm banner that started with the Cagers and Thunder, players such as Blaze Sagna, Hosana Kitenge, Selby Hind-Wills, Daniel Tewogbade, and Sebastian Muchitsch have gone on to excel in the States.
The same coaches have also helped GB players Kyla and Luke Nelson flourish. It could also have a potential NBA player on its long alumni list, with Hildreth's son Cameron enjoying his senior year at Wake Forest in NCAA 1.
However, one other notable junior standout springs to Hildreth senior's mind as someone who typifies the sayings 'good things come to those who wait' and 'hard work pays off'.
Brandon Laryea was a hard-working player and student who never got to the main spots at Holy Trinity School.
But with the love of the sport pulsating through him, Laryea continued to work and put in the graft, which resulted in him getting a five-year scholarship to the University of New Brunswick in Canada. In his third year, he's averaging 5.4 points in 11 minutes.
"Brandon is one of the greatest stories for me," Hildreth explains.
"This is the message we give to many of our kids and their parents when they get upset that their kid doesn't make the Premier team at U12s, U14s, or U16s. Brandon made his first Premier appearance when he was U18; he was a legit U18 player.
"He was always on the Conference team, always getting most-improved. But for him to have the opportunity at the end of his third year at Holy Trinity School, to represent us, the school, and himself at the Hoopsfix Classic and get himself an opportunity to get a scholarship in Canada, it's amazing for him.
"Not many people will know about that, but that's one of our biggest success stories."
Brandon's story is one of many from Storm, which offers sessions from three to 18 years old. The club makes basketball accessible to everyone, no matter their age or ability.
With 300 National League players starting at under-nine, more than 200 at the local league level, and its own Storm Basketball League, there is plenty of opportunity.
Williams, who runs the administrative side of both the younger sessions and the National League team, enjoys watching the kids playing a sport with smiles on their faces.
“It’s priceless,” she said. “Knowing this many children make the choice to play competitive sport and commit to our development programme makes effort worth it.
“It’s so lovely to see complete families on court supporting other teams, after all, it always was and always will be about the children and their experience as they grow.”
It was at that point, where the conversation had to end. It was a Saturday night and they needed to be home in time to catch Cameron and Wake Forest in action.
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Main image credit - Karl Youngman
Words by John Hobbs
