Tampa Hoops Classic gets rave reviews

Former longtime Hillsborough basketball coach Leroy Long called it an "old coach's dream come true."

The 61-year-old waited his entire lifetime for a potentially nationally-renown high school tournament to come to Tampa.

After watching four days of the inagural Tampa Hoops Classic - which brought some touted teams and players from across the nation to the Sun Dome -- Long is convinced one has arrived.

"I'm tickled to death," he said. "I pray that (the tournament) stays. I know that the Tampa area can support an event like this. It's just a shame that we didn't have more people here."

The attendance - about 200 fans each night - was the only hiccup in the tournament, which ended Saturday night with a thrilling, 99-97 win by Orlando Olympia over Humble (Tex) Christian Life; many in attendance described the atmosphere- and competition - as the best game they've ever seen in the area.

In the tournament, there was the University of Florida's top prospect, American Heritage 6-10 forward Eloy Vargas. There were two of the top sophomores in the nation in Bishop Loughlin (Brooklyn) standouts Doron Lamb and Jayvaughn Pinkston. In the championship game, more than six Division I prospects were on the floor at the same time.

Local players, like Plant's Sheldon Cooley and Ridgewood's Lukas Poderis got to cut their teeth against some of the country's best - Plant went 3-1 to win consolation title, Ridgewood took sixth. It reminded Long of the glory days of the old Hooters Tournament in St. Pete, when Amare Stoudemire graced the courts.

Players and coaches from the out of state teams - from New York to Texas and Ohio -- claimed the Tampa Hoops Classic ranks among the best they've been to around the country.

"I think this tournament is second to none," Bishop Loughlin Khalid Green said."We hope we can come back here again."

Event organizers were pleased with the extremely high level of competition, and hope to bring an even better 16-team field next year. There will be four local teams again (Plant, Wharton, Pinellas Park and Ridgewood were this year), with one of them already committed is Tampa Berkeley Prep.

Champion Orlando Olympia, runner-up Christian Life (Humble, Tex), third-place Bishop Loughlin all said they'd love to be back.

Troy Fowler, a member of the tourney's steering committee, said title sponsors, McDonald's and Regions Bank, gave him positive feedback. Though he said the tournament - which had a $90,000 budget - will operate a small loss ("couple thousand," he said), he said it was a "great success, and good building block toward next year."

-- JOE SMITH

joesmith@sptimes.com

The one thing Fowler admitted the steering committee would have to work on his marketing. They started building the tournament in January, but, with a great product to sell, many area fans missed out on what turned out to be the best kept secret in town.

Some highlights:

- Plant's Cooley going toe-to-toe with Galena (Reno) star senior Luke Babbitt, one of the nation's top seniors who is going to Nevada. The Panthers beat Galena, then beat returning 5A state semifinalist Robert E. Lee on Saturday.

- Two come-from-behind wins by Orlando Olympia, including a last-second tip in by William Green to beat Bishop Loughlin Friday, en route to the memorable final. The Titans, defending 6A region finalist, "put Florida basketball on the map," Olympia senior Jamel Marshall said. They kept the trophy in the state, and turned some heads in the process.

- The slam-dunk competition was one of the tournament's most entertaining moments. A Vince Carter like, ball-through-the-legs-in midair- dunk received a 50. Bishop Loughlin's Kevin Phillips stole the show with an alley oop dunk (on a pass from the fifth row in the stands). Another player jumped over four little kids in front of the rim.

There weren't alot of 40 point blowouts - mostly a lot of close games, and back-and-forth finishes. Christian Life coach Carlos Wilson said what made this tournament stand out, in his mind, was the hospitality given by the steering commitee.

"I called them all weekend, and they were always there to help us find a place to stay, eat, find a shootaround," he said. "They were a class act all the way."

Comments

[whistle]

Great basketball but some was ruined by bad refs.
Who is the worst ref in the area??

What About That Young Guy Doing The Announcing? OH BABY! Every time that brought some true excitment as well

[bob comley]

Where does a fan get a daily game by game score, results etc. for the entire tournament. I follow East Hall, but failed to find scores of their games or next playing date. Is such to be published as a tournament wrap-up.

the OH BABY guy is the fabulous Nick Brengle! he announces all of PPark's games and he has done tons of videos which can be found all over youtube under his production company, bizzzlefilms (with 3 z's). we love you, nick!

[Wooden otb]

you losers need to use your own name--i don't even know who tc is.you guys should watch the plays on the court,instead of whining about officials and recruiting and coaches...etc.. it's a great game if you know where to look.

ps...hey nick,no games are won on utube..add all the music you want,clearwater still beats you by 15 on the 8th.