By Kevin McCaskill Jr.
Day 1:
BASKETBULL: HALL OF FAME SPRING CLASSIC is a youth basketball tournament held in Western Mass. This year, the tournament took place at 4 different sites: Springfield College, the South End Community Center, Westfield State and The Court (CT).
I decided to go to a familiar place - Springfield College. I’ve been to Springfield College many times - summer basketball camps; my Dad was an Assistant Coach for SC for a few years.
Springfield College is where the game of Basketball was created.
BASKETBULL was started by Colin Tabb in 2004. He is also currently the Men’s 🏀 HC at Western New England University.
The day started for me around 11 AM. I went to the main gym in Blake Arena first.
This tournament had a spectator rule: only one spectator per person. There weren’t huge crowds at these games.
A lot of teams from New York entered BASKETBULL (Wiz Kids, Syracuse Fury, Chris Ward Basketball, etc). There were also teams from New Jersey, Philadelphia and New Hampshire.
BASKETBULL is a pure basketball tournament: kids playing hard, a few local college recruiters, parents cheering for their children; refs missing calls. It was great.
It was a great day of basketball in Springfield, Massachusetts.
Day 2:
Day 2 started for me with One Dream vs. City Rocks Selects in the 10th Grade Boys Hall of Fame division.
One Dream was led by Alex Barber and Travis Jordan. CRS was led by Christian Amica.
It was a back and forth game. Both teams played hard. City Rocks Selects pulled out the victory by 1-pt, 70-69.
Alex Barber played very well over the 2-day tournament. He had about 7 dunks over the weekend. He is driving to the basket more effectively. He continues to pass the ball well.
Travis Jordan can score from anywhere on the court. He can get past most Guards without many dribbles/moves. His jump-shot is 💰 from long-range or mid-range.
The Hall of Fame 10th Grade Boys Final was between Middlesex Magic (CT) and Chris Ward Basketball (NY).
Middlesex Magic was led by James Jones and the Reilly Brothers - Luke and Samson. James and Luke go to East Catholic HS in Manchester, CT.
Middlesex Magic beat CWB to win the Boys Hall of Fame 10th grade division.
Simultaneously, on Court 2, in Blake Arena, on the campus of the historic Springfield College, the Wiz Kids (Bronx, NY) took on Jersey Drive (NJ) for the 11th Grade Boys Hall of Fame division.
The Wiz Kids have talent everywhere. They played about 8 kids consistently over the weekend and they all brought something positive to the game.
Jersey Drive was down early but came back to make the game interesting. However, they couldn’t overcome the deeper WK team.
The Wiz Kids beat Jersey Drive 58-51 for the 11th Grade Hall of Fame division Championship.
After the game, the Wiz Kids celebrated with a 10-15 minute dunk competition amongst themselves.
BASKETBULL: Hall of Fame Spring Classic was a great two days of basketball.
-
[I’m sure more stories, from other news outlets in Western Mass, will be released soon 🤞🏾.]