Summer hoops in Vancouver doesn’t stop as soon as the Dolphin Basketball Classic ends. Every August for the past half-decade, my man Steve Lee has organized Hoopfest. Sure, it’s not outdoors like Dolphin, but it attracts the same usual suspects: Randy Nohr, Bol Kong, Joey Haywood aka King Handles, Aman Heran and Neb Alesic.
Nohr, whose squad finished second at Dolphin, headlines “The School.” The four-time defending champs, The School hopes to continue their perfect streak at ‘Fest – which takes place at Lord Tweedsmuir Secondary School on August 22-23. If you are around this neck of the woods around then, I highly suggest making the trek to Surrey, BC. I went last year and had a great time. Guys are out there battling and games tend to go down to the wire every match. Plus you might see some of BC’s untapped talent. There’s a lot of quality ballers here that don’t get on rosters at Dolphin.
For more on Hoopfest, go to www.centrecourt.ca.
August 6th, 2009 at 10:57 pm
Casey Lee says:
Vancouver seems to be slowly but surely putting itself on the map for talent creeping into the US in hoophead cities like Seattle and Portland.
I haven’t heard of this tournament but it sounds comparable to a Pro-Am Summer League with “quality players” who won’t play on the blacktop.
August 7th, 2009 at 12:58 am
centrecourt says:
Casey
Vancouver has been on the basketball map for a long time, it’s just taken people a while to notice. Be it indoor/outdoor tournaments, high school, college or university, BC players are starting to shine brighter!
As far as the HOOPFEST Tournament, the level and love of the game from the participants is not limited to the hardwood, as most of the players can be found in games throughout the Lower Mainland courts (Dolphin Classic and Kits Beach in the summer, and indoor leagues in the winter).
If you have the opportunity, please come check out the tournament and enjoy some of the local talent!
August 7th, 2009 at 9:38 am
Bobbito Garcia a.k.a. Kool Bob Love says:
g-
tell joey ‘king handles’ haywood i said WHADDUP! miss playing ball with him, we used to go at it 1 on 1 when i’d go to vancity for the ea nba street voiceovers. rory, too. what ever happened to the notic?!!!
August 7th, 2009 at 2:11 pm
Gerald Narciso says:
Yeah Casey, Vancouver is definitely under the radar. A lot of the kids don’t get exposed because they get very little media coverage. Look at Philly, there was a time Camden, Roman Catholic and Simon Gratz would get ESPN time. There’s a strong basketball culture here, but people all over the world don’t hear much about it unless guys go D-I. Speaking of which Bol Kong will be at Gonzaga next year.
Bobbito! Yeah I’ll tell King Handles when I see him. How long ago was the EA Event? I also want to Rory. Remember from the And1 show he was from somewhere in BC, although I dont know if it was Vancouver. In three years, haven’t heard his name mentioned once. Maybe he switched to hockey.
August 22nd, 2009 at 5:51 am
Ari Gold says:
“Speaking of which Bol Kong will be at Gonzaga next year.”
…like i’ve never heard that in the past 5 years….