Basketball tournaments and the holiday season go hand in hand, kind of like Rudolph and his red nose or that uneasy feeling that creeps in at office Christmas parties.
It wasn’t always that way, though. Not so many years ago the pickings were slim for basketball coaches wanting to get their teams in on some holiday action. There were a few prestigious out-of-town events, where you either had to pay to enter or be invited.
Today, with a myriad of tournaments, formats and competition levels, nearly every team has a chance to compete.
Brainerd’s Marques Tipton shoots the ball during a District 6-AA high school basketball game against Tyner.“These days, if you don’t go to a Thanksgiving or Christmas tournament you’re doing something wrong,” said first-year Signal Mountain girls’ coach Kendra Bell, whose team is part of this year’s Best of Preps Tournament at Chattanooga State. “It’s a great opportunity to fine-tune your team, and you can approach it any way you want to.
“If you want to play against great competition, you can find that. If you just want to get some games in, there are plenty of those (tournaments) around.”