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SoCalHoops High School News

Hoop-It-Up 3 On 3 Tournament
Makes Return To SoCal--(Sept. 3, 1998)

For the second time this year, the Hoop-It-Up World Tour will make it's official return to SoCal, this time during the weekend of September 19-20, 1998. The tournament will hit the courts in Huntington Beach and more then 2,300 players and 11,500 spectators are expected to participate. The Huntington Beach event is one of 43 stops on the U.S. Tour.

"When Hoop-It-Up began in Dallas as a charity fund raiser in 1989, many people considered it a great one-time event," Jeff Busch, vice president of Hoop-It-Up told reporters yesterday. "Yet, 10 years, 1.1 million players, and more than four-million charity dollars later, we're in 75 cities worldwide."

The event is sanctioned by the NBA as the official 3-on-3 street basketball tour, and has been since 1992. The 1997 tour featured the first-ever partnership with NBA Canada and NBA Latin America. "The NBA is proud to celebrate the 10th anniversary of the Hoop-It-Up World Tour," NBA Commissioner David Stern said in a press release. "In its first 10 years, Hoop-It-Up has become the world's premier forum for grassroots basketball action. The event provides both the player and spectator an interactive, hands-on basketball experience in a high-quality environment, and we know the Tour is positioned for a promising future." Er, um, hands-on. . . ok. Is there any other way to play 3 on 3 basketball?

The Tour made a stop earlier this year in LA, specificially at Cal State Northridge, and many of the top players from the Valley and LA City (both City Section and Southern Section) turned out for the event. This time, however, the event will occur during the Pump Discovery Shootout, an NCAA sanctioned exposure event, and many local players will be at the Pump event which is sandwiched between the 1998 dada Long Beach Fall Hoops Classic and another Belmont Shore exposure event which is planned for the weekend of the 26th of September.

Nevertheless, because of the wide range of divisions, the Hoop-It-Up Tournament won't be lacking participants. Divisions range from top competition (Top Gun) to relaxed, "weekend warrior" play (Couch Potato) for participants ages eight and older, who then are placed in divisions according to age, gender, height, and skill level to ensure a fair and competitive environment. In addition to the 70 street basketball courts set up for tournament play in various parking lots throughout the city, Hoop-It-Up will feature various special events for all ages, including the Foot Locker 10-Foot Slam Jam (traditionally held at noon Saturday), the Gatorade Jordan Experience Men's 9-Foot and Women's 8-Foot Slam Dunk, the United States Marine Corps One-on-One Hoop Camp, OREO O-Zone Slam Dunk for Kids, the Hyundai 3-Point Shootout, and the new Speed Stick Ultimate Shootout. Entry forms for the Tour are available at area Marine Corps recruiting stations or by calling the Hoop-It-Up hotline at 310-546-9585. Forms for discounted entry are available at all area Foot Locker locations.

All this stuff isn't free. An entry fee of $104 per team (or $120 for Top Gun Division) guarantees each team at least three games. Spectators get to watch free. Games will take place from 9 a.m.-5 p.m. on Sept. 19, and from 9 a.m.-3 p.m. on Sunday. There is a deadline for entries for teams: Sept. 11, so don't think you can just walk up to a court and call out "next."

The team winners from both the Men's and Women's "Top Gun" divisions will advance to regional competition, with a chance to advance again to the Hoop-It-Up World Finals in October, where championship teams will go head-to-head with NBA Legends and WNBA All-Stars on the Court of Dreams. Those events will be broadcast in November on NBC.

The Huntington Beach Tour stop is sponsored by a ton of companies, including NIKE, Gatorade, Foot Locker, Hyundai, Speed Stick Ultimate, United States Marine Corps, Spalding Sports, and Sports Specialties. There are also some SoCal sponsors including SWA, OREO, Pacific Bell, 92.3 The Beat, the Sparks, and the Clippers. Hey, what happened to the Lakers?