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June 26, 2009

BASKETBALL: Local stars return for Kentuckiana Pro-Am

By MIKE HUTSELL

Fans still clamoring for their recommended daily allowance of basketball are in for a treat this weekend.

For the first time in its 15 years of existence, the Kentuckiana Pro-Am basketball tournament is making itself a home at Nolan Fieldhouse.

The tourney, which counts current National Basketball Association players and a handful of former local college hoops stars among its participants, will tip off tonight at the newly-reopened basketball facility in Sellersburg.

The four-day event — which tipped off on Thursday with two exhibition contests — features 22 teams from across the U.S. in a double-elimination tourney.

“I don’t think basketball fans in Sellersburg have seen hoops of this quality in quite some time,” said Nolan Fieldhouse director Mitchell Speedy. “It’s quite unique to bring this type of product to fans here. I hope people take advantage and come to watch.”

The tournament was held for 12 years in Owensboro before moving to the Hoops facility in Jeffersontown, Ky. for the past two seasons. And now its’s come across the bridge to Indiana for the first time this summer.

Tournament director Mike Stinnett, who has overseen the event since its inception, hopes he has found a home for the foreseeable future at Nolan.

“We are thrilled to be here and this is an absolutely great place to have it,” said Stinnett. “It has grown. The first year I think we had just a few teams from a 60-mile radius in Owensboro, but now we’ve reached a point where teams are coming from around the country and we’re even telling teams that we are full.”

While Speedy — a former Silver Creek and Indiana University Southeast star — will put the uniform on and return to the court for a few contests, he readily admits that he’s far from the biggest star in the show.

“I hope people aren’t coming here to see me,” joked Speedy. “There’s a lot of great players coming here to play.”

Eight current or former NBA players are scheduled to attend. Ex-Indiana Pacer Fred Jones, now with the Los Angeles Clippers, will play for the defending tournament champions, the Kenny Kings, along with Andre Owens, well-known in the state for his time at Indiana University and with the Utah Jazz.

The Kenny Kings, based out of Indianapolis, also feature former University of Arizona standout and Indiana Mr. Basketball Jason Gardner, while ex-Purdue player Roy Hairston and reigning tournament MVP Jermaine Dearman are also on the roster.

Another squad with a strong local connection is a group known as “Team Stone” — a collection of University of Louisville talent that has teamed up to honor the memory of Marvin Stone, who starred at both Louisville and Kentucky before he died while playing in Saudia Arabia last year.

Team Stone includes a long list of ex-Cardinals like Taquan Dean, Brandon Jenkins, Larry O’Bannon, Luke Whitehead, Otis George, Tony Williams, Alhaji Mohammed, Perrin Johnson and Terrance Farley.

It’s not terribly difficult to persuade top talent to compete. One big draw for the event is the opportunity to play in front of professional league scouts and agents.

Former South Central and Georgetown College star Craig Schoen can attest to that. He was discovered at the event last year by Stinnett and signed to play in a professional league in Iceland.

“It was a great experience, I didn’t really expect to have that chance when I signed on to play a year ago,” Schoen said. “Some of the guys there said they liked what they saw in my game and pretty soon after that I’m signed to play in a professional league.”

Schoen will play again this season before returning to the league in Iceland in late August.

“It’s certainly part of the reason guys come here to play, I’m sure,” said Stinnett about the exposure to scouts. “Some guys here need it, some of them don’t. I think they know when they come here they are signing up for quality games — they won’t find themselves in any 70-point lopsided games here.”

The tournament will be played today with games tipping off at 5:30 p.m. and the final contest scheduled for 9:30.

Play on Saturday will start at 11 a.m. and Sunday games start at noon with the final scheduled for 5:15.

Admission is $4 per session.

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