Five tournaments keep high school slate full
High schools are off this week, and classes aren't in session, but that doesn't mean athletes get a break.
The week between Christmas and New Year's Day is one of the best times of the year for basketball fans. There are three boys basketball tournaments to pick from in the area, plus the Diamond State Classic girls basketball tournament at the St. E Center.
The upcoming tournaments make for a busy week for people such as John Gretchen, who directs the Diamond State Classic. Grotto Pizza has taken over as the main sponsor of the tournament, but longtime sponsor Avon still will be involved.
Gretchen said it can be tricky to arrange his schedule these last two weeks around his regular job with TransWorld Port and Distribution Services. He also has to find time to gather with his family for the holidays while getting ready for a tournament that has 24 teams in five different brackets.
"[On Friday] we went and picked up all the stuff we get from Avon," Gretchen said, "and [by Friday] we'll get everything over to St. Elizabeth, and then [later this week] we'll go in there and get everything ready with the gift bags and hang all the banners in the gym."
On the boys side, this week's Bay Ball Classic at Cape Henlopen High also consists of 24 teams, in three brackets. The national bracket includes Rice (N.Y.), ranked sixth in the East by USA Today and led by Kemba Walker, a 6-foot-2 point guard headed to Connecticut.
The Cape Ferry bracket features Putnam City (Okla.), which features one of the top junior prospects in the nation, 6-6 shooting guard Xavier Henry.
Also set for this week is the Quaker Classic, a tournament played in the two gyms at Wilmington Friends on Friday and Saturday. The Salisbury Lions Club Holiday Classic, to be held Wednesday through Saturday at the Wicomico (Md.) Civic Center, includes five Delaware teams.
Wrestling fans also will be able to enjoy some tournament action this week, with the Tiger Classic at A.I. du Pont High on Friday and Saturday. The tournament was started by Beast of the East founder Vic Leonard in 2003. Leonard is now the A.I. du Pont coach.
Leonard began the Tiger Classic as a fundraiser for his team. The event has grown into a 32-team event this year that includes 15 teams from Delaware. Division I contenders Sussex Central, Smyrna and William Penn, plus Division II contender Caravel, and high-level, out-of-state teams such as Langley (Va.) and Germantown Academy (Pa.) are scheduled to participate.
"The first thing I did when I got here," Leonard said of taking over as coach at A.I. du Pont, "was to establish a strong booster club, and I know how to do tournaments, so I figured it was a good idea to get my kids some exposure against some out-of-state schools, and it has just started blossoming from there.
"We have some tough teams coming in, and the Delaware kids will get in some good experience."
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