It didn’t take the Holiday Hoops Tournament, hosted by Rhea County High School, to become a popular stop on the high school holiday schedule.
In only its second year, the tournament will have 31 teams – 16 boys and 15 girls – starting Thursday with 15 games at four different sites.
“We started out last year trying to get teams interested and thought we would see where it would take us,” Rhea County girls and tournament director coach Shane Johnston said.
“This year we have 31 teams and more wanted into the tournament.
“Elizabethton called me and really wanted in, so I told the coach he could get in the tournament, but they would have to play Hamilton Heights. They said that would be fine.”
Hamilton Heights (7-1) is led by a pair of juniors, Abdulhakim Ado, a 6-foot-10-inch post and 6-6 wing Ezekiel Balogun, who are ranked No. 1 and No. 12, respectively, in the state by hoopseen.com. Ado is being recruited by some of the top basketball-playing colleges in the country and is rated among the top five post players in the country for 2016.
Ado, who is from Nigeria, averages 11.2 points, 12.6 rebounds and 4.5 blocked shots per game. Balogun gets 12.2 points and 5.2 rebounds each time out.
Hawks senior Lanre Olatunji, a 6-9 post, recently signed with the University of North Georgia, an NCAA Division II school in Dahlonega, and sophomore Silas Adheke already is gaining interest from college recruiters.
In addition to the Charlotte and Holiday Hoops tourneys, the Hawks are also scheduled to compete in tournaments in Chattanooga (Dec. 26-27 and 29) and Huntington (W.Va.) Prep School, ranked sixth and eighth nationally by MaxPreps and USA TODAY, respectively.
The lone loss for the Hawks, who will play at national prep power Oak Hill Academy – ranked No. 2 by MaxPreps and No. 3 by USA TODAY – on Feb. 9, was a 72-62 setback against Providence Day of Charlotte, N.C., in the Charlotte Hoops Challenge on Nov. 28.
Since then coach Zach Ferrell’s club has reeled off six straight wins.
Hamilton Heights will play Elizabethton at 9 p.m. at Rhea Central Elementary School on Thursday, after the Lady Hawks take on Happy Valley at 7 p.m.
At Soddy-Daisy, the Trojans play Cannon County at 9 p.m. and the Baylor Lady Red Raiders square off against Cookeville at 4:30 p.m.
The Red Bank Lions meet McMinn County at 6 p.m. and Rhea County’s girls play Sequatchie County at 4:30 p.m. at Rhea County High School.
Red Bank’s Lady Lions play Chattanooga Patriots at 4:30 p.m. and the Rhea boys tangle with the Patriots at 6 p.m. at Rhea Middle School. Also, the Walker Valley boys and girls play Clarkrange in the final two games at Rhea Middle.
“One thing about this tournament and the interest from so many teams is there’s no entry fee,” Johnston said. “Some of the teams clearly want to travel because that helps in team building. And these are pretty high-caliber teams we have for this tournament.”
Baylor’s boys and Cannon County girls won last year’s tournament titles.
Holiday Hoops Tournament
Thursday’s Schedule
At Soddy-Daisy High School
4:30 – Cookeville girls vs. Baylor
6 – Cannon County girls vs. Ooltewah
7:30 – Cookeville boys vs. Berean Academy
9 – Cannon County boys vs. Soddy-Daisy
At Rhea County High School
4:30 – Rhea County girls vs. Sequatchie County
6 – McMinn County boys vs. Red Bank
7:30 – McMinn County girls vs. Wilson Central
9 – Riverdale boys vs. Glenwood
At Rhea Central Elementary School
6 – Sequatchie County boys vs. Rhea County Academy
7:30 – Happy Valley girls vs. Hamilton Heights
9 – Elizabethton vs. Hamilton Heights
At Rhea Middle School
4:30 – Chattanooga Patriots girls vs. Red Bank
6 – Chattanooga Patriots boys vs. Rhea County
7:30 – Walker Valley girls vs. Clarkrange
9 – Walker Valley boys vs. Clarkrange
(E-mail Larry Fleming at larryfleming44@gmail.com and follow him on Twitter @larryfleming44)