Daniels | Holiday tournaments right around the corner

Dec. 12—The games will start early. And end late.

With plenty of basketball in between. Need something to do around the holiday season, either to avoid some last-minute Christmas shopping or any uncomfortable family encounters?

Head out to an area gym for a high school holiday tournament. They're already ongoing and will continue later this week in Iroquois County, with the Iroquois West girls' basketball team hosting an eight-team tournament in both Gilman and Onarga that ends Wednesday night.

The next night, the 21st annual Watseka Holiday Tournament tips off, both in Watseka and Milford, as 12 boys' basketball teams, including area programs Cissna Park, Hoopeston Area, Iroquois West, La Salette, Milford and the host Warriors, are in the field. Their goal during the five-day, 24-game tournament is to hoist the championship trophy by the end of the night on Tuesday, Dec. 19.

For long-time Watseka athletic director Barry Bauer, he'll juggle hosting duties along with coaching the Warriors' girls' basketball team that reached 10 wins on Monday night in a time of year he cherishes. Despite the busy schedule.

"I have been involved in all of the Watseka Holiday Tournaments either as a coach or AD and look forward each year to catching up with fans, coaches, media and officials that come every year," Bauer said. "Some of them I do not see very much the rest of the year so it is always nice to them at the tournament."

Just before Christmas, Arthur-Lovington-Atwood-Hammond will host an eight-team girls' basketball tournament, with the Knights Classic running Dec. 21-23. Along with ALAH, local teams such as Chrisman, Heritage and Rantoul will mix it up alongside Decatur Eisenhower, Decatur Unity Christian, Shelbyville and Windsor/Stewardson-Strasburg. Four pool-play games take place each night on Dec. 21 and Dec. 22, simultaneously taking place at both the East Gym and West Gym at ALAH, before eight games wrap up the tournament on Dec. 23, with the championship game set for a 4:30 p.m. tip.

Then, the real holiday tournament bonanza begins the day after presents are opened and exchanged. The Monticello Holiday Hoopla begins its 26th year, appropriately enough, on Dec. 26. Eight boys' teams and eight girls' teams will keep the basketballs bouncing in both the Sievers Center and Miller Gym on Dec. 26, Dec. 27 and Dec. 28 to the tune of 32 total games. Monticello, Clinton, Gibson City-Melvin-Sibley, Paxton-Buckley-Loda, Ridgeview and Tuscola are local programs who will have both their boys' and girls' teams playing in the event, with the Oakwood boys' team also in the field. Neoga is also playing in both the boys' and girls' Hoopla, with Tri-Valley doing so on just the girls' side.

For those wanting to make plans ahead of time, three sessions will commence each day, starting at 10 a.m., 2 p.m. and 6 p.m. On the boys' side, Tuscola is back to defend its Hoopla title it won last year before ultimately placing third in the Class 1A state tournament and has plenty of familiar faces in Jordn Quinn, Kam Sweetnam and Josiah Hortin, among others, who are well-versed in what the Hoopla brings about.

Same for the Tuscola girls' team, which won the Hoopla title last December as well and return several key cogs like Sydney Moss, Ava Boyer and Lia Patterson, among others. The Warriors and their fans would love nothing more than to see Tuscola playing at 6 p.m. on Dec. 28 in the girls' Hoopla championship game, followed by Tuscola playing again at 7:30 p.m. on Dec. 28 in the boys' Hoopla championship game.

Dan Sheehan will watch most of the action unfold at the Sievers Center and Miller Gym when he's not helping out in other areas. Sheehan, Monticello's athletic director, said it's easy to answer what the best part of the three-day Hoopla experience brings to the table.

"The number of volunteers help make this one of the best tournaments around," Sheehan said. "The support of our current families and the number of former parents or employees who come back to help out is incredible. It takes 29 volunteers, plus the Monticello Athletic Booster Club board, for each game of the tournament. All athletic teams, coaches, parents and athletes volunteer time to work a shift to cover the various positions, such as working in the concession stand or taking tickets for admission."

Outside of Monticello, Heritage and Bismarck-Henning/Rossville-Alvin co-host a 12-team boys' tournament that runs Dec. 27-29. Two days' worth of pool-play games will take place in the morning, afternoon and at night at both Heritage and BHRA — local teams Armstrong-Potomac, Georgetown-Ridge Farm, Heritage and Salt Fork will play in Broadlands, with BHRA and Milford the local teams playing at BHRA's Wilcox Gymnasium — before the championship game is set for 7 p.m. on Dec. 29 in Broadlands at the home of the Hawks. At the same time as pool-play games are going on the boys' side of that event in Bismarck, the nine-team girls' Blue Devil Classic will also unfold Dec. 27-29, with games on Dec. 27-28 at the schools' multipurpose and junior high gyms before the final day tips off at Wilcox Gym. Among the area teams in the Blue Devil Classic are Armstrong-Potomac, BHRA, Cissna Park, Oakwood, Salt Fork and Unity.

Outside of The News-Gazette's coverage area, a bunch more holiday tournaments involving local teams will take place shortly after Christmas. On the boys' side, Champaign Central will head down to a southern Illinois staple once more as the 80th Centralia Holiday Tournament goes from Dec. 28-30, with the bracket not out just yet. Centennial ventures south from Dec. 28-30 for the Effingham-Teutoplis Christmas Classic that is entering its 10th year, with the Chargers facing host Effingham at 7:30 p.m. to start their tournament run on Dec. 28.

Danville heads to the Pontiac Holiday Tournament once again, the crown jewel of holiday tournaments in the state tipping off its 92rd version on Dec. 28 and one of the few still around where if a team loses its first two games, their stay is done. The Vikings begin play at 2:30 p.m. on Dec. 28 with a tough matchup against Bloom out of the south suburbs of Chicago.

The extravagant 64-team State Farm Holiday Classic in Bloomington-Normal runs from Dec. 27-30 at three different sites — the Shirk Center at Illinois Wesleyan University, Normal Community High School and Normal West High School — as the St. Joseph-Ogden boys' and girls' teams will head there, along with the Mahomet-Seymour boys' team.

One final tournament of note features area girls' teams from Champaign Central, Danville, Mahomet-Seymour and Sullivan taking part in the inaugural Coles County Tournament. A smart move by both Mattoon and Charleston to combine their tournaments, with 12 teams playing four games apiece games in both Mattoon and Charleston on Dec. 28-29.

That's wall-to-wall basketball. Meaning only one thing: holiday tournaments are right around the corner. Enjoy.

Matt Daniels is the sports editor at The News-Gazette. He can be reached at 217-373-7422 or at mdaniels@news-gazette.com.