By By Todd Thompson, Hartselle Enquirer
With a long holiday break, basketball coaches across the state schedule tournaments to take advantage of the time away from the classroom.
A week or more of practice time doesn’t usually yield much for teams ready to head into the final two months of the season.
Enter the holiday tournaments.
Most schools around the Morgan County area will be participating in holiday tournaments. One will host its own tournament.
Call it basketball’s social period.
Coaches hang out in hospitality rooms talking basketball. Kids get to play a lot of basketball in a short time frame, a precursor to the area and regional tournaments on the schedule in February.
But more importantly, families get to spend a lot of time together in the gyms.
Brewer will again host the Big Blue Classic, one of the top boys’ tournaments in north Alabama. Featuring the host Patriots and rival Hartselle, the tournament pits a strong field of teams within driving distance of the school’s Florette campus.
The Big Blue Classic also has B-team and freshman brackets.
Hartselle’s girls will compete in the River City Classic, long considered one of the state’s premier girls’ varsity tournaments.
Falkville’s boys and girls will be participating in the Speake Christmas Tournament, an event geared toward the smaller schools.
The Speake tournament will also feature the Danville Hawks.
Danville’s girls, off to a great start, will play in the Walker Holiday Tournament in Jasper. The Lady Hawks played in the tournament last year and should face another strong challenge from several larger schools.
Brewer’s varsity girls will be playing in the DAR Holiday Tournament - a two-day event starting Dec. 22.
Priceville’s boys will participate in one of the earlier tournaments of the holiday break. The Bulldogs are scheduled to play in the West Point Tournament Dec. 20-23.
Priceville’s girls will be in the Hayden Christmas Tournament Dec. 26-29.
It’s a lineup that should be a feast for all prep basketball fans.
Sports editor Todd Thompson can be reached at 773-6566 or at todd.thompson@hartselleenquirer.com