By Daniel Evans

The Selma Times-Journal

 

Over the weekend, 36 AAU basketball teams took part in the TNA Heat’s Selma Invitational.

“There are a lot of kids in Selma that play, but they’ve never played a tournament in Selma,” TNA Heat Basketball Club president Randy Fincher said. “Some of the kids’ parents and friends aren’t fortunate enough to travel and go watch, so we decided this year to bring the tournament to Selma.”

Selma had two teams take part in the tournament — the Selma Pal Eagles and the Selma Shock.

“I think it is a good idea for the kids to come out here and have a good time — their parents support them and it keeps them off the streets and keeps them out of trouble,” assistant tournament director Eric Lumpkin said.

For most coaches involved in youth basketball, watching the kids reach their full potential is the best part.

“We started about six years ago. We are just trying to get the kids a positive outlook through life. This is what we do for the summer, just basketball,” Gary Gee, coach of the Hattiesburg, Miss. Dream Team, said. “It is such a pleasure to see them grow and get into high school when they start at this age right here. We’ve already had several kids who finished up with our program that went on to play college ball.”

The Dream Team is heading to Tuscaloosa next week, to participate in another tournament the TNA Heat Basketball Club is hosting, the Summer Hardwood Classic II.

Games were broken down into two, 16-minute halves. The clock ran continuously until the last few minutes of each half.

Wallace Community College, YMCA of Selma, R.B. Hudson Middle School and School of Discovery played host to some of the games.