To participate in the alumni game send an e-mail containing your name, address, phone number, school and the year you graduated to lanierlandbasketball@gmail.com. The deadline to register is Nov. 1.
When C.W. Davis moved to Hall County in the 1950s, he was told that taxpayers wouldn’t support the building of gymnasiums in the county.
“The difference between then and now is night and day,” said the former educator and creator of the annual Lanierland basketball tournament who will turn 89 next month.
“Look where we are now.”
It’s been 50 years since Davis founded what has become a rite of passage for basketball players in Hall County, and current tournament director Ross Davis announced how the golden anniversary would be celebrated Thursday at the Northeast Georgia Sports Hall of Fame.
To kick things off, an alumni game and 3-point shootout will be held Dec. 3 at the Gainesville High School gym.
There will be both a boys and girls game with those who graduated from high school in 1979 or earlier playing in the first quarter, graduates from the 1980s in the second quarter, graduates from the 1990s in the third quarter and those who graduated between 2000 and 2009 in the fourth quarter.
The 3-point shootout will be for current high school players.
“Some of the older alumni are already worried about how they’ll do,” Ross Davis said. “I don’t know how many of them will come play, but we sure do hope it’s a big draw.”
The tournament itself will start Dec. 4 at Lakeview Academy, but will be a little different then in year’s past.
“We added a day to have consolation games from the semifinals,” Ross Davis said.
In that regard, the tournament semifinals will be played on a Thursday — Dec. 10 — with the consolation games being played Dec. 11 and the finals Dec. 12.
The tournament’s final three days will be played at Flowery Branch High School.
“We wanted to guarantee every team three games,” Ross Davis said. “It makes the tournament better and keeps us from having an all-day event the final weekend.”
Another change is that this year’s seeds will not be based on a team’s record up to the point of the tournament, but have instead already been determined via a drawing Thursday at the Hall of Fame.
The order the schools were drawn determined the seeding for both the boys and girls teams.
The Flowery Branch boys and girls are the No. 1 seeds and will take on the No. 8 seed Gainesville.
North Hall is the No. 2 seed and will play No. 7 seed Johnson, West Hall is the No. 3 seed and will play No. 6 seed Lakeview and East Hall is the No. 4 seed and will play No. 5 seed Chestatee.
“(Seeding based on a random draw) allows teams from the same school to play back-to-back games,” Ross Davis said. “That way hopefully our crowds will be bigger.”
“The difference between then and now is night and day,” said the former educator and creator of the annual Lanierland basketball tournament who will turn 89 next month.
“Look where we are now.”
It’s been 50 years since Davis founded what has become a rite of passage for basketball players in Hall County, and current tournament director Ross Davis announced how the golden anniversary would be celebrated Thursday at the Northeast Georgia Sports Hall of Fame.
To kick things off, an alumni game and 3-point shootout will be held Dec. 3 at the Gainesville High School gym.
There will be both a boys and girls game with those who graduated from high school in 1979 or earlier playing in the first quarter, graduates from the 1980s in the second quarter, graduates from the 1990s in the third quarter and those who graduated between 2000 and 2009 in the fourth quarter.
The 3-point shootout will be for current high school players.
“Some of the older alumni are already worried about how they’ll do,” Ross Davis said. “I don’t know how many of them will come play, but we sure do hope it’s a big draw.”
The tournament itself will start Dec. 4 at Lakeview Academy, but will be a little different then in year’s past.
“We added a day to have consolation games from the semifinals,” Ross Davis said.
In that regard, the tournament semifinals will be played on a Thursday — Dec. 10 — with the consolation games being played Dec. 11 and the finals Dec. 12.
The tournament’s final three days will be played at Flowery Branch High School.
“We wanted to guarantee every team three games,” Ross Davis said. “It makes the tournament better and keeps us from having an all-day event the final weekend.”
Another change is that this year’s seeds will not be based on a team’s record up to the point of the tournament, but have instead already been determined via a drawing Thursday at the Hall of Fame.
The order the schools were drawn determined the seeding for both the boys and girls teams.
The Flowery Branch boys and girls are the No. 1 seeds and will take on the No. 8 seed Gainesville.
North Hall is the No. 2 seed and will play No. 7 seed Johnson, West Hall is the No. 3 seed and will play No. 6 seed Lakeview and East Hall is the No. 4 seed and will play No. 5 seed Chestatee.
“(Seeding based on a random draw) allows teams from the same school to play back-to-back games,” Ross Davis said. “That way hopefully our crowds will be bigger.”