Photo by Sarah Finnegan
Youth basketball players practice at the Finley Center at the Hoover Metropolitan Complex in Hoover, Alabama, on Nov. 7, 2017.
Get ready for some serious hoops action at the Finley Center in May.
The indoor center at the Hoover Metropolitan Complex is holding youth basketball tournaments each of the first three weekends of the month.
First comes the Future150 Tournament for boys and girls ages 12-and-under through 17-and-under, said Monty Jones, general manager of the complex. That tournament likely will feature 150 to 180 teams from multiple states, playing at both the Finley Center and Pete Hanna Center at Samford University, Jones said.
Then, on May 12-13 comes the Adidas Select Alabama Classic, a new tournament that serves as a qualifier for the national Adidas Junior Gauntlet tournament in Los Angeles in July. It will feature about 120 teams of boys and girls in grades 4-12 and is put on by the ZG Select Basketball organization, Jones said.
Finally, on May 18-20, the Essence Girls Basketball group (affiliated with Nike) and Roundball Academy are putting on the Capital Cool Classic tournament, formerly held at the Crampton Bowl in Montgomery. It should draw about 120 teams of boys and girls in grades 5-12, Jones said. The 12-and-under, 13-and-under and eighth-grade boys and girls teams will be competing to qualify for the USA Basketball Open in Westfield, Indiana, in July, Jones said.
The Finley Center has four more basketball tournaments booked for June and July, he said.
