Six of the top Division II men’s basketball teams from Historically Black Colleges and Universities will be hitting the hardwood at Antilles School’s Mark C. Marin Center Saturday through Monday for a tournament that organizers and coaches say not only offer additional exposure for the territory, but for its students as well.
Now in its second year, the tournament jumped from three teams in the middle of the pandemic to a field of six this weekend, bringing in Kentucky State, Tusculum, Virginia State, Edward Walters College, West Virginia State and Clinton College, whose coach also helped host a clinic for young athletes Friday at Ivanna Eudora Kean High School. While participants got one-on-one coaching, Coach Corey Sloan added that the tournament itself helps students understand the level of play they can advance to when they put in the hard work.
The tournament and clinic are an extension of Youth Entrepreneurz Solutions (YES,) a mentorship organization founded by Rutgers professor Ernest Ruffin, Jr., who has been helping students across the mainland and territory learn the skills needed to start and promote their own businesses. The goal with partner teams from the tournament, Ruffin said, is to give students from the territory access to the HBCU’s admission offices and other resources that can not only guide them through the application process but usher them through graduation as well.
Tournament play starts Saturday, Dec. 31, at 9 a.m., with a second game to follow at 11:15 a.m., then will continue Sunday, Jan. 1, with three games, also beginning at 9 a.m. Second place and consolation games will be held on Monday beginning at 9 a.m., giving residents a chance to ring in the new year with live basketball action.
Tickets can be purchased at the door for $5 for children under 12 and $10 for adults or online at https://antilles.booktix.com/.
