3 on 3 Tournament

SIUC junior Koby Fritts can only think of positives about his team’s chances of winning the Schick Super Hoops 3-on-3 Tournament this weekend.

I’m sure the competition will be good, Fritts said. But I think experience will help my team. we’ve played mostly five on five, but we know how each other plays.

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That time of the year is here again, when all the basketball junkies show off their talents and attempt to create their own early version of March Madness.

The 14th Annual Schick Super Hoops 3-on-3 Basketball Tournament will be Friday and Saturday at the Recreation Center.

The winner of the weekend tournament will move on to the regional tournament at the University of Illinois at Chicago March 1. There are 54 teams in the Midwest Region, including Marquette University, Michigan State University, the University of Michigan and the University of Wisconsin at Green Bay.

Last year’s champions were Illinois State University on the men’s side and Evansville University on the women’s side.

The men’s and women’s divisions compete among 550 colleges and universities nationwide, drawing almost 200,000 participants.

NBA rookie Tim Duncan of the San Antonio Spurs is the spokesman for the Schick Rookie Game and Schick Super Hoops. In recent years, NBA stars such as Ray Allen, Jerry Stackhouse and Grant Hill have been spokesmen.

Intramural Sports graduate assistant Tracy Applebee said the tournament provides an inexpensive and competitive activity for the participants.

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It’s just an outlet for intramural sports, Applebee said. It’s another sport that keeps students active, and it’s free.

Applebee said the regional tournament creates a rival atmosphere with other schools.

The tournament is good because the winner can go on to the regional tournament, and it brings schools together and starts competitiveness between schools, Applebee said.

Former intercollegiate athletes may participate in the tournament in Carbondale, but they will not be able to play in the regional tournament.

The team maximum is four players per squad, and a team can substitute after a basket, a foul shot or any stoppage of play.

The tournament will be played in two halves with an eight-minute running clock and an intermission of one minute. If a game reaches overtime, it will have a two-minute running clock.

The games will be played at a fast pace, and any attempt to stall on a possession will result in a loss of the ball. The referee will issue a verbal warning before taking away possession. Time-outs will only be made by the referee for injuries or special circumstances. All other NCAA rules apply.

This year’s tournament has moved from the fall semester to the spring semester in attempt to play it at a seasonal time.

Applebee said the tournament can be played anytime from December through February, and this year they wanted to wait until the spring semester to have the tournament.

We tried this year to do it during basketball season for them to get a different type of competition instead of the five-on-five, Applebee said.

The Schick Super Hoops 3-on-3 Basketball Tournament will be Friday and Saturday from 4 to 10 p.m. both days at the Recreation Center.