ADAMS TWP — The Mars Youth Scott Lang Memorial Tournament continues to get bigger — and better.

The sixth annual third through sixth-grade boys basketball event begins Tuesday and runs through Feb. 25. It will consist of 62 teams, seven divisions and use five gyms in or near Mars High School.

This marks the second year the event is named after Lang, a Mars graduate and former La Roche College men's basketball coach who died of a sudden heart attack while running a practice in 2010.

Lang was 41.

“Scott was the youngest head coach in college basketball,” Mars varsity boys coach Rob Carmody said of Lang's career at La Roche. “He had opportunities to leave La Roche and go bigger.

“He never did because he wanted to find kids who would fall in love with the game and coach them. Scott Lang was a passionate teacher of this sport and this tournament celebrates that spirit.”

The Mars youth tourney began with 28 teams in 2013. It grew to 56 teams last year and there is now an 18-team waiting list to join the event.

“Youth basketball has really grown in Western Pennsylvania in recent years and this tournament shows that,” said Eric Cunningham, president of Mars Youth Basketball. “Every school district in this area is represented in this event at some grade level.”

The tournament will feature 620 kids and is completely run by volunteers. Proceeds benefit the Scott Lang scholarship presented annually to a Mars basketball senior.

There are 118 boys in the Mars youth basketball program this year. There were 106 last season.

“Basketball has become huge in this district,” Cunningham said. “And working with kids at this level is so much fun. There's no describing the feeling of seeing the look on a third grader's face when he makes his first shot.”

Carmody said the success of the Mars varsity program coincides with the solid youth program. The Planets have won six consecutive section titles and have been to the WPIAL playoffs 11 consecutive years.

“We've had so many great players come through here in recent years,” the coach said. “We've had seven 1,000-point scorers in the past 13 years and Robby (Carmody) hit 2,000 this year.

“Every player on our high school roster has come through our youth program. They remember how important that time was to them. They give their time to this tournament now.”

Mars' boys and girls varsity players run the clock, work concession stands and help out as needed at all five venues for this event. The tourney is played in the Mars High School gym, the auxiliary gym there, the middle school gym, Centennial gym and elementary gym.

A fifth-grade Mars player broke his arm in a recent game and his father asked Carmody if a couple of varsity players would sign the cast.

The youth wound up coming into the locker room and the entire varsity team signed his cast.

“Our kids felt proud to do that and that child was so excited,” Carmody said. “But that's how it is here now. Basketball is a big part of the culture at Mars.

“When I started coaching here, three kids came to my first open gym. We'll have an open gym at 6 a.m. in July now and 45 kids show up.”

The Planets hosted Shenango Monday night in a non-section game and “the gym was packed,” Carmody said.

“A lot of this traces back to the work of Eric Cunningham,” he added. “He doesn't have a child of his own in this tournament, but he loves basketball and working with kids.

“So much preparation goes into this ... calling teams, scheduling officials, etc. ... I don't think this happens without him.”