Hoop It Up!
Build it and they will come?
In this case, set it up and they will play.
The inaugural City of Butler Basketball Championships — a 3-on-3 tournament — concluded Tuesday night at Memorial Park. The event consisted of 20 total teams competing in three divisions — grades 5-8, grades 9-12 and over-18.
The two-day tournament was the brainchild of city councilman Jeff Smith.
“We advertised this for two months, in the newspaper and social media,” Smith said. “This type of outdoor event is something we need more of in Butler.
“This is my last year in office, so it will be up to my successor to keep it going. I'm confident it will continue. This is a good start.”
The tournament began early Monday on courts at four different sites: Ritts Park, Institute Hill, Father Marinaro Park and Rotary Park.
Smith said he wanted the event to “take on a neighborhood feel.”
“The idea was to get people to form teams in their own backyard, then compete on their local court.
Teams were encouraged to bring four players for substitution purposes.
Games were 15 minutes long or ended when one team reached 15 points. One point was awarded for a basket inside the 3-point arc, two points for a basket from beyond it.
Ethan DeLess, 13, helped his team score a 10-9 victory in overtime against a team his younger brother, 12-year-old Ty, played for in the grades 5-8 division.“This was fun. I'll definitely play again next year,” Ethan said. “This gets kids out of their houses to come compete.”Even if it is against one's brother.“We were gonna play on the same team, then my friends asked me to play with them,” Ethan said.“He chose friends over family,” Ty said, cracking a smile.Ethan and Ty play junior high basketball for Butler. The 3-on-3 game was a different feel for them.“There's more room to move around and things happen quick,” Ty said. “You can get the ball to the basket easier.”Slippery Rock University men's basketball coach Ian Grady helped Smith organize the event. Grady and Mike Robb officiated the games Tuesday.Grady's brother, Jordan Grady, is Butler County Chamber of Commerce Executive Director.“Jeff asked me to help organize this and I was happy to do it. It's a way for me to give back,” Grady said. “I put together one of these in my hometown in West Virginia once, so I've had some experience in it.“For an inaugural 3-on-3, this is a solid turnout. It's only going to get bigger over the next couple of years as word gets around.”Grady said he got a couple of SRU sports management interns to help out with registration and setting up the tournament.Robb said Butler has plenty of quality facilities to offer around the city.“Events like this are good for the city,” he said. “You want people to come out to the parks, you have to give them a reason. This is a prime example of that.“Things like this are a nice, relaxing way for people to get together. Even myself ... I got here and saw a nephew I haven't seen in a couple of years. People meet up and catch up. It's a good sense of community.”Some of the match-ups on the court were interesting as well.Four members of Butler's fifth-grade girls basketball traveling team — Jordan Ryan, Adalyn Sprowl, Logan Goetz and Emerson McGarrah — represented the only girls team in the tourney. They lost to a Butler boys contingent, 12-7.The girls were coached by Kerry Gutherie Ryan, a member of Karns City High School's 2000 state championship girls basketball team.“These girls love to compete,” Ryan said. “They weren't intimidated by playing against the boys. Whether they're playing boys or girls, they just enjoy basketball.“I'd love to see more girls in this event next year. That would be fantastic.”A number of former Butler High School basketball players — Joel and Jace Stutz, Tim Patterson, Ian McCarrier, Tyler Frederick, Jake Anderson and Andrew Yonkers among them — played in the over-18 division.“We got this event off the ground this year,” Smith said. “I love the potential of it moving forward.”
