N2hoops Basketball Tournament deemed a successs

Action from Blackman vs Lanett in championship game of N2hoops Tournament (Record Photo/Lindsay Vaught

MADISON- Everything worked smoothly at the first-year Hometown Lenders First Family Mortgage N2Hoops basketball Tournament hosted by Bob Jones on Nov. 23-25.

Turnout among local fans could have been better but the quality of basketball was outstanding and there were plenty of college coaches there to see the talent.

“This has been a great tournament,” said Bob Jones coach Graham Aderholt a day after his team was knocked out in the second round. “Every game is competitive, a lot of good teams, good turnout, and hopefully next year it will grow even more.”

Bob Jones lost to Lanett (Ala.) a 2A school 46-43. The Patriots blew a 28-11 halftime lead by allowing Lanett to score 35 points in the second half, mainly in the paint on offensive rebounds. The loss left Aderholt steamed and looking for answers.

“We are only five games into the season. We will get our football guys in basketball shape and we will be fine,” he said.

Lanett made the finals but lost 50-45 to Blackman (Tenn.). Among local teams Hazel Green had the best showing winning two games before falling to Blackman then Southwind (Tenn.) in the third place game.

Tournament Director and Bob Jones Athletic Director Luther Tiggs spent many hours planning every detail of the tournament.

“For the first year we feel good about the direction and are looking forward to next year,” he said.

“We tried to bring in the best level of talent from North Alabama and neighboring states. We have had premiere players here, 16 college coaches were here, and getting the kids that exposure is important. Hometown Lenders helped the teams find hotels and provided meals to offset expenses. Lanett has 2 of the top 150 players in the country.”

Tiggs said next year Mountain Brook and Carroll (Monroe, La.) will play.

“A number of schools have reached to to us. We have a waiting list for next year. We want teams with the talent to compete at a high level and can bring college coaches to our arena.”