Mark Feb. 9, 2013, on your calendar and get your tickets early for next year’s Heartland Hoops Classic.
It could be a sellout at the Heartland Events Center.
The Hoops Classic has been a success in its first five years, but you haven’t seen anything yet. Something big is coming next year. Maybe even big enough for ESPN.
Oak Hill Academy, the No. 1 prep team in the nation right now according to both espn.com and USA Today, will be in Grand Island to face Nebraska’s top team right now in Omaha Central.
If you follow prep basketball at all, you have probably heard of Oak Hill Academy. Located near Mouth of Wilson, Va., just north of the North Carolina border, the program has turned out 55 Division I players since 2000, including Carmelo Anthony (Syracuse), Rajon Rando (Kentucky), Ty Lawson (North Carolina) and Nolan Smith (Duke).
St. Cecilia coach Kevin Asher put it this way: “That will be the biggest basketball event in the history of the state of Nebraska,” Asher said. “ This place should have 7,500 people in it. It will be a treat for the fans.”
And this quite possibly won’t be the last national team to come to the Hoops Classic. Omaha Central has signed on for the next two years, so Martinez is looking for a big-name national team to face the Eagles in 2014.
The Heartland Hoops Classic in an invitational and Tino Martinez, the promoter, arranged the contest and is paying the travel costs for Oak Hill Academy.
The Heartland Hoops Classic in an invitational and Tino Martinez, the promoter, arranged the contest and is paying the travel costs for Oak Hill Academy.
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