Shootout gives players a chance to just have fun

By BOBBI ROQUEMORE
of the Journal Sentinel staff

Last Updated: July 18, 2002

You'll see no men's college basketball coaches swirling around the Center Court Sports Complex in Waukesha this weekend for the AAU Great Lakes Boys Shootout II, but you'll see plenty of players.

AAU WHAT: AAU Boys Great Lakes Shootout II WHEN: Friday - 5-9 p.m.; Saturday - 9 a.m.- 9 p.m.; Sunday - 9 a.m.-5 p.m. WHERE: Center Court Sports Complex (formerly the Epicenter), 815 Northview Road, Waukesha. ADMISSION: Free. SCHEDULE: The following championship games will be played Sunday: Varsity - Court 3, 3 p.m.; 17 & under - Court 3, 4 p.m.; 16 & under - Court 4, 2 p.m.; 15 & under - Court 5, 3 p.m.; 14 & under - Court 1, 4 p.m.; 13 & under - Court 5, 11 a.m.; 12 & under - Court 4, 3 p.m.; 11 & under - Court 5, 1 p.m. - Bobbi Roquemore

Because the tournament falls during a dead period - an NCAA-mandated time frame in which contact between players and coaches is not allowed - the players aren't here to get noticed as in similar events.

They just want to play basketball.

"Kids play under that type of pressure all the time," Wisconsin AAU President Keith Noll said. "At this tournament, they don't have to impress anybody. They can just have fun."

The 50 teams participating in the Shootout range from the 11-and-under level through the varsity level. Pool play begins tonight and the championship games in each division will be played Sunday.

The enthusiasm for this event, in its second year, has been reflected in the interest shown by teams in Wisconsin and the Midwest. The tournament is at its maximum capacity. There were still teams on the waiting list this week, according to Noll.

Although many basketball tournaments in July are reserved for the best of the best players and squads, this is still a big deal for many teams.

Stay in the Game, a Milwaukee-area AAU club founded by Curtis Weathers, sent an older group of student-athletes to a major national tournament this week in Kansas and is having its 16-and-under contingent play in the Shootout this weekend.

Bently Turner, a Stay in the Game coach, said the Shootout was crucial to developing talent for the national tournaments, a dress rehearsal of sorts.

"This group of kids needs to play for the sake of playing," Turner said. "You're trying to build a team here, and the more we play, the better we'll get. At 16s, it's trying to get your guys together, getting them to feel good about being together and getting them to understand the way you want them to play. At 17s, that's where all the stuff pays off.

"It's also good to get them them used to playing in tournament basketball so when they are 17, then we can get them into the high-profile stuff."

Turner said Stay in the Game, which has an impressive list of former standouts such as NBA player Rodney Buford, Milwaukee Bucks Summer League player Mike Wilks and University of Wisconsin guard Freddie Owens, gets its teams ready for action as soon as the WIAA state tournament is completed.

The spring tournaments give Stay in the Game players a chance to measure themselves against other teams in the state. Once the summer arrives in June, the players, who range from 15 to 18 years old, begin to play in regional tournaments and in some cases, national tournaments, where the college coaches will be in the house.

"All of these local types of events are used to tune kids up for the national events," Turner said.