Hoops heat up Havre’s streets
Chris Peterson Havre Daily News cpeterson@havredailynews.com
It might be scorching hot in Havre right now, with the temperature seemingly rising, day after day, but that’s not going to stop the youth of Havre from playing basketball this weekend. On Saturday, the city of Havre and the Havre Area Chamber of Commerce will once again play host to the annual Nothin’ But Net 3-on-3 youth basketball tournament. The annual outdoor tournament will be held in downtown Havre, on Fourth Avenue and Third Street, and it will feature several different age groups. The tournament will include both a high school boys and high school girls tournament. There will also be a tournament for both middle school boys and middle schools girls, as well as a co-ed tournament for kids in grades 4-6. Tournament organizer Dustin Kraske is excited about the anticipated turnout for the event, and he expects an exciting weekend of basketball. “It’s always kind of a neat thing,” Kraske said. “It is the middle of the summer, the weather is always good and the kids get to go out there and play some basketball. “It’s always fun to get out and play a little street ball,” he added. “The game is a little bit different from normal basketball. You sometimes get goofy bounces and the wind might blow a bit. It also sets up as more of a half-court game, which forces teams to play in a half-court set, and it just provides different challenges. I think it is going to be very exciting and I am really looking forward to it. I think the kids are going to have a lot of fun out there.”
The tournament will feature nine half-court baskets with games running simultaneously on all courts. The action will get under way at 9 a.m. with a roundrobin format in every age group, and that will last until about noon. After an hour lunch break, the single elimination tournaments will kick off around 1 p.m. The tournament is slated to wrap up sometime around 3 p.m. All games will be either 15 minutes long or will end if one team reaches 21 points. “It’s just a good chance for some kids to get out and have some fun,” Kraske said. “It gives them a fun opportunity to play basketball in the middle of the summer. Especially the young kids, it’s really great for them because it is one of the only opportunities they have to play basketball in the summer.” Each team is guaranteed three games. Teams are computer bracketed by male-female brackets by grade. Pool play will take place in the morning, which places the teams into their brackets within the grade divisions for single-elimination play, which starts at 1 p.m. The championship games in each age division are scheduled to begin around 2 p.m.
