Ruston Showcase

The Ruston Lincoln Convention and Visitors Bureau is hosting a basketball tournament on April 25-27. The Showcase is an AAU style tournament that will feature over 20 basketball teams.

RUSTON, LA — The Ruston Showcase presented by Community Trust Bank, the newest premier basketball recruiting event in the country, will be in Ruston on April 25-27, 2008. The tournament will feature some of the most outstanding amateur athletic talents on a national and international level.

The tournament will include teams in the 17-Under division with games being played at the Thomas Assembly Center and Lambright Center, located on the Louisiana Tech University campus.

Pool play will begin on Friday evening at 4:30 p.m. in the Lambright Center with four games scheduled. On Saturday morning pool play will continue at 9 a.m. with games at the Lambright Center and the Thomas Assembly Center. The last pool play games are scheduled for 3 p.m. in both locations.

At 5 p.m. on Saturday, bracket play will begin at the Thomas Assembly Center with two games scheduled. Bracket play will continue on Sunday morning in the Thomas Assembly Center beginning at 8:30 a.m. and concluding with the championship game scheduled to tip off at 3 p.m.

Admission to the games is $5 per day. Advance tickets are not available, but may be purchased at either location on game day. On Saturday, the one time admission charge gains admission to both facilities.

Teams in the field include two teams representing Grassroots Canada, coached by Ro Russell; two teams representing the Arizona Celtics, coached by Tommy Hambicki, two teams from Los Angeles and several local teams including the Ruston Red Storm.

An estimated 100 college coaches are scheduled to attend the event, to be held at four different locations. Games will be held at Ruston High School, the Lambright Intramural Center and Memorial Gym at Louisiana Tech, and the championship game will be played on Karl Malone Court inside the Thomas Assembly Center.

Head Coach Ro Russell is scheduled to bring his team, Grassroots Canada, and the Arizona Celtics are also scheduled to attend. Head Coach Kevin Gibson, from Doresy High School in Los Angeles, CA will also bring a team. Several teams from Louisiana and Texas will participate as well. Tip-off is set for 6:00 p.m. on Friday with the tournament ending by 5:00 p.m. on Sunday. ESPN 97.7 will cover the event, tune in from 3 p.m. to 6 p.m. all week for more details.