With the prep seasons coming to a close, the arrival of a litany of summer basketball tournaments are about to begin. The first one hits Norman today, the Sooner Cager Classic. The three-day AAU event is bringing teams from around the Midwest to the city for a weekend of highly competitive basketball.

The Cager Classic is an annual tournament that is held in several spots across the country every year, including Pittsburgh, Atlanta, Dallas and Mississippi. This is the first time the tournament has visited the Sooner state.

“This is our inaugural year to host it,” said Gary Vick, co-coach of Athletes First. “We have played in this in other places throughout the country. This is an idea I brought to (Oklahoma coach Jeff) Capel and he said ‘Let’s do it.’”

All games are scheduled to be played at Lloyd Noble Center, Norman High and Norman North. Games start tonight at 6:30 p.m. The championship games are set for Sunday at Lloyd Noble Center.

It’s the chance of a lifetime to play on the same hardwood as the Sooners that attracts many players to tournaments like this.

While Division I coaches are not allowed to attend the tournaments, magazines and websites such as Rivals.com, which rank high school athletes, will be on hand, according to Vick.

“The impact of the event is a great recruiting tool for OU,” Vick said. “It puts the top players from others states on campus. It’s a big boost for the program.”

Over 50 teams from Kansas, Arkansas, Missouri, Texas and Oklahoma will compete in the tournament, which is separated into 15-under, 16-under and 17-under divisions. Each division is split into three pools, with the top team from each pool advancing.

Oklahoma’s own Athletes First will be competing in the 17-under bracket. The team features several of the state’s best players like Bishop McGuinness’ Daniel Orton and Putnam City’s Xavier Henry. Norman High’s Kyle Hardrick and Terrance Boyd are also on the team.

Athletes First will need to be stacked because many of the other teams will also have highly ranked high school players. Squads such as the St. Louis Eagles and Arkansas Wings have a reputation for putting together talented teams.

Michael Kinney

366-3537

mkinney@normantranscript.com