Basketball: Area teams pumped for holiday tournaments ranging from local to national

For most of the northeast Georgia area basketball teams, Tuesday marked the final night of region play in the 2015 calendar year, as they now scatter across the area, state, and the nation to play in annual holiday tournaments. 

And, as usual, there are some tremendous fields both inside and outside the area.

Locally, only White County this week will play host to a tournament with the Warrior Christmas Classic. The Warriors and Flowery Branch will highlight the two-day event at White County High School. Fannin County will hold the two-day Mountaintop Holiday Classic beginning on Monday.

It’s road trips for everyone else. 

While the East Hall boys head to Charleston, S.C., and the Lady Vikings head to Hollywood, Fla., for tournaments, none may be more intriguing than the Gainesville boys' trek to Fairdale, Ky., to take part in the King of the Bluegrass Tournament, which will begin on Saturday and then runs from Monday to Wednesday, with the finals set for 7:30 p.m. local time on Wednesday.

The 16-team field is invite-only and is star-studded with 12 Kentucky teams, including 11 of the state’s top 18 ranked teams, as well as a team from Miami -- featuring a 7-foot-1 center that has been offered by Kentucky -- an Illinois team featuring one of the top juniors in the country and a team from Brentwood, Tenn., which will be the Red Elephants opening round opponent.

“It’s going to be a very tough tournament, I’m sure,” Gainesville boys coach Benjie Wood said. “Every team should be good. We’re just going to go up there and try to compete.”

The Gainesville boys are off to a strong start at 6-0 overall and 5-0 in Region 8-AAAAA play. They had the week off until opening against Brentwood on Saturday. Wood said they have a chance to make some noise in the Bluegrass state.

“We always go into every game thinking we can win so we feel like we have a chance to win (the tournament) if we play to our abilities,” Wood said. “But we will see a lot of different styles, which is good, and we will need to play our best. It would be a huge accomplishment for us if we could win it but right now we’re just focused on that first game.

“Brentwood is fast, they shoot well, but they don’t have a dominant big man inside. I think it’s a good matchup for us.”

The two biggest local holiday tournaments of the season will be the annual Battle of the States Tournament in Hiwassee and Lanierland in Hall County. Both of those tournaments run from Dec. 28-30.

The Battle of the States features local boys and girls teams from Lumpkin County, Towns County, Union County, and White County as well as teams from Tennessee, North Carolina, and Alabama.

Lanierland, the longest running invitational high school tournament in the state, will enter its 56th year and features Hall County boys and girls teams from Chestatee, East Hall, Flowery Branch, Gainesville, Johnson, Lakeview Academy, North Hall, and West Hall.

Here is a list of all of the holiday tournaments and the local and area teams who be participating (boys and girls unless otherwise specified):

• Columbus Christmas Tournament, Columbus, Ga. (Dec. 18-19)
  • Dawson County
     
• King of the Bluegrass Tournament, Fairdale, Ky. (Dec. 19-23)
  • Gainesville boys
     
• Warrior Christmas Classic at White County High School (Dec. 18-19)
  • Flowery Branch, White County
     
• Charleston Christmas Classic in Charleston, S.C. (Dec. 21-22)
  • East Hall boys
     
• Mountaintop Holiday Classic in Blue Ridge (Dec 21-22.)
  • Fannin County 
     
• South Florida Holiday Shootout in Hollywood, Fla. (Dec. 21-22)
  • East Hall girls 
     
• Shaw Christmas Tournament in Columbus, Ga. (Dec. 21-23)
  • Chestatee girls
     
• War Eagle Classic at Woodward Academy in Atlanta (Dec. 21-22)
  • Buford
     
• Commerce Christmas Tournament (Dec. 28-30)
  • Banks County, Commerce, Stephens County
     
• George Walton Holiday Classic in Loganville (Dec. 28-30)
  • Dawson County, East Jackson
     
• Grayson Ram Classic in Grayson (Dec. 28-30)
  • Buford, Jefferson
     
• Apple Classic in Wahalla, S.C. (Dec. 28-30)
  • Jackson County
     
• Battle of the States in Hiawassee (Dec. 28-30)
  • Lumpkin County, Towns County, Union County, White County
     
• Lanierland at Johnson High and East Hall High (Dec. 28-30)
  • Chestatee, East Hall, Flowery Branch, Gainesville, Johnson, Lakeview Academy, North Hall, West Hall