Young basketball players coming from across world to Akron this weekend for Dru Joyce Classic

AKRON, Ohio -- Thousands of young basketball players and their coaches, families and spectators will convene in Akron this weekend for the annual, three-day Dru Joyce Classic, formerly known as the King James Shooting Stars Classic.

The April 26-28 tournament will feature boys and girls teams, grades 2 through 11, competing in about 50 gyms across the city. The tournament expects between 25,000 to 40,000 people to be in town over the three days.

The tournament begins at 6:45 p.m. on Friday, and continues Saturday and Sunday at 8 a.m. The games are open to the public and passes cost $10 for Friday only, $15 for Championship Sunday or a $30 weekend pass. Tickets are available at the door and online at www.neobasketball.com.

Players are coming from as many as 20 states as well as other countries, including Belize and Canada, according to Dru Joyce II, the tournament’s founder.

Joyce was inspired to create the tournament after he coached the “Fab 5” team at St. Vincent-St. Mary High School basketball team that featured LeBron James.

After the Fab 5 graduated, Joyce went to his son’s first college game as he played for the University of Akron against the University of Cincinnati. Joyce scanned the roster and noticed Cincinnati’s team had only one Ohio player.

“At that time, in order for college coaches to go out and see players, they needed to go to a sanctioned event,” Joyce said. So he and his team obtained NCAA sanctioning and began the annual event in 2003.

It didn’t take long for the tournament – then dubbed the “King James Shooting Stars Classic” – to become a massive convocation of aspiring players.

“Because of the name and what we were doing, we were attracting the best players in the country to come here,” Joyce said. At its peak, about 600 teams competed in the tournament.

Brandon Knight, Tyreke Evans, Luke Kennard and Derrick Rose – all current NBA players – have competed in the Dru Joyce Classic.

“It provides exposure to players for Division I-III college coaches,” said Devin Joyce, who is in charge of off-court operations for the tournament. “For younger ages, it’s just about competing at a high level of competition and being able to visit the city of Akron.”

Over the past decade, the Dru Joyce Classic has brought between $3 million to $5 million to the Akron economy each year, according to the Akron/Summit Convention and Visitors Bureau.

The Sports Alliance of Greater Akron provided assistance in finding event venues and securing hotel rooms for athletes, coaches and staff visiting for the tournament.

Participation is down by about 60 teams compared to last year, partially due to the timing of Easter and schools’ spring breaks.

“Our goal is to get it to 500 teams again,” Joyce said. “I don’t ever want to 600 teams again. It was fun, but it was too much.”

Games will be held at the University of Akron, Akron schools, local recreation centers and church gyms.

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