Muggsy Bogues’ annual middle school tournament grows even bigger
Muggsy Bogues threw his annual one-day party for middle school basketball teams Saturday, and this time it was a statewide event.
The third annual Muggsy Bogues Invitational this year cast a wider net for participants, and the field of boys and girls squads features teams from as far away as the Greensboro area.
“It’s still growing, and that’s what we had hoped for when we started this,” said Bogues, who played for the Charlotte Hornets from 1988-97 and remains one of the Queen City’s most popular sports figures. “The whole idea of this event is to help the growth of middle school basketball.”
More than 40 teams participated in the tournament, played on four courts at the Carolina Courts in Indian Trail.
Bogues and the Muggsy Bogues Family Foundation launched the tournament in 2023, after the former standout point guard learned that the Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools did not sponsor a postseason tournament for middle school teams.
That ended this year with the first CMS middle school tournament. But CMS scheduled its event for Saturday. So the top three teams in each of the four CMS middle school leagues were busy with their own tournament Saturday, but a number of other CMS schools were represented.
Joining them were teams from private and charter schools, and schools from the rest of the Carolinas.
Tressel Lowcock, an eighth-grader at Holbrook Middle School in Gastonia, said he enjoyed the chance of playing against teams he hadn’t seen before.
“This is a lot of fun,” said Lowcock, whose team plays in a league with schools from Gaston, Lincoln and Cleveland counties. “I think it’s great to play against different schools. We can learn from this.”
His mother, Becky, said Bogues’ tournament is “a great idea — a great opportunity for the kids to play in a tournament and see new teams.”
The tournament provided a totally different opportunity for Robert Hollis and his team.
Hollis, a longtime high school coach in Mecklenburg and Gaston counties, took over the boys’ program this season at Crestdale Middle in Matthews. Crestdale had a strong team, Hollis said, but finished fourth in its division and didn’t qualify for the CMS tournament.
“For us, this was another chance,” he said. “It’s another chance for us to play together. And if we get a big lead, like we did in our first game today, it’s a chance for me to give the seventh-graders some playing time. We’ve always got to think about next season.”
Hollis had a suggestion for Bogues and his foundation.
“Now that he’s expanded the tournament, it would be nice to have the rest of the CMS teams back here too,” he said.
That’s exactly what Bogues has in mind.
“We expected to have all of the CMS teams here this year, but it didn’t work out,” he said. “For next year, I have an idea. I don’t want to give too much of it away, but I’d like to model it somewhat after the NBA’s ‘Cup’ event. I think we can turn this into something special.”
The Charlotte Hornets were big supporters of Bogues’ event Saturday, providing two game tickets for each participating player. The Hornets also plan to treat champion teams to a game in one of the executive suites at the Spectrum Center.
“We have tried to make this a really special event for the players, coaches and families,” said Shannon McKnight, executive director of the Muggsy Bogues Family Foundation. “When we learned that CMS was having their tournament today, we accelerated our effort to make the event grow. I think we’re even better now, with teams from a wider area.
“We’re excited about where the tournament is going.”
BRACKET FINALS
Boys’ Blue bracket: Holy Trinity Catholic 44, Kernersville Union Cross Academy 32
Boys’ Orange bracket: Jamestown The Pointe Academy 47, Charlotte Christian 33
Boys’ White bracket: North Stanly 46, Erwin Elite 44
Girls’ Orange bracket: Jamestown The Pointe Academy 52, Mallard Creek STEM 24
Girls’ Blue bracket: Lady Mambas 32, Mavericks 26
