Jon Greenberg Photo
Bridgeport Mayor Joe Ganim dunking over Waters. Ganim, who’s running for governor, joked that he will tell his kids about this when Waters makes it to the NBA.
New Haven kids will have the opportunity to practice and play alongside a rising basketball star this weekend.
Tremont Waters of New Haven, the top-ranked high school basketball player in the state last season, joined Mayor Toni Harp, Bridgeport Mayor Joe Ganim, City Youth Services Department Director Jason Bartlett, and officials from Hartford and Waterbury on the steps of City Hall Tuesday to introduce the Connecticut Big 3 Ball Out Tournament, a recreational basketball competition for young people from across the state.
Kids of all ages from New Haven, Bridgeport, Hartford and Waterbury will compete in teams of three in the tournament this weekend. The stretch of Church Street in front of City Hall will be closed off, hoops and equipment wheeled in, and transformed into 16 basketball courts. This is the fourth consecutive year the competition, which was called the Hoop It Up Tournament in past years, will take place.
In a new twist, Waters and his family will have one court for themselves, where they will teach kids basketball skills between games.
“I wish I had something like this when I was younger,” Waters said. “I know it’s going to be a great event, so let’s have a great day.”
Bartlett announced Monday that the opening day of the tournament will be proclaimed Tremont Waters Day in New Haven and that the city has ordered basketballs with Waters’ face on them for the tournament. Waters said these honors are definitely “something new” for him.
Tremont Waters flanked by Mayor Harp and Jason Bartlett at Tuesday’s presser.
Waters, who was the number-38th ranked high school basketball prospect in the country and the Gatorade Boys Basketball Player of the Year in 2017, graduated from Notre Dame High School in West Haven this spring. He will play point guard at Louisiana State University in the fall on a full scholarship.
The Harp administration created the tournament four years ago to counter violence among young people.
“Hoop It Up, since its inception, has meant friendly competition among young people of all ages,” Harp said.
Bartlett said teams can register up to Saturday, the day the tournament starts. He added that he expects well over 700 young people from the four cities to participate this year. For more information on the tournament, call 203 – 946-7585 or 203 – 946-7173.