Gulfport Holiday Classic expanding reach

High School basketball on the Gulf Coast and the holiday season have always been two things that just go together and this year is no different as the Gulfport Holiday Classic hits 40 years. But some eye-popping changes in store for this year’s milestone tournament.

Gulfport Athletic Director Matt Walters hosted a press conference at Bert Jenkins Gymnasium, alongside senior guard Amir Abdul-Rauf, son of former NBA star Mahmoud Abdul-Rauf, who played in this same event when he was an Admiral.

In years past, the event has featured mostly local teams, but this year, Gulfport will be the only school from the Southern six counties.

Going forward, the holiday classic will feature three other teams from the Magnolia State, this year, those being Raymond, Terry, and Olive Branch.

The other four spots going to some of the top teams from out-of-state, this year, those being Zachary out of Louisiana, Marion out of Arkansas, Princeton out of Ohio, and Windermere Prep out of Florida.

Walter says he’s modeling this new format after the Tournament of Champions held every year in Springfield, Missouri as a means of showcasing more future college and NBA talent right here in Gulfport.

Abdul-Rauf says he’s talked about the glory days with pops and what it takes to compete on this kind of stage. “Be humble and hungry. Don’t be complacent. It’s a dog-eat-dog world, so do everything like it’s your last time. Don’t take no plays off. Play 100 percent, 101 percent every time, so just never take it for granted”

Walters said, “There’s a lot of different theories in putting tournaments together. Some people put them together to win it every year. Some people put them together to maybe have a little competition. Now my basketball coach might not like it a whole lot, but he’s a true competitor, so he’s going to want to go fight through it. But the pride is that we’re going to go compete against the best, and we’re not going to be scared by anybody, and that may mean taking some lumps on December 28th, 29th and 30th, but it’s going to pay off in the end.”

Walters says the goal is to sell at least a thousand tickets per night in 2023 and eventually outgrow the tournament to a bigger venue.

Gulfport has won its holiday classic 15 times, most recently in 2012.