Small communities take Hoopfest’s success, create their own versions

Beer-drinking patrons nearly choked on their mugs when 6-foot-8 Tim Atwood came crashing through their bar’s window.

Atwood, a former Post Falls High and North Idaho College center, lunged for a loose ball at the inaugural Coeur d’Alene Shootout in 1992, the hustle play resulting in shattered glass at T.W. Fisher’s, a former downtown watering hole.

The tournament was the brainchild of Tom Fisher, the pub’s owner who looked to generate business years before the scenic lake town became a burgeoning locale.

He saw the swift success of a new 3-on-3 tournament played on the streets of downtown Spokane, so he spearheaded North Idaho’s variant of the event.

“I saw what Hoopfest did those first couple of years and thought, ‘Hey, we can do this here,’ ” Fisher said. “People love Coeur d’Alene. Spokane is big and is hard to get around, so this would be easier for people and help bring business to the community.”

The 25th edition of the Shootout concluded last Sunday on the campus of North Idaho College, a tournament that’s grown to attract an average of 250 teams a year.

Hoopfest, which owns the distinction as the world’s largest 3-on-3 tournament, has grown to more than 6,000 teams since its inception in 1990.

The golden standard for half-court street hoops, wannabes across the county have coveted Hoopfest’s formula, the highest concentration coming from the Pacific Northwest.

Makeside courts on downtown streets. Ample foot traffic for sponsoring businesses. Championship T-shirts. Sponsor-heavy backboards. With relatively low overhead, these have become familiar sights.

Ten tournaments within a two-hour drive of Hoopfest headquarters – the majority in rural, population-thin towns – have exhibited the most important similarity: longevity.

The Coeur d’Alene Shootout, Rockford’s Harvest Hoops, Kellogg’s Silver Hoops and Walla Walla’s Peach Basket Classic have all lasted more than 20 years.

Medical Lake’s Pick & Roll, Kettle Falls’ Slam Jam, Reardan’s Mule Days tournament and Rathdrum’s Main St. Hoops been around more than 15 years. The Bonners Ferry Swish and Pullman 3-on-3 Classic aren’t far behind.

Naturally, each event is scheduled around Hoopfest weekend, some dubbing themselves as primers for the big tournament.

Hoopfest director and former Gonzaga sharpshooter Matt Santangelo points to a basketball-centric region.

“Basketball is very prevalent in this area and has been for a long time,” Santangelo said. “It just goes to show you people want to play, and for a lot of people, (Hoopfest) isn’t enough. They want to keep playing.”

Like Hoopfest, the smaller tournaments are also powered by sponsors and armies of volunteers. When some 3-on-3 tournaments fizzle out, it’s because of a lack of both.

Doug Goldsmith, director of Harvest Hoops in Rockford, has seen lean years, but he notes that the community has always stepped up. The event turns 25 years old on Sept. 24.

“If someone said I’d still be doing this in 25 years, I’d tell them they were crazy,” said Goldsmith, who remembers reaching out to Hoopfest to learn their backboard patterns. “It’s been a great community event.”

For the first three years the tournament was called Harvest Hoopfest, but a strange phone call in 1995 swayed Goldsmith into its current name.

Goldsmith said a man from the East Coast claimed that the name Hoopfest was his company’s trademark and that he’d have to a fee to use it.

“The fee cost more than what we made doing the event,” Goldsmith said. “I thought someone was prank calling me.”

Silver Hoops in Kellogg had a record turnout this of 137 teams this year, according to Kellogg Chamber of Commerce director Colleen Rosson.

“It’s all about the glory of getting that championship T-shirt,” Rosson joked. “We have a really laid-back kind of tournament. We don’t get too serious and a lot people like that.”

Rathdrum Parks and Recreation coordinator Mickael Stevens, who helped bring major improvements to Main St. Hoops this summer, hadn’t heard of 3-on-3 tournaments until he’d moved to the Northwest.

“They are all over up here,” Stevens said. “They’re a big part of the community and there’s a lot of community support.”

Former Hoopfest director Rick Steltenpohl believes each tournament makes up the fabric of its community.

And everyone likes playing in the street.

“It definitely has a flavor to it,” said Steltenpohl, who now runs his own basketball event business, Eventuris. “You’re not supposed to play in streets, so it adds to the fun.”

Asphalt courts are often unforgiving and, depending on the court location, cock-eyed, under a bridge or hugging a dipping sidewalk.

“The beauty of street ball, there’s a certain toughness that comes with that,” Santangelo said. “You play within those surroundings and conditions.”

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Since the inception of Spokane Hoopfest in 1990, smaller 3-on-3 street basketball tournaments soon sprouted throughout the Northwest. These tournaments in Eastern Washington and North Idaho are still going strong.

Coeur d’Alene Shootout

Coeur d’Alene

Est. 1992

Teams: 225

Courts: 24

The Shootout runs in late August on the lakeside campus of North Idaho College. The junior college’s student-athletes and coaches help run the event, operated by the NIC Booster Club.

Silver Hoops

Kellogg, Idaho

Est. 1994

Teams: 137

Courts: 18

Played on the last weekend of July, Silver Hoops is the Silver Valley’s second-biggest event of the year behind its popular Blues Festival. It operates on the street near Teeters Field.

Peach Basket Classic

Walla Walla

Est. 1993

Teams: 231

Courts: 30

A major event in wine country, the Peach Basket Classic, operated by the local YMCA, is often played the first weekend of August on Main Street.

Harvest Hoops

Rockford

Est. 1992

Teams: 50

Courts: 10

Coinciding with the Southeast Spokane Fair, Harvest Hoops is played in late September on the town’s main drag. The Freeman High Booster Club runs the event, which is entering its 25th year.

ML Pick & Roll

Medical Lake

Est. 1999

Teams: 80

Courts: 8

Scheduled on the Saturday before Hoopfest, Pick & Roll is played on the street during the town’s Founders Fay Festival.

Kettle Falls Slam Jam

Kettle Falls, Washington

Est. 1999

Teams: 45

Courts: 7

The Stevens County town has just 1,600 residents, but its 3-on-3 tournament, played on the first weekend of July during Town and Country Days, is a community staple.

Main St. Hoops

Rathdrum

Est. 1999

Teams: 41

Courts: 8

Up until this year the tournament was played in various parking lots before moving to the Kootenai County town’s revamped Main Street. The event, played during Rathdrum Days in July, recently added a dunk and free-throw contest.

Mule Days 3 on 3

Reardan, Washington

Est. 1998

Teams: 40

Hoops: 6

Played in front of the Reardan Store downtown, this tournament runs in conjunction with Mule Days on the first weekend of June.

3-on-3 Hoops Classic

Pullman

Est. 2005

Teams: 32

Courts: 4

At Reaney Park during August’s National Lentil Festival, this tournament is geared solely for youth divisions, grades 3-8.

Bonners Ferry Swish

Bonners Ferry, Idaho

Est. 2008

Teams: 45

Courts: 14

This tournament generated more than 100 teams in its first year and has been popular the in most northern part of Idaho since. Played on the second weekend of July during Kootenai Rivers Days, Swish takes up Main Street in downtown Bonners Ferry.

Recently discontinued tournaments: Spokane Valley 3-on-3, Lewiston Heat in the Street