Basketball Tournament

CALLING ALL ALUMNI! COME PLAY ON DEC. 29TH!

The 25th annual Alumknights 3-on-3 Basketball Tournament will be held on Saturday, Dec. 29, at the Carley Center at Bishop Kelly High. Registration begins at 8 a.m. and games start around 9 a.m. Cost is just $10 per player. BK alums, men and women, are encouraged to form their own teams or just show up solo and join a squad for the event, which is a fun-raiser conducted by the Bishop Kelly Alumni Association. Free t-shirts will be offered to those paying a fee to play in the tournament (so are they free?).

As part of this year’s event, the “Alumknight BK2K” Trophy will be given to the best team of the new millennium (2000 through 2012). The winning team will have its class year engraved on the travelling trophy and keep it in its possession until next year’s tournament.

Established in 1988, the Alumknights 3-on-3 tourney attracts dozens of players back to the BK campus every year. For additional information contact info@alumknights.org or call tournament director Dave Bruce at 866-1244.

HISTORY

Since 1988, on the Saturday following Christmas, up to one hundred alums gather at the BK gym for the alumni basketball tournament. Many players exhibit well-preserved jump shots, while others end up needing ice pack relief on strained muscles. For most participants, it’s been a holiday-time tradition of getting together with old teammates to play some round ball, testing themselves against recent graduates or the older set.

Sure, most love to come out on the winning end and advance to the final round, but it is also a fun setting to see old friends who share the common BK bond. It’s also a place where the passage of time is evident, with the span of twenty-some years between players.

Every year the popular tournament is run by Billy Fritz ’69, who manages to organize the entire tournament during the thirty minutes players spend checking in and warming up. After years of teaching and coaching kids of all ages, Bill handles the task with a great deal ease, clear through the final round of play. Since its inception the tournament has followed a 3 on 3 format, with games going 10 minutes or the first team to score ten baskets winning.

Most teams are organized by class. If someone does not have classmates to play with, years are combined. On occasion a family of brothers and sisters will gather a team and compete.

WINNERS & HIGHLIGHTS

1st Annual, 1988: Class of ’79, Peter Andrijeski, Tim Brady, John Brunelle, and Chris Carley.

Second place, Class of ’82, Mike Eisenbeiss, Chris Schaffeld, and Shawn Irvine.

And who are these lovely ladies?

2nd Annual, 1989: Tim Brady ’79, Nick Brady ’81, and Mark Troy ’81.

3rd Annual, 1990: Class of ’79, Tim Brady, John Brunelle, Chris Carley, Tim Donahue and Dave Reynolds. Second Place, Class of ’81, Mark Andrijeski, Nick Brady, Paul Fritz, and Mark Troy.

4th Annual, 1991: Class of ’81, Mark Andrijeski, Nick Brady, Paul Fritz, and Mark Troy. Second Place, Class of ’78, Mike Shalz, Bill Johnson, Larry Richter, Jim Ford, and Andy Brunelle.

5th Annual, 1992: Class of ’92, Dave Wolter, J.P. Brady, Joe Clayton and Mark Little. Second Place, Class of 1986, Erik Helgeson, Terry Heffner, Troy Little, Steve Clayton.

6th Annual, 1993: The “Killer Bees,” Mike Burke ‘83, Steve Bruce ‘68, Dave Bruce ‘75, Nick Brunelle ‘75, John Brunelle ‘79 and Tim Brady ‘79.

7th Annual, 1994: Joseph Fritz benefit; raised over $8,000 for Joseph Fritz (son of Bill Fritz ’69 and Joann Brady ’72) suffering from leukemia.

8th Annual, 1995 Brett Bibeau benefit; raised $5,000 for Brett Bibeau (’93). Class of ’86, Erik Helgeson, Terry Heffner, Troy Little, George Wolter, Bryan Mooney. Second Place, Class of 1972.

9th Annual, 1996: Class of ‘78, Mike Shalz, Jim Ford, Bill Johnson, Andy Brunelle, Tim Brady ’79, Tim Brennan ‘77. Second Place, Class of ‘93.

10th Annual, 1997: Class of ’72, John Fritz, Mark Gordon, Tom Smith, Brett Job ‘85.

11th Annual, 1998: The Fritz Family, Bill ‘69, John ‘72, Carl ‘78, Ruth ‘80 and Paul ‘81.

12th Annual, 1999: Class of ’93, Mike Hagman, Kevin McCarthy, Matt Price. Second Place, Class of ’95, Jon Hild, Matt Hellhake, Tim Heffner, Mike Sautebin.

13th Annual, 2000: Good fun and healthy competition were the rule of the day at the 13th annual Bishop Kelly Alumni Association basketball tournament. The event was held Dec. 30, in the new Carley Center on the BK campus and attracted nearly 100 participants.

“This has become a holiday tradition for the alums,” commented tournament director Bill Fritz (’69). “We even have fathers playing against their sons, both being BK graduates. The focus is on fun and socializing, but the games are definitely intense.”

Members of the championship squad were Tim Brady (79), Andy Brunelle (78), John Brunelle (79), Chris Jones (78) and Mike Shalz (78). The second place team included Steve Bruce (’68), Dennis McCarthy (97) and Kevin McCarthy (93). The score in the final game was 10-7. The new gymnasium, named for BK supporters John and Joan Carley, allowed six games to occur at the same time. A round-robin preliminary led to a single elimination tournament. With a three-on-three format, each team played eight to 10 games.

“The interesting thing this year was the younger teams faded as the day went on, and the older players shot better and better,” said Fritz. “Early in the day the younger fellows were making the older guys look pretty slow, but in the end some guys with gray hair got hot no one could beat them.” Fritz’s comments bring to mind the saying that old age and treachery will overcome youth and skill.

Faces in the crowd included Deputy Secretary of State Ben Ysursa (67) watching son Andrew (00), and retired Idaho Power CEO Jim Bruce along with grandson Danny Bruce (97) watching Danny’s father do battle on the runner-up team. “When Danny (who currently plays on the Albertson College basketball team) and Abe Jackson (BSU star forward) start playing in the tournament it will get very interesting,” commented Fritz.

Fritz added that Jim Potter (91), who plays professionally in Belgium, will play in future tournaments. “We may need to bring Cory Violette (00) back from Gonzaga to guard him,” said Fritz. “We also might have to split this tournament into different divisions — seriously good players in one, and 90 guys in the other.”

Class of '72, John Fritz battles off two of the youngsters

Class of '83, Jim Pape, Chuck Tacke and Tim Callanan, triple team an old timer from '69

Mike Russell Class of '82, and Mike Burke 1983 catch their breath

John Brunelle 1979 and Kevin McCarthy 1993 share a laugh

14th Annual, 2001: Men’s championship team of Dave Bruce ’75, Steve Bruce ’68, Bob Bruce ’70, Dan Bruce ’97, John Brady ’75 and Mike Burke ’83 defeated the (defending champions) team of John Brunelle ’79, Andy Brunelle ’78, Dave Balbas ’76, Tim Brady ’79 and Chris Jones ’78. Women’s division champions were Tiffany Holtz, Laura Skinner, Sami Jo Fritz and Meghann Kirk.