by Matt Wright
Lakeland Prep basketball coach, Tyler Boyd, announced the school will be putting on the first annual Lakeland Prep Basketball Classic this month. The Classic will include games for both the Lions girls and boys teams. Schools committed to playing in the classic include Collierville, St. George’s, ECS, Dexter Middle, Arlington, and Lakeland Prep. The girls games will be held on Friday night, December 10th and the boys games will be Saturday, December 11th.
Local clubs are also expected to support the Classic. The Sixth Man Club (basketball booster club) will be operating a full concession stand during the tournament and the PTO (Parent Teacher Organization) will have holiday photo booths set up for fans. They will also be giving out mini cupcakes from Frost bake shop.
As exciting as it is to play the games, Coach Boyd said it’s more than just basketball for Lakeland. “We are very proud of what is being built here, and we will have the perfect set up on campus to host big events like this and to put Lakeland Prep basketball on the map,” Coach Boyd said. Coach Boyd pointed out that Memphis area basketball is highly regarded around the country as far as talent and support. His goal is to have Lakeland Prep as one of those programs that people associate Memphis basketball with.
Coach Boyd said, “Not many people know this but December is a big recruiting period for college coaches.” He added, “Conference play usually ramps up after Christmas, and many coaches use this early part of the season to travel and watch high school recruits play. How awesome would it be to have our event as a top event college coaches attend yearly to evaluate players?”
Coach Boyd also wants the classic to be a life lesson for Prep players. “We use sports to teach our players important life lessons like responsibility and how to work hard. Putting on an event like this and giving the players responsibilities such as keeping the clock, helping run the concession stand, or sweeping the gym allows our guys to take ownership of their roles. It builds team unity and gives our guys something they can be proud of.”
With the 2,000 seat capacity high school gym opening next school year, it will allow multiple games to be played at one time between the high school gym and middle school which will be connected by a hallway. That’s a feature few schools have (multiple gyms on one campus). Those additional facilities should allow Prep Basketball to dream big and expand the tournament over the coming years. “We hope to expand the Lakeland Prep Classic and host one of the biggest yearly basketball events in this area,” Coach Boyd said. “I hope that will attract a lot of the big name basketball programs in Memphis as well as out of state.”
The full schedule for the Lakeland Prep Classic can be found below.
