AAU Memorial Day Classic: The Competition Heats up in the Sunshine State

2017-05-30


The AAU Memorial Day Classic marks the beginning of our summer basketball season.

ORLANDO, Fla (May 30, 2017) - As the holiday weekend comes to a close, so does another unforgettable AAU Memorial Day Classic. Over the past weekend, 378 basketball teams from across the country came to Central Florida to compete in this annual tournament.  


 Teams look forward to this event all year to begin AAU’s summer basketball season as well as the competition that comes along with it.

Eric Starks, Head Coach of the 10th grade boys champion EYSF Panthers, said after the tournament, “To play in a Disney Tournament, to us, is one of the biggest things of the year. We really love coming out here. The atmosphere is great, our kids really enjoy it. To win a Disney Tournament to us is a really big deal.”

One of Starks’ players, Jariel Pagan also added, “I love AAU because every weekend it brings the best of the best tournaments and the best of the best players. You never know what you’re going to get. You have to come into every game thinking it’s going to be a battle. My team loves to battle and that’s why we love AAU. Because we know it’s going to be a battle.”

Being minutes from Disney and many of Central Florida’s other attractions also adds more excitement around the tournament. Eric Watson, coach of the champion girls Georgia Pistols said, “We wanted to take a vacation. They (the players) have been playing a real tough schedule the whole first half of it and we just wanted to end it with a bang. Orlando was a great place to pick. We absolutely love this tournament, we got treated well the whole time. AAU has been great for us!”

At AAU, we couldn’t think of a better way to kick off our summer basketball season than with the Memorial Day Classic. The energy and passion that it brings so close to our headquarters in Lake Buena Vista is unmatched.

For results from the Memorial Day Classic click here for boys and here for girls.

For more coverage about upcoming basketball tournaments and all other sports be sure to follow us on Twitter @AAU_Basketball and our main page @TheRealAAU, Instagram @AAUBasketball @AAUSports, and AAU Basketball and AAU main pageFacebook accounts.