Curry tournament is a girls hoops haven

It started as a cozy eight-team tournament involving only local squads.

On Tuesday – three years after the first tip-off – the Ronald Curry/Boo Williams Christmas Classic will feature 40 girls basketball teams and five brackets. Teams from Texas, Maryland, North Carolina and Northern Virginia will participate along with most of Hampton Roads’ top squads. Among them are the top five teams in the latest South Hampton Roads’ rankings: Princess Anne, Salem, Cape Henry, King’s Fork and Lake Taylor.

Play begins at 3 p.m. Tuesday at the Boo Williams Sportsplex in Hampton.

“It’s just taken off,” said Williams, a longtime AAU coach who said about 75 college coaches showed up to watch last year.

The venue, opened in 2008, features multiple courts, so four games will be played simultaneously. The most competitive bracket features defending Group AAA state champion Princess Anne and fellow Eastern Region finalist Woodside. Princess Anne and Northern Virginia power Forest Park, both regulars in the state tournament, could meet in the second round.

Another bracket has Cape Henry, Lake Taylor and Salem.

“It’s great for girls basketball,” Williams said. “It’s a chance to showcase the kids, and we have built the brand. It’s almost like having a festival.”

The tournament highlights a week of holiday happenings in boys and girls basketball, both locally and throughout the state.

In boys basketball, the eight-team Marlins Mania tips off Monday at Bayside, while King’s Fork begins hosting a tournament Tuesday.

On Wednesday, Lake Taylor and Booker T. Washington are involved in the eight-team Ronald Curry Christmas Classic at Hampton University.

Some of the area’s top boys teams are headed out of town.

Nansemond River, ranked No. 2 in South Hampton Roads, and sixth-ranked Kellam travel to Laurel High School in Maryland for the Spartan Holiday Classic on Wednesday. No. 7 Green Run plays in a Chantilly tournament Tuesday.

With pleasant temperatures in the forecast, it figures to be a successful week.

“Snow,” Williams said. “That’s the only problem with holding Christmas tournaments.”

Jami Frankenberry, (757) 446-2376, jami.frankenberry@pilotonline.com