SLAMFEST HOOPS UP ITS 7TH TOURNAMENT

Scott Porter has some words of advice for area basketball fans.

"If people want to see some tremendous talent, they should definitely be at Indian Park this weekend," he said.

That's when the seventh annual Slamfest, a two-day outdoor, full-court basketball tournament, will be held at Indian Park in Cape Girardeau. Action will take place Saturday and Sunday.

Porter, the tournament director, said the Slamfest -- which raises money for the House of Prayer Educational Youth Domestic Center in Cape Girardeau -- simply keeps getting bigger and better every year.

"It's gotten really big. It's huge now. I don't even know how people hear about it, but I've gotten calls from all over the place, from Chicago, Memphis, North Carolina, St. Louis, Southern Illinois, the Bootheel," said Porter, who also serves as youth pastor at the House of Prayer. "In the past we've had maybe 10 teams, 12 at the most, because of the time factor with it being an outdoor tournament.

"But we've gotten so many inquiries from teams wanting to play, I'm thinking about having 15 teams this year. But we really can't have any more than 15. With that number, I'm still trying to figure out how to get all the games in."

Added Porter, "Every year the talent level gets higher and higher and this should definitely be the best. We're at the level now where just about everybody who plays in this tournament has played college ball and some have played professionally."

In addition to the games, which Porter said will probably start as early as 7 a.m. Saturday and again early Sunday leading up to the finals at about 5 p.m., there are plenty of other attractions, including a slam-dunk contest at 3 p.m. Sunday.

Also, there will be vendors selling plenty of food and beverages both days while various church choirs and church youth groups will perform Sunday.

"It's going to be a great weekend," Porter said. "We're looking at about 160 players, plus a couple of thousand people. They come from all over just to be a part of something positive like this."

As for the basketball, Porter said The Sixers from St. Louis have won the past three championships but might be hard pressed to make it four in a row.

"They're a really exceptional team. They have a sponsor and those guys play all over the country during the summer," said Porter. "But there is going to be a lot more competition this year to defend their title. I don't know if they can win it again."

Porter said there will be two teams from Cape Girardeau, one featuring the likes of former Central High and Missouri star Ron Jones, Mike Colon, Tony McClellan and others, and one featuring some of Southeast Missouri State University's players.

Charleston will bring a strong squad, said Porter, with former Missouri standout Ricky Frazier leading a group of talented players that will also include Corey Frazier, who played at St. Louis University, and Lamont Frazier, who played at Missouri.

Porter said a squad from Southern Illinois will include ex-Southeast stars Ray Pugh and Earnest Taylor and is also supposed to have the services of NBA player Ronnie Henderson.