SLAMFEST TURNS 10 YEARS OLD

The Slamfest is now a decade old -- and bigger and better than ever.

Cape Girardeau's popular outdoor basketball tournament is ready for its 10th edition Saturday and Sunday at Indian Park in Cape Girardeau, starting at 8 a.m. both days. Play is expected to last into the night Saturday, with the championship game scheduled for about 5 p.m. Sunday.

"This thing has just grown so much and gotten so much better over the years," said tournament creator and director Scott Porter. "This year we've got the most teams we've ever had, 18, and I've still got teams calling wanting to get in but I've had to turn them down.

"The first year we did it, I envisioned it would get this big. I was hoping it would and it has."

While the competition is always exceptional -- "we'll have some tremendous talent, like we always do," said Porter -- basketball is only a small part of what has made Slamfest so popular.

The benefit tournament, which raises money for the House of Prayer Educational Youth Domestic Center in Cape Girardeau, generally attracts a few thousand spectators to Indian Park.

"Last year we had over 3,000 people and this year I think we'll have even more," Porter said.

He said local choirs will be part of the entertainment for both days and refreshment booths will provide plenty to eat and drink.

"It's great basketball, but our main goal is to bring the community together in a Christian environment. We've never had a lick of trouble. People just come, play ball, watch the games and have a good time."

Porter said the tournament, which has been able to raise quite a bit of money over the years, would not be possible without the many sponsors who lend a helping hand.

This year's corporate sponsor is the Southeast Missourian newspaper which also paid to repave the main court at Indian Park last year but there are a host of other local sponsors.

"We're grateful to what all the sponsors do to help out with the tournament," said Porter. "It seems like we raise more and more money every year. The first year we raised maybe $3,000 and now we probably raise more than $15,000."

Porter credited his wife, LaKren, for not only coming up with the idea of Slamfest but also lending plenty of moral support to the tourney director.

"It was my wife's idea to begin with and she's been my inspiration beyond anybody else," he said. "When people see me going 100 miles an hour, she's the one that catches me when it's over."

As for the basketball, Porter said that the talent level should be as good as ever, with a host of past and present collegiate stars -- and perhaps even a couple of NBA players -- strutting their stuff.

The St. Louis Sixers are the defending champions and they've won the tournament five of the past six years, but Porter looks for them to have plenty of competition.

Porter looks for a team headed up by former Cape Central High School and University of Missouri star Ron Jones to be strong. That group will include some former Southeast Missouri State University players like Luther Bonds, Mike Crain and Tony McClellon.

Some of Southeast's more recent and current players always form a team, said Porter, while he's heard that a perennially strong Cairo (Ill.) squad might bring along current NBA players and Southern Illinois products Tyrone Nesby and Troy Hudson. Nesby is from Cairo while Hudson hails from Carbondale, Ill.

In addition to a perennially formidable entry from Charleston, Porter said there is another strong St. Louis squad coming and teams from Chicago and Atlanta are generally good.

"I look for it to be wide open," Porter said. "All the teams are going to be really, really good and I think a lot of teams can win it. There should be some great basketball."

Games last a maximum of 50 minutes (two 25-minute halves) and they end earlier if one team reaches 50 points (field goals are either two-pointers or three-pointers).

For the second year in a row, there will be no slam-dunk contest, although there will be a 3-point contest at about 4 p.m. Sunday.

"I encourage everybody to come out, whether they like basketball or not" said Porter. "I know they'll have a great time and won't be disappointed.