Hoops 4 Hope Hosting Inaugural 3-v-3 Tournament In East Hampton

Hoops 4 Hope is looking to expand community engagement in the place where it all started with an inaugural 3-on-3 basketball tournament at East Hampton High School on August 20.

The tournament will not only assist in the nonprofit’s mission of offering local schooling and athletic programs in underserved communities in Cape Town, South Africa, and Harare, Zimbabwe, but will help create a platform that will eventually benefit East Hampton students.

“We’re so excited to host the first-ever East End 3’s 3-on-3 tournament for Hoops 4 Hope,” Executive Director Anthony Allison said. “A lot of people think we’re only about basketball, but we’re so much more than that. Hoops 4 Hope provides young people in South Africa, Zimbabwe and locally with the fundamentals and opportunities necessary to be happy, healthy and safe not only physically, but emotionally. The goal of this event is to bring awareness to the organization, have fun and play basketball, but most importantly, help kids while doing so.”

The Saturday tournament at 2 Long Lane in East Hampton will start at 8 a.m. Each team must have a minimum of three players. The maximum is five. There will be men’s and women’s divisions, and brackets for children 13 to 17 years old and adults 18 and up. The cost to register is $300 per team, but spectators can enjoy the competition and live music for free. There will also be a silent auction. Grand prizes will be awarded to the winning team in each bracket, including four tickets to a New York Knicks game, dinner at a Hamptons restaurant and more.

“When Anthony reached out and proposed the idea, I was excited to bring this to East Hampton,” Superintendent of Schools Adam Fine said. “[Athletic Director Kathy] Masterson then spoke with him and worked out the final details. Basketball is woven into the fabric of our school and community. It has a rich history here in East Hampton.”

For Allison, who grew up in Amagansett with Hoops 4 Hope founder and former Executive Director Mark Crandall, taking this tournament home is special. The East Hampton alumnus played basketball for New York State Hall of Fame head coach Ed Petrie, who capped his career with 754 wins and for whom the high school’s basketball court is named for, and was on the first Bonackers team to take home the state title in 1977. East Hampton also won the state championship in 1989.

“Basketball has been a big part of my life, and coach Petrie had a big influence on my life and was a great supporter of Hoops 4 Hope,” Allison said. “We want to bring Hoops 4 Hope to more and more kids in the community, and hosting this event on the 45th anniversary of that state championship-win and on that court … we’re just really psyched to do it.”

Allison, along with Crandall, went to South Africa prior to the nonprofit forming in 1995. When the pair ran into each other, Crandall disclosed his idea for Hoops 4 Hope, and Allison worked in support of the mission from 1995 to 2000, when he left for a job in Connecticut. Allison moved back to Amagansett during the COVID-19 pandemic, and while he’d been an advocate of the organization over the years, he really began rolling up his sleeves and assisting during this time. He took over as executive director in December 2021.

Allison said his visit to South Africa for the first time in nearly two decades back in February and March of this year was eye-opening.

“They had no formal schooling for two years during the pandemic,” he said. “In Zimbabwe, the kids were just going back to school and just start programming with us. When I witnessed our coaches and mentors working with 60 to 100 kids, I was absolutely blown away by how talented they are. I was so taken aback by how great these men and women are and I’m so proud of those who have been with us for so many years. They were outstanding working with those kids, and it gave me that extra push to want to do as much as I possibly can to help this organization continue to provide what it does for the kids over there and hopefully the kids here in East Hampton, as well.”

Allison said seeing what nonprofits like Project Most and i-tri girls, and local lifeguard organizations have done also inspired him to reach out to Masterson and begin the planning stages of the tournament.

“We admire all of these organizations for their great events, and we wanted to be a part of another opportunity to bring the community together,” Allison said. “So much of what you do on a basketball court does translate to life experiences and challenges and successes and how we manage those not just as an individual, but as a group. I think kids should always have an opportunity to play a sport — all the time — whether they’re the best player on the team or not. And boys and girls should have that opportunity all the time. In Zimbabwe and South Africa, they do not. But we also want to provide that here in East Hampton, too.”

He’s hoping funds raised can help middle schoolers play more together, possibly working in a program combining Amagansett and Springs School kids in the future, and even fostering a relationship with the local YMCA.

“In East Hampton, when there’s kids coming in from feeder districts, sometimes they feel a little separated. But Anthony brings us all together with one voice,” Masterson said. “He’s an incredible, incredible man, and you can tell by talking to him that his heart is genuine. He really cares about not only what’s going on in South Africa, but in the East Hampton community.”

And hearing his message, she knew it was something she could immediately get behind.

“It takes us out of our little bubble,” Masterson said. “Sometimes, I think we get caught up in our own little world and don’t realize what the rest of the world is going through. He does an amazing job and gives back so much. It’s a great opportunity for our kids to get involved and to really build this program up.”

Allison said that at the end of the day, he hopes those competing and students across the district, whether interested in basketball or not, realize they’re a part of something much bigger than themselves.

“Basketball is, for us, a teaching tool. I want everyone to play the game and understand it and be a better basketball player, but ultimately the goal within Hoops 4 Hope is the translation of what you do on the court to off the court — helping students reflect on and improve life skills,” Allison said. “Being part of a team is an incredible opportunity to put forward your best effort, best thinking, your biggest passions and your best skillset to help that team be successful. Then, you do that whether it’s on the basketball court, in your home, in your community, in your school or further on in life. Through our program, you can become not only a better basketball player, but a better person. We believe in the spirit of sport and the power of sport.”

To register a team for the 3-on-3 tournament, visit www.hoops4hope.org/east-end-3s.