With more games televised and everything live-streamed on the Internet, the 13th annual Paradise Jam Basketball Tournament, coming up the next two weeks on St. Thomas, will be seen by more people than ever, its organizers said at a press conference at Marriott Frenchman’s Reef on Wednesday.
St. Thomas has been the home of the Paradise Jam event since its inception in 2000, offering men’s and women’s college basketball teams a chance for early season competition.
"This year there will be nine games on television and three of the women’s games will be broadcast on the SNY network in New York," said Craig Jonas, chief operating officer of Basketball Travelers, the organizers of the annual college tournament. That’s up from four televised games last year.
"And we will be live-streaming all the games for free." Jonas said they expect at least 100,000 people to watch the tournament from all around the world.
Some teams are returning after playing in several Paradise Jam tournaments, and some big new teams will here for the first time.
"Finally, after 13 years, we have Wake Forest, which we are very excited about," said Nels Hawkinson, executive director of Basketball Travel said. "And we have the Connecticut men and women both coming back, which always brings quite a few people," he said.
Jonas said there were several pairs of men and women’s teams this year, including both the men and women of Wake Forest – the alma mater of hometown hero, Tim Duncan, who plays for the San Antonio Spurs.
The Paradise Jam event offers men’s and women’s college basketball teams a chance for early season competition in an exotic island setting. The tournaments take place Nov. 18-21 and Nov. 24-26 at the University of the Virgin Islands Sports and Fitness Center.
UConn, Purdue, Depaul, New Mexico, Wake Forest, George Mason and South Caroline headline the men’s field.
The women’s tournament features many of the same schools, with UConn, Purdue, Depaul, Wake Forest, Marist, Florida Gulf Coast University, Hampton and South Carolina.
Before the tournament starts, Jonas and other coaches from Paradise Jam will conduct a free basketball clinic on St. Croix, Nov. 12, for boys and girls ages 8 through 18. The clinic will be at the St. Croix Central High School gymnasium from 9:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m.
For more information about the tournament, visit www.paradisejam.com. Live-streaming will be available at http://www.ustream.tv/paradisejam or on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/ParadiseJam1.
