Local talent on display

Updated: April 25, 2011 6:24AM

When planning a high school all-star basketball event that showcases some of the best boys talent in NWI, three weeks is more of a starting point.

But in the case of Saturday's Northwest Indiana All-Star Classic on the campus of Purdue University Calumet, that was the time frame event organizers had.

Following the first Indiana Basketball News All-Star games on April 10 of last year, the importance of having more all-star games at PUC became obvious. But, due to time constraints with his position as a public school teacher, IBN owner Reg Tisdale couldn't set up a second annual event. And as availability of time decreased, because of the upcoming start of AAU play, Terrence Wilburn decided to grab the reins.

"It became obvious that it needed to be done again," said Wilburn, who is director of Southlake Blue Chip Athletics, the sponsor of the tournament. "It's only been a three-week planning process, so it's been a lot of work for four or five guys."

Not only does Wilburn work for a non-for-profit organization, but he's also an assistant to Peregrines men's coach Dan Voudrie. Voudrie has taken over Tisdale's role of coordinating the rosters.

"It's one of those things, it continues to bring awareness to the high school athletes," Voudrie said. "It just creates awareness from the general sports fan in Northwest Indiana about the type of things we (PUC) do."

Although the host site remains the same, as do the college-style 20-minute halves, there are various changes from last year's games.

For starters, this is only a boys event. Last season there were separate boys and girls games. And no longer will it be a North vs. South setup, with players from around the state. The majority of the 44 players are from the region and will be playing in either the Future All-Stars game (with 12 players per team) at 6 p.m. or the Senior All-Stars match (with 10 players per team) in the nightcap.

With the modifications comes more attention to the who's who list of roster invitees.

Standouts like Bishop Noll's Ronnye Beamon Jr. and Lake Central's Glenn Robinson III are on the Futures squads, while Munster's Brian Stolarz and Merrillville's Brandon Clark are part of the talent in the Seniors game.

"This is a perfect opportunity to see all of our guys, headed to college and all of our guys headed to college real soon, all on the same court," Wilburn said.

"I think, as you see in the area, even though we have a lot of individual players that are getting good (Division I) offers, (the games) really will put Northwest Indiana back on the map."

Much like Blue Chip's endeavor with the Lake Shore Classic, which takes place at the Gary Genesis Center around Thanksgiving, Wilburn likes the positive atmosphere of the tournaments.

"I love this type of stuff, that's why I initiated the Lake Shore Classic," he said. "I think right now, basketball is a great vessel to grab the positive attention of our youth at this time."

Voudrie was happy to take on part of Wilburn's responsibilities because of the great recruiting opportunity.

"The obvious recruiting benefits for me, it made more sense to take a more active role," Voudrie said.

He said that one change for next year is to open nominations to area high school coaches and to try and put a ballot online. Tickets for Saturday's games are $8, children 12 and under are free.

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