Jenison Field House to hold Hoopfest

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Last March, more than 12,000 visitors flooded the East Lansing area to hoop around in Jenison Field House just as Spartan stars such as Earvin “Magic” Johnson and Gregory Kelser did years before.

This year, March Magic Hoopfest is back, and with the return of the Michigan High School Athletic Association, or MHSAA, girls’ state basketball tournament to Breslin Center, even more fans will be able to participate in the two-week event.

The event, organized by the Greater Lansing Sports Authority, is celebrating its second year of filling Jenison Field House with activities for those attending the MHSAA basketball tournaments, said Mike Price, manager for Greater Lansing Sports Authority.

“We put this event together because the MHSAA girls’ and boys’ basketball finals are a large economic impact for the community,” Price said. “We worked to make it not just the basketball final but a full-event weekend, where if you come down to East Lansing, you’re going to have fun at the basketball game, you go out to dinner, go shopping, come to Hoopfest, and you’re going to have a great weekend.”

Price said Hoopfest was held for the first time last year in conjunction with the MHSAA boys’ state basketball tournament. He added this year’s return of the girls’ tournament was, in part, due to the success of last year’s Hoopfest. As a result, Price said the event will be held both this weekend and next weekend.

Features of the event include basketball-related games and activities and a free basketball clinic for fourth through eighth-graders Saturday for a session with some of the most esteemed basketball coaches in the state, Price said.

Lansing resident and army retiree Carmichael Gully will work as a volunteer for the event this weekend and next, helping with midcourt preparation.

“The community involvement is the most important to ensure that the community knows that this is an event to have fun,” Gully said. “A lot of times in athletics, you get so bogged down with the winning and losing. This is based on nothing but fun.”

Gully said Jenison Field House was a great place to host the event.

“Anytime you can do something in this building, it magnifies the importance of it,” he said. “It allows the kids of today to experience a piece of history, to see where the players of old used to play.”

Attendees of the event also can visit the Hall of History, an exhibit showcasing championship games, photos and display boards about Spartans history.

Aaron Beach, a ninth-grader from New Lothrop, Mich., came to East Lansing on Thursday to watch his high school’s girls basketball team play and to check out Hoopfest. Beach said although his team lost, he was excited to be at MSU.

“This is really cool, it was convenient being right across the street (from Breslin Center),” he said.

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