John Wall brackets are set. What goes into planning a national basketball tournament?
Starting Dec. 26, basketball fans will flock to Broughton High School to get a glimpse of the future.
The John Wall Holiday Invitational has long established itself as one of the premier prep tournaments in the nation. For years, not only the best teams in the state, but some of the top programs in the country, have made their way to Raleigh to play for four days in front of capacity crowds.
The 2019 field is no different. In fact, it’s one of the deepest fields the tournament has seen in many years. Teams from as far as Arizona and Florida will participate this year and bring their nationally ranked players with them.
But how do teams get into the John Wall Holiday Invitational? Getting a field set - this year it’s 20 teams - is a year-round job led by a three-man team of tournament director Bill Sewell, John Wall Holiday Invitational board members Webb Wellman and Donnie Bui.
Wellman said the group takes a week off, but after that it’s right back to planning for the next tournament. In fact, when Wellman spoke to the N&O on Tuesday, he said they were already planning for the 2020 John Wall Holiday Invitational.
“Locally, we want the best teams as well as the best talent,” Wellman said. “Nationally, we are going after the best players that we know our audience would love to see.”
This season there are 16 local teams in the 20-team event. When it comes down to personnel on those rosters, naturally the group looks for players who are committed to or being heavily recruited by N.C. State, Duke and UNC.
The field this season checks all those boxes.
Montverde (FL) and Hillcrest Prep feature Day’Ron Sharpe and Puff Johnson, both 2020 commits to North Carolina. Moravian Prep features Josh Hall and Shakeel Moore, both N.C. State commits. Farmville Central is led by a 2021 N.C. State commit, Terquavion Smith. The Patrick School (NJ) power forward Jonathan Kuminga, the No. 1 player in the class of 2021, is a Duke target.
Finding players fans want to see
The reality in high school basketball is that top players often transfer, but sometimes it just works out. Kuminga transferred to the Patrick School late and they were able to make a spot in the John Wall for the team. Sharpe transferred to Montverde over the summer and the coach there, Kevin Boyle, wanted Sharpe to have a homecoming. So the former South Central (Winterville) big man will play in the John Wall for the second straight year.
One of the most important tools for the planning committee is listening to the fans. Wellman and Bui, who also created the Hoopstate Network, which features prep basketball across the state, want to know who fans would like to see play in the event.
Last year it was Cole Anthony and Oak Hill Academy. This year, it was Sierra Canyon (Cali.), which features Bronny James, son of LeBron James and Zaire Wade, son of Dwyane Wade. But those didn’t happen.
“We wanted them and it was too late,” Wellman said. “However, we’re already in conversation for next year and I am very confident we will see Sierra Canyon next year.”
But Wellman will always “crowdsource” to find out which players the fans really want to see. Once the teams are finalized, brackets are set for the tournament’s opening day. Sometimes certain out-of-state schools have rules where they have to play schools in a regulated high school association, like the NCHSAA, for example. For other schools, they play an opponent no matter what state they are from or league they are in. That’s when Wellman and the board looks for matchups.
“The puzzle is putting the teams and the schedule together in a way that we have story lines and intrigue every night,” Wellman said. “I know the fans here are going to love Millbrook, if they can win the first round, go against Montverde. ... That semifinal matchup will be huge.”
Ideally, the John Wall tournament organizers want no more than four national teams in the tournament.
“But sometimes local talent is so strong we can’t go after more national teams,” Wellman said. “This year North Carolina talent is absolutely ridiculous.”
The event has gotten to the point where it sells itself. Teams reach out to Wellman and Bui trying to get an invite and each year they have to turn teams away.
“We have teams reach out to us from other countries,” Wellman said. “They offer to pay to come play.”
John Wall Holiday Invitational Opening Round Pairings
TJ WARREN BRACKET
Leesville Road vs. Callaway (MS), 8:30 p.m., Dec. 26
Word of God vs. Holly Springs, 7 p.m., Dec. 26
Moravian Prep vs. Kinston, 3:45 p.m., Dec. 26
Combine Academy vs. Hillcrest Prep (AZ), 2 p.m., Dec. 27
DAVID WEST BRACKET
Durham Academy vs. Montverde (FL), 7 p.m., Dec. 27
Millbrook vs. Greenfield, 5:15 p.m., Dec. 26
Apex Friendship vs. The Patrick School (NC), Dec. 27
Broughton vs. Farmville Central, Dec. 26
KYRAN BOWMAN BRACKET
Heritage vs. The Burlington School, 12:30 p.m., Dec. 26
Garner vs. Grace Christian, 11 a.m., Dec. 26, Dec. 26
