After almost a decade competing in Hoopla with a group of friends, Bryan Steed likes his team’s odds this year.
When Salem’s 3×3 basketball tournament returns this week, Steed and his friends will be in the 40 and older division, freeing them from competing with younger guys fresh out of high school and in peak shape.
His team is “Three Jugs and a Pint,” so named because they have “three big guys and one little guy.” But Steed, a longtime coach in the area, is also looking forward to coaching his 9-year-old son’s team and seeing people he’s played with, against or coached over the years.
“It’s probably the coolest place to go down to because basketball’s kind of been my entire life,” he said. “It’s like one big giant family of people.”
That family atmosphere is what tournament organizer Jason Unruh said is special about Hoopla, which is now in its 24th year. He said he’s most touched by stories of people who plan family vacations, reunions with friends or other special events around the tournament.
“These are things I don’t even organize or control — just the longstanding traditions,” Unruh said.
The 3×3 basketball tournament draws over 1,000 teams from across the region, shutting down streets around the Oregon Capitol as players take to the streets.
This year, the event is moving to the south side of the Capitol due to ongoing seismic renovations.
The bulk of the tournament takes place Saturday and Sunday, but a number of special events begin Tuesday, July 25.
That includes a new 1×1 tournament on Thursday, July 27, at 5:30 p.m.
Wednesday, July 26, hosts an invitational 2×2 tournament
“It’s nice because it’s people that either played locally or good players that we know personally. It’s really a good opportunity for us … to put on a show and represent Hoopla,” Unruh said.
Playing in the women’s division this year is Deven Hunter, who grew up in Keizer and played in Hoopla annually for years before playing basketball at Oregon State University.
Hunter is now an assistant coach for the Beavers women’s team and said she’s eager to return to Hoopla.
“It just brings people to Salem which is cool to see. They do a good job of keeping the atmosphere going,” she said.
Jarrod Sumpter is traveling to Salem from Denver, Colorado to play with a Hoopla team that’s been together since 2008, including his brother, a high school buddy and a college friend.
Sumpter grew up in Lyons, with much of his family in Sublimity. His uncle sponsors the team, and the event has grown into a family reunion.
“What started off as something small in him — just hosting the team and welcoming his home to us to sleep in over the tournament — has turned into a giant BBQ on Saturday after the games and then pizza on Sunday after those games. At these events most of my entire family makes it out in support,” Sumpter said in an email.
How to participate
A schedule for the tournament is on the Hoopla website.
The week includes a number of special events, including a free kids’ clinic Friday, July 28, from 10 a.m. to noon.
On Thursday, July 27, there’s a Unified Basketball Clinic bringing together high school players with and without disabilities for the third year in a row.
Preliminary contests in free throw and three-point shots take place Saturday at the YMCA, 685 Court St. N.E., with finals on Sunday, July 30.
All events are free and open to spectators. People are encouraged to park in the state parking garage at 900 Chemeketa St. N.E.
Street closures
State Street from Northeast 12th Street to Northeast Church Street will close starting at 6 p.m. Monday, July 24, until 9 p.m. Sunday, July 30.
Starting Friday, July 28, there will be additional closures that also end Sunday at 9 p.m., including:
Northeast Cottage Street, from State Street to Northeast Court Street will be closed at 4 p.m.
Northeast Court Street will close between Northeast 12th Street and Northeast Cottage Street at 6 p.m.
Contact reporter Rachel Alexander: [email protected] or 503-575-1241.
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Rachel Alexander is Salem Reporter’s managing editor. She joined Salem Reporter when it was founded in 2018 and covers city news, education, nonprofits and a little bit of everything else. She’s been a journalist in Oregon and Washington for a decade. Outside of work, she’s a skater and board member with Salem’s Cherry City Roller Derby and can often be found with her nose buried in a book.
