The Dallas Mavericks will host nearly 100 high school basketball teams during two tournaments this month when the Mavs Fall Classic steamrolls back into town.
The third annual Mavs Fall Classic Varsity Girls High School Tournament jumpstarts competition Thursday, Nov. 11, with 48 teams showcased throughout the weekend.
Meanwhile, competition for the Mavs Fall Classic Varsity Boys High School Tournament will get underway the week of Thanksgiving, Nov. 22-23. That tournament will set the stage for 48 teams to battle it on the hardwood in hopes of capturing the Mavs Fall Classic championship title.
The Mavericks also inked a deal with mega sports restaurant Buffalo Wild Wings to serve as presenting sponsor for both tournaments.
The Mavs are one of the few teams in the NBA to host a boys and girls high school tournament. Last year, the pandemic forced a pause in play, but the Mavs Fall Classic is back bigger and brighter in 2021.
“Tournament play is such a big part of high school basketball,” said Mavs Fall Classic tournament director Brad Freeman. “So not being able to have tournaments in Texas last season was hard on the schools. We are excited to be a part of bringing back some normal this season for these players and coaches.”
This year’s event is the largest tournament yet in Mavs Fall Classic history. When the Mavs started the tournament in 2018, the goal was to have three divisions of 16 teams each for the boys and girls. That goal has now blossomed into a total of 48 girls teams and 48 boys teams.
In the past, NBA teams were not allowed to be involved in the high school space, but the league reversed that decision and the Mavericks were thrilled to bring NBA knowledge to the high school and youth level.
“There are a lot of misconceptions about what these young players need to be doing to make it to the next level,” said Freeman, who formerly coached NBA superstar Julius Randle in high school and won a couple championships before arriving at the Mavs.
“We want to help them with the proper message of good nutrition, rest, mindset, injury prevention, etc.,” he continued.
This year, the Mavs will present a new angle to the tournament by hosting a sports symposium for athletes and coaches on Saturday morning. Nico Harrison will headline the event. He is the new general manager and president of basketball operations with the Mavericks. He also has two daughters who currently play sports and he understands the mindset of athletes at every level.
There will be plenty of women role models in attendance, too, to help encourage and inspire the high school girls. The Mavericks staff is now 50 percent women and minorities and many of these individuals are among the staff that help put on the tournament.
Kristi Toliver, WNBA superstar and current assistant coach of the Dallas Mavericks, will also headline the sports symposium on Saturday morning and speak to the athletes about her basketball career.
“Our goal is to make an impact in the lives of the players and coaches,” Freeman said. “There will always be teams that lose and teams that win in our tournament. But what can we do to help all players in our tournament become successful beyond the court? We have added an event this year where all teams will come together at the same time and hear from our Dallas Mavericks executives and coaches.”
It’s no secret that Texas is the epicenter of high school hoops, and the state often represents countless athletes who move on to the collegiate and professional ranks.
Four years ago, the Dallas Mavericks and Mavs Academy explored various opportunities to invest in the future of high school players. Thus, the Mavs Fall Classic was born.
The organization already hosts various skills clinics, camps and combines throughout the year to help student-athletes grow and flourish. But the high school tournament is an entirely different beast because of the sheer amount of production and fanfare that goes into hosting a tournament this large.
Freeman will rely on the entire Mavs Academy staff, Mavs employees, and tournament volunteers to help run the event.
The venue is another unique piece of the puzzle.
The Mavs Fall Classic championship games take place at Comerica Center, home of the NBA G League Legends. The facility is also home to the executive offices and practice facility of the NHL’s Dallas Stars. So getting the final rounds prepared for the high school teams is a grand undertaking, but one that’s well worth it for teams that advance to the final rounds.
The other games will occur at Frisco ISD high schools, including Centennial, Heritage, Liberty, and Independence.
Freeman is the director of the Mavs Fall Classic and also serves as the Dallas Mavericks senior director of the Mavs Academy and Mavs Gaming. Before his arrival to the NBA, he spent the previous few decades working in all levels of sports.
He received his Master of Science in Education with a concentration in Sports Management from Baylor University. From there, he started teaching and coaching in the public school system.
“I was blessed to coach and teach with some great people in my early years,” Freeman shared. “I coached just about every sport from junior high to high school. My last job at a public school was being the head boys basketball coach at Allen High School. From there, I took the job as the head boys basketball coach at Prestonwood Christian Academy, where we were fortunate enough to get on the national radar and play in some of the best high school basketball tournaments in the nation.”
Prestonwood soared under Freeman’s tutelage and evolved into one of the state’s top private school basketball programs. His teams appeared in three straight TAPPS 5A State Finals, and the Lions made the playoffs every season while he was there.
During that stretch, he amassed an incredible 71-9 record in district play. During the 2009-10 season, he led Prestonwood to its first TAPPS 5A State Championship in program history.
He also coached NBA All-Star Julius Randle, who was named to the 2021 All-NBA Second Team and won last year’s NBA’s Most Improved Player Award.
While at Prestonwood, Freeman also ran camps and leagues for Prestonwood Sports Organization. In that role, he started working with the Dallas Mavericks by hosting Hoop Camps at the facility.
“I felt like I was winding down my coaching career and having a public school and private school state championship, a good friend of mine asked me to join him in the college ranks. I was able to continue running camps and leagues while being an adjunct coach at Dallas Christian College. In my second year there, we won a national championship. While I really enjoyed that experience, I felt like my next step was in administration rather than coaching. That is what led to my job with the Mavericks.”
Now Freeman and the rest of the Mavericks staff will look to host two fantastic tournaments in November and watch the next generation of high school stars dazzle under the bright lights in Frisco.
They’ll get that chance starting Friday.
To learn more about the Mavs Fall Classic, click here.
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