Alumni tournament set for July 31

Players from the Laguna Beach High basketball program, past and present, will be in Laguna Beach High’s Dugger Gym on July 31 for the Laguna Beach Boys’ Basketball Alumni Tournament.

The all-day affair starts with opening games at 8:30 a.m. and concludes with the championship game at 4:30 p.m. Laguna Beach boys’ Coach Bret Fleming said that 10 teams representing 10 eras, from the “old group” (previous to/up to 1984), to the 2010-11 varsity team, will vie for the tournament title.

Fleming expects between 100-120 players for the tournament, including as he said, “the best players in the program’s history.”

Some of the former All-CIF players from the school expected for the tournament are: Coby Naess, Dain Blanton, John Trevino, Josh Borella, Trigg Garner, Chris Sirianni, B.J. Jameson, Kurt Beimfohr, Travis Hanour, Cheyne Martin, Marcus Hairston, Dylan Roley, Ryan Lawler and Adam Selevan.

“I started this tourney four years ago as a kind of basketball reunion and I wasn’t sure if enough guys would want to show up,” Fleming said. “We had over 80 guys that first year and everyone enjoyed it so much that it turned into an annual event.

“Since then, a lot of the alumni have stepped up in organizing it and turning it into a major fundraiser for the program, which is great. But the real reason guys keep coming back is the reunion atmosphere of connecting with old friends.”

Fleming said the Dugger Gym doors are open to the public, free of charge. Food and drink will be available for purchase.

“This has really turned into a big deal for our program,” he said. “This is a community event and what we are hoping for is to get is a little more of community involvement, to have residents come out and watch their favorite players from the past 30 years play again. It’s a family-type atmosphere and should be a lot of fun.”