PANAMA CITY — The Halifax All-Star Classic will celebrate a decade of prep basketball excellence on April 5.
The 10th annual event returns to Gulf Coast State College’s Billy Harrison Field House for the games pitting some of the best senior talent in the Panhandle. The girls game begins at 11 a.m. on the first Saturday in April followed by the boys at 1 p.m. in continuing a series featuring some highly competitive basketball games.
Halifax Media Group and two of its Florida daily newspapers, The News Herald and the Northwest Florida Daily News, again are lead sponsors along with GCSC. Additional sponsorship is provided by the Panama City Beach Convention and Visitors Bureau.
The East teams are selected by the sports department at The News Herald, the publication stationed in Panama City that covers eight counties of Bay, Calhoun, Franklin, Gulf, Holmes, Jackson, Liberty and Washington. The East boys team has won three consecutive meetings and leads the overall series 6-3.
The West teams are chosen by the sports department at the Northwest Florida Daily News, which is headquartered in Fort Walton Beach and covers Okaloosa, Santa Rosa and Walton counties. The West girls lead 7-2 with a series-high streak of four straight wins between 2008-2011.
The Halifax Classic features some area athletes who have decided on college destinations as high as the Division I level. The event also gives additional players a final opportunity to be seen by regional scouts at junior colleges and smaller universities. It’s not uncommon for athletes to be offered scholarships following the Halifax Classic.
The games are played under collegiate rules to help the athletes prepare for the next step in their careers. The differences include 20-minute halves, which extend the games eight minutes longer than traditional four-quartered prep encounters to place increased emphasis on stamina and deeper rosters. Other rules variations include extended 3-point lines and a shot clock.
Player nominations currently are being accepted. Area coaches in the East coverage area are asked to send player name, position, height, statistics and other pertinent information to Brad Milner at The News Herald via e-mail at bmilner@pcnh.com or by calling (850) 747-5065. The first round of selections will be announced in the coming weeks and the complete 12-player rosters for the four teams will be released in early March.
Any individual or business with a desire to sponsor the event may contact Milner, News Herald Writer Jason Shoot (jshoot@pcnh.com; (850) 747-5067) or Executive Sports Editor Pat McCann (pmccann@pcnh.com; (850) 747-5068). The event accepts any and all levels of sponsorships, from monetary support to in-kind donations.