The north parking lot of Linn-Benton’s main campus recently underwent quite a makeover.
What had previously been an area for hundreds of parking spaces was transformed into 24 half-sized basketball courts. The change took place Aug. 10-11 to host Albany’s 17th annual Hoop Jam, a street basketball tournament organized by the Boys & Girls Club of Albany.
“This is the fourth location that we’ve run it, but it’s our favorite,” said Ryan Lamm, the athletic director of the Boys & Girls Club of Albany. “We love it out here.”
As one of the event’s main coordinators, Lamm has witnessed firsthand the evolution and expansion of Hoop Jam over the years.
In previous years, the tournament operated in the parking lots of North Albany IGA and the Heritage Mall. However, the increase in the competition’s popularity forced the need for a larger venue.
Since 2019, Linn-Benton’s northside parking lot has been a suitable host for the ever-expanding tournament. With more space available, Hoop Jam has welcomed additions to the event, such as adult brackets and a skills competition.
“It’s a great opportunity to get everyone together in a good environment for some competitive basketball,” said Lamm
A whopping 218 teams combined across multiple age divisions and skill levels registered for this year’s Hoop Jam. With each team featuring between three to five players and most teams having families in attendance, an estimated 2,500-plus people attended over the weekend.
To put on an event of that size, it takes a team. Luckily, The Boys & Girls Club of Albany came prepared.
Thanks to the help of volunteers and all the available employees at The Boys & Girls Club of Albany, a group of over a hundred staff members came together to help set up, organize, and officiate this year’s tournament.
“We’re just working our hardest,” said Carrie Harrington, one of the event’s volunteer coordinators. “The players understand we’re just out here to have fun and a good time.”
Harrington, who manages athletic sponsorships and coaching development for the Boys & Girls Club, played an integral part in organizing the tournament’s sponsors. She also worked as part of the crew that helped set up the event, a task that required hundreds of helping hands and about three days to complete.
On the day of Hoop Jam, Harrington was underneath the volunteer tent, lending a hand again by checking in on staff members and answering questions from players or attendees.
“There’s always going to be some flared tempers,” she said, “but the majority of the people know that we’re all out here doing our best.”
Participants appeared to be in good spirits with the overall display of the event.
In the downtime between games, players could re-energize by stopping by the food truck area or filling up their water bottles at a hydration station. Players could also check in on their team’s specific bracket by visiting a large TradeWinds Transportation trailer in the corner of the lot that displayed scores.
Several vendor booths sold basketball-related merchandise, while a DJ booth in the center of the lot made it so players could hoop and jam simultaneously.
“It’s always good to come out here, have fun, and meet people,” said Nick Webb, a forklift driver at ATI. “There’s a lot of people I met that I didn’t know before.”
Webb, who played in a 4-on-4 basketball league over the summer at the Boys & Girls Club, was invited by one of his teammates to play in this year’s Hoop Jam. During the tournament, Webb, his teammate, and some friends joined forces to compete in the 30-39 men’s moderate bracket.
Despite being a lifelong citizen of Albany and an avid hooper, this year’s tournament marked just the second Hoop Jam that Webb had been a part of. However, with a different venue from the last time he attended, Webb had nothing but positive remarks about this year’s version.
“I like it at LB. I feel like there’s a lot more room, the food trucks are pretty cool, and the tournament’s been good,” said Webb.
