People love the holidays. People love reconnecting with distant family and receiving and giving gifts. But most of all, people absolutely adore their hoops, especially around Christmas time.

   For years, Broughton High School has been the host of the nation’s premier prep basketball tournament throughout the country. The tournament has been previously known as the “High School OT Invitational”. High School OT, an entity of WRAL News, released a statement following the completion of last year’s competition that they would no longer retain the naming rights.  

   However, early this fall, Raleigh native and NBA guard, John Wall, reached out when he heard that the naming rights were up for grabs. On Tuesday, October 11th, the John Wall Family Foundation claimed the holiday tournament for this year. The men’s bracket will be played at Holliday Gym at Broughton, and the girl’s at Cary Academy. A plethora of prep teams have been sent invitations to participate, but the final group of teams has not been set in stone quite yet.

   Historically, this tournament has been a hot bed for professional talent. In the past couple of years, John Wall, Thon Maker and Brandon Ingram have all played in the holiday tournament. The tournament runs from December 27th through the 30th.