STOUGHTON – When Wally Seaver passed away about 11 years ago, he had already left the Massachusetts basketball world a better place. During his courageous bout with ALS, his son Paul and the rest of his family decided to dedicate a hoops tournament in his honor, and the legend himself was able to witness the loving fruits of their labor first come to fruition during its initial running.
One would have to think he is looking down proudly on just how vast the foundation has grown. The 12th annual Wally Seaver HS Invitational came to its conclusion Sunday, and a case could be made it was one of the greatest installments. During a two-day competition split between two facilities, upwards of 130 schools from around the Northeast region took part, all looking to play the sport they truly love for a greater cause.
“This is near and dear to Paul (Seaver),” said fellow Wally Seaver Invitational founder Greg Lewis. “As his wife would tell you, Paul’s job now is to work with ALS associations. This is his life. So to see the passion he has to find a cure for this disease, and (the love) for his dad, (it’s incredible).”
It’s hard to believe that the tournament itself began as a small field with about 10 local schools participating. When Paul Seaver reached out to Lewis about creating the showcase, the two coaches and Hoop Crew LLC members began brainstorming.
Now you’d have a hard time finding any coach in the New England area that hasn’t heard of the tournament. During Sunday’s events at the Dana Barros Basketball Club, Jeremy Wilner watched his highly-touted boys hoops team from Lincoln, R.I., hold on down the stretch, ultimately knocking off a very strong Waltham team to win the Red Division with a 62-52 victory.
“Paul Seaver actually got a job in Rhode Island recently,” Wilner said. “I became friends with him instantly. We wanted to do it. It was an awesome weekend. We told him we wanted to play Division 1 teams, and we played five this weekend.”
Meanwhile, Bedford, N.H., made headlines in the Orange Division, cruising to the other boys title with an impressive 73-47 win over Fitchburg.
Fontbonne became the lone Massachusetts representative to win a girls title this year during a thrilling 46-41 nail-biter over Pentucket in the Pink Division.
“It was awesome,” said rising Fontbonne senior Tressa Murphy. “They’re definitely a really good team with a lot of great players. To beat a team like that was really special, especially starting our senior year.”
Led by a heroic performance by junior Kate Sloper, Londonderry won two stunning bouts en route to capturing the other girls title in the Purple Division with a 50-47 win over fellow New Hampshire standout Portsmouth. This included a game-winning overtime shot to open the day in the day in the semifinals (a 50-47 win over Bedford, N.H.).
The foundation is hopeful that $15,000-20,000 will be raised by this year’s events.
“We hope (to see it grow further),” said Wally Seaver HS Invitational critical volunteer Whitney Howe Seaver. “We hope so. Word of mouth travels just as far every year. There are some teams that come one year but can’t field a team the next year. But they always it a make a point to try and come back.”