PORTSMOUTH, VA (WTKR)- It's that week every April where Portsmouth becomes the center of the basketball universe.
The Portsmouth Invitational Tournament tips off this week, the 71st year of the storied event. 64 of the top college basketball seniors throughout the country will hit the court at Churchland High School for the four-day showcase in front of hundreds of professional scouts, general managers and agents. The event began its week with a luncheon to announce the teams at Roger Brown's Restaurant on Monday morning.
"Everybody loves March Madness," said Michael Morris, Chairman of the PIT Board. "We're the extension of March Madness. We're pretty excited. All of Portsmouth's kind of reveling here. It's that time of year and the basketball world comes to Portsmouth, Virginia."
Morris has been involved in the event for 30 years and is one of many who have put their time and dedication into the tournament for decades. He pointed out that this is the only pre-NBA Draft event that is run by volunteers. The others are put on by the NBA itself or other for-profit organizations. One might say the PIT has more of a family feel with representatives from throughout the years working to make it what it's become.
"A lot of our volunteers have been in it for a long time," noted Morris. "We've got a long-time heritage going here. We've still got a couple folks who actually played in the first one who are alive and are at our functions regularly, so it's kind of cool that tradition that's been passed over since 1953 and it's passed through about three generations and it's still going strong."
The players are split up into eight teams of eight athletes who will work together over the four-day tournament. Countless future pros have come through the PIT and gone on to enjoy lengthy careers. One of them was Norfolk State's Kyle O'Quinn, who was MVP of the 2012 tournament, after leading the Spartans to an upset over Missouri in the NCAA Tournament.
"The PIT kicked it off for me," O'Quinn recalled. "It was my first showcase to show my talent on a national scale as far as for scouts, GM's, the people who really matter as far a jobs are concerned. The PIT means a lot to me and my family, a lot to my university."
"Every year, we've got somebody from the Final Four, generally, playing here," added Morris. "As you look through all the teams in March Madness, you're going to find that there's quite a few of them on the boards that are going to be playing here."
Morris said the tournament is expecting more than 240 NBA representatives and more than 100 visitors from teams overseas. O'Quinn remembers being on that stage and went on to play in the NBA for eight years before capping off his career in Europe from 2021-2023. He's now back in the commonwealth on staff at Norfolk State and will speak during the PIT's celebrity luncheon Friday afternoon.
"I told them when I first got back to the Virginia area, 'anything you need from me to help the PIT continue to grow and to put on a platform for the next Kyle O'Quinn or the next great to come out of here,'" he said. "There are so many people that came through the PIT. If this is the way I can pay it back, I'll do it ten-fold."
The Portsmouth Invitational Tournament tips off Wednesday at Churchland and runs through Saturday evening. If the past is any indication, those in attendance should see quite the show from players who will almost all play some level of professional basketball.
"Every year, our goal really is to bring in great basketball, great players, be the center of the basketball world for the NBA and really showcase Portsmouth," Morris said. "In the end, we end up giving money away to local charities, so it's all about great basketball, being hospitable to visitors who come to see us and giving some money to local charities to make a difference in our community."
For a complete schedule and look at team rosters, click here.
WGNT will be broadcasting the entire PIT live beginning Wednesday.
