Cass High hosts basketball team camp and GHSA officials camp this weekend
Coach David Brock and the Cass High School basketball program will be hosting one of the largest high school basketball team camps in North Georgia this Friday and Saturday at the Colonels’ facilities in White.
Twenty-eight teams (14 varsity / 14 junior varsity) will compete in camp-style games on three courts inside the Cass High School facility. The Cass High School main gym converts to two full sized courts with the bleachers retracted and the school has an adjacent auxillary gym with another full sized floor.
“We have a solid field of teams coming in,” said Brock (photo right). “Half of the teams playing this weekend were in their respective state tournaments last season. There should be some really good competition.”
Among the participating schools, Calhoun was in the Class AAA Final Four in 2017. Other state tournament qualifying teams include Villa Rica (AAAAA); Adairsville (AAA); Sonoraville (AAA); Lafayette (AAA); Coosa (AA); and Pepperell (AA).
Cornerstone, Dalton, Gordon Central, Model, North Paulding, Woodland, and Cass are among the other participating teams.
There will be two full days of competition.
“We will begin games at 8 a.m. Friday and Saturday with games continuing through 8 p.m. Friday and 6 p.m. Saturday,” noted Brock. “Spectators are welcome. There is no admission fee and we will have a full concession stand in operation.”
The camp also doubles as one of the 24 Georgia High School Association’s instruction camps for basketball game officials.
Referees during the camp games will represent all parts of the state. The men and women in stripes will be working on their skills and receiving feedback from clinicians while the players and teams work on their games.
“We have more than 65 officials coming to this camp from all parts of Georgia,” said Ronny Mulkey, training coordinator for Cherokee Basketball Officials Association headquartered out of Cartersville. “There will be at least ten different officiating associations represented.”
Mulkey (photo above) added the attraction of the camp for officials is multi-faceted.
“Doc Sisk runs the officials portion of the camp for GHSA. He and his wife Nan are among the most highly respected officials in the country,” Mulkey continued.
“Both Dock and Nan have been Atlanta Tip-Off Club Naismith National Officials of the Year, so they bring their expertise plus they bring in about eight other NCAA Division I officials to help train these high school officials. It is a great opportunity for our officials,” said Mulkey.
GHSA basketball officials are now required to participate in an off-season camp each year to officiate varsity games and the post-season, but Mulkey said that is only part of the reason this particular camp is so attractive to officials.
Dock Sisk
“The expertise in training our officials receive at this camp is outstanding,” added Mulkey. “The officials get their GHSA credit for participating, but they also have an opportunity to learn from some of the best officials out there at the D-I level. Dock is also the post-season assignor for our part of the state.”
