WORCESTER—Some of the area’s best pro and amateur basketball players bring their game to Crompton Park on Saturday, Aug. 10, for the eighth installment of the Summer Jam Classic.
The highlight of the event is a pro-am basketball tournament featuring teams from Worcester, Springfield, Lowell, Vermont, Rhode Island and New York. The six local Worcester teams are Team TEAR, Quinsigamond Community College (alumni team), Title Town, Humble & Hungry, Michaelangelo’s Barber Shop/Que Rico Quirico’s and Woo Athletics.
Other games include a boys high school showcase, a girls high school showcase and a women’s college showcase.
The event also features numerous local vendors selling food, clothes and other merchandise. A kids zone area offers face painting, bracelet-making and a school backpack drive.
“It’s really a day of peace, basketball, food, fun and family,” said Summer Jam Founder and Director of Operations Anthony Barbosa, a Worcester native and former player at Quinsigamond Community College and Mass College of Liberal Arts.
Barbosa, who coaches basketball at Worcester Technical High School, started the event eight years ago at Grant Square Park off Lincoln Street.
The first time, it attracted about 300 people. Last’s year’s Summer Jam Classic attendance swelled to more than 3,000 attendees, with close to 5,000 expected to attend this weekend.
This year’s event is sponsored by 55 local businesses.
“I thank all of our small businesses and our community in general because without them, Summer Jam wouldn’t be possible,” said Barbosa. “As we continue to build, I hope our bigger businesses will also see our vision, especially with a grassroots event like this that has grown to this magnitude.”
Notable players expected to play in the pro-am tournament include professional players Makai Ashton-Langford of Worcester (Croatia) and Ty Nichols of Springfield (Slovakia). Other featured players include Division 3 All-Americans Jeff Hunter (Keene State) and Aaron Nkrumah (Worcester State); Brendon Hamilton (Westfield State), Marty Silvera (Southern Connecticut State); and DeMarr Langford Jr. (University of Albany).
The boys high school showcase is highlighted by local standouts Tahlan Pettway (St. Thomas Moore) and Amir Jenkins (Worcester Academy), who each earned Massachusetts Player of the Year honors for North High state championship teams in 2023 and 2024.
The girls high school showcase will include several players from South High who won a district title and fell just short in the state finals last season.
Summer Jam Classic games tipoff at 10 a.m. and run all day leading up to the pro-am championship final at 7 p.m. If it rains on Saturday, the event will be moved to Sunday, Aug. 11.
Mike Vigneux is a freelance writer in Worcester with more than 20 years of experience in the fields of municipal government, communications, and public relations. An avid fan of all sports, Mike enjoys telling the stories of local athletes and their teams. He holds two degrees from Clark University, a bachelor of arts in Communication and a master of science in Professional Communication. He can be reached at Mikevigs@gmail.com
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