The Portsmouth Invitational Tournament, (PIT), is the oldest amateur

basketball Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular court, compete with the primary objective of shooting a basketball (approximately in diameter) through the defender's h ...

tournament in the United States and the only

postseason The playoffs, play-offs, postseason or finals of a sports league are a competition played after the regular season by the top competitors to determine the league champion or a similar accolade. Depending on the league, the playoffs may be eithe ...

camp restricted to

college basketball In United States colleges, top-tier basketball is governed by collegiate athletic bodies including National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA), the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA), the United States Collegiate Athleti ...

seniors. The Portsmouth Invitational is the first of two NBA pre-

draft Draft, The Draft, or Draught may refer to: Watercraft dimensions * Draft (hull), the distance from waterline to keel of a vessel * Draft (sail), degree of curvature in a sail * Air draft, distance from waterline to the highest point on a vesse ...

camps, the other being the Orlando pre-

camp. In 2019, SB Ballard construction was the lead sponsor of the uniforms as they began to expand into building arenas around the country. It was announced on March 14, 2020, the 68 annual Portsmouth Invitational Tournament was canceled due to the

coronavirus pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic, also known as the coronavirus pandemic, is an ongoing global pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The novel virus was first identifie ...

. The four-day tournament format consists of twelve games (eight teams of eight players each play three games) and has been held annually since 1953. The tournament is recognized by the

National Basketball Association The National Basketball Association (NBA) is a professional basketball league in North America. The league is composed of 30 teams (29 in the United States and 1 in Canada) and is one of the major professional sports leagues in the United St ...

(NBA) and European scouts as a showcase for future professional players. Approximately 200 NBA representatives attend the event. The tournament typically begins the first or second Wednesday that follows the championship game of the NCAA Division I men's basketball tournament. All games are played at

Churchland High School Churchland High School is a public high school in Portsmouth, Virginia in the United States. It is administered by Portsmouth Public Schools. The school colors are black and orange. The mascot is a "Trucker". Churchland is designated as a magn ...

in Portsmouth, Virginia. Admission to day games is free, single-night general admissio
tickets
are available at the door. Discounted four-day passes are sold at the Portsmouth Visitor Center. NBA players who are alumni of the Portsmouth Invitational include

Scottie Pippen Scotty Maurice Pippen Sr. (born September 25, 1965), usually spelled Scottie Pippen, is an American former professional basketball player. He played 17 seasons in the National Basketball Association (NBA), winning six NBA championships with the ...

Dennis Rodman Dennis Keith Rodman (born May 13, 1961) is an American former professional basketball player. Known for his fierce defensive and rebounding abilities, his biography on the official NBA website states that he is "arguably the best reboundin ...

John Stockton John Houston Stockton (born March 26, 1962) is an American former professional basketball player. Regarded as one of the greatest point guards, players and passers of all time, he spent his entire NBA career (1984–2003) with the Utah Jazz, a ...

Tim Hardaway Timothy Duane Hardaway Sr. (born September 1, 1966) is an American former professional basketball player. Hardaway played in the National Basketball Association (NBA) for the Golden State Warriors, Miami Heat, Dallas Mavericks, Denver Nuggets a ...

, Ben Wallace,

Avery Johnson Avery DeWitt Johnson (born March 25, 1965) is an American basketball television commentator and former player and coach who most recently served as head coach of the Alabama Crimson Tide men's basketball team. He is currently an NBA and college ...

, Jeremy Lin,

Rick Barry Richard Francis Dennis Barry III (born March 28, 1944) is an American retired professional basketball player who starred at the NCAA, American Basketball Association (ABA) and National Basketball Association (NBA) levels. Barry ranks among the ...

Dave Cowens David William Cowens ( ; born October 25, 1948) is an American former professional basketball player and NBA head coach. At , he played the center position and occasionally played power forward. Cowens spent most of his playing career with the B ...

, and

Earl Monroe Vernon Earl Monroe (born November 21, 1944) is an American former professional basketball player. He played for two teams, the Baltimore Bullets and the New York Knicks, during his career in the National Basketball Association (NBA). Both teams ...

Portsmouth Invitational players drafted by the NBA

Notes

External links

* *{{cite web , last1=Reheuser , first1=Rob , title=Portsmouth Invitational Tournament 2004; Bobbitt Named Portsmouth MVP , url=http://www.nba.com/news/pit_040412.html , website=NBA.com , publisher=National Basketball Association , accessdate=April 15, 2020 , archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20040612020611/http://www.nba.com/news/pit_040412.html , archivedate=June 12, 2004 , date=April 12, 2004 Basketball in Virginia Recurring sporting events established in 1953 1953 establishments in Virginia

Portsmouth Invitational players drafted by the NBA

See also

Notes

External links