Former Janesville Craig boys basketball coach and current Cougar AD Ben McCormick, kneeling, and current Cougar coach Jack Hoag go over strategy with the Cougars’ alumni entry in the Beloit Elite Ladies Juneteenth tournament Saturday at Barkin Arena.
2018 Janesville Craig graduate Blake McCann accepts a medal for the most valuable player at the Elite Ladies Juneteenth benefit basketball tournament Saturday at Barkin Arena in Beloit. The Cougars won three games in the round-robin event.
Former Janesville Craig boys basketball coach and current Cougar AD Ben McCormick, kneeling, and current Cougar coach Jack Hoag go over strategy with the Cougars’ alumni entry in the Beloit Elite Ladies Juneteenth tournament Saturday at Barkin Arena.
TOM MILLER
BELOIT — Angelo Rizzo has been feeling the effect of mononucleosis for more than month.
But the 2021 Janesville Craig graduate could not miss an opportunity to wear his schoolÃÛèÖÊÓƵ colors and name once again on a basketball court.
Rizzo joined six other former Cougars, including his older brother, Dominick, in the sixth annual Elite Ladies of Beloit Juneteenth Alumni Tournament at Barkin Arena Saturday.
The event involved solely Beloit Memorial alumni in the previous five years. This year, tournament organizer Quenton Greer decided to open it up to Turner, Craig and Parker high teams and the result was positive.
2018 Janesville Craig graduate Blake McCann accepts a medal for the most valuable player at the Elite Ladies Juneteenth benefit basketball tournament Saturday at Barkin Arena in Beloit. The Cougars won three games in the round-robin event.
TOM MILLER
Six teams entered the tournament, including three teams comprised of Beloit Memorial graduates.
The Craig squad won three games to earn the gold medals handed out by Greer five hours after the event began.
Winning the tournament was a bonus for the winners, who ranged in age from Nando Enis (2014 graduate) to Da’Marcus DeValk (2022).
Blake McCann, a 2018 graduate who played at UW-Platteville, earned the tournamentÃÛèÖÊÓƵ MVP award after putting on a 3-point shooting show.
“It was a blast to put it back on and play with some of the guys I did in high school and the younger guys,†Dominick Rizzo said.
There was a reason the Craig squad won each of the three games easily.
“Me, my brother and Blake still play in Janesville city league,†Dominick said. “We play Tuesday nights, Thursday nights and Saturday mornings. “We’re getting up two or three times a week.â€
Dominick, a 2018 Craig graduate, is an electrical apprentice. His younger brother, Angelo, is a driver for Wisconsin Distributor. McCann is a project manager at Rock Road.
Rizzo said most of the Craig players live in Janesville except for 2016 graduate Riley Jensen who drove in from Milwaukee.
Jensen ended the proceedings when he dunked an offensive rebound to give Craig a 79-52 lead with seven minutes to play in the championship game over Beloit White. Both teams agreed to end the long afternoon.
The Beloit Grey team figured to be in the championship mix but former NBA standout Kyle Weaver could not play due to a bad hip, and Beloit College standout Azeez Ganiyu suffered a sprained ankle that sent him to the bench.
SaturdayÃÛèÖÊÓƵ event was different than playing in city leagues, Rizzo said.
“It was putting on the uniform and representing Craig again,†he said. “It was a good time for sure, putting that ‘Craig’ name across my chest again.â€
Greer plans on holding another alumni tournament next year. Adding teams from Milton, South Beloit and Hononegah is a goal to expand to 10 teams.
The expansion this year meant a bigger donation to the Elite Ladies of Beloit, an 11-member charity group that uses the money to help fund the major Juneteenth celebration next Saturday at Telfer Park.
“The fundraising for this yearÃÛèÖÊÓƵ games exceeded last yearÃÛèÖÊÓƵ total,†said Gayle Listenbee, one of the organizers of the Juneteenth celebration. “We believe this is a direct result of expanding the number of teams who participated.
“We enjoyed the new tams and spectators from other communities in historic Barkin Arena for a day of positive sportsmanship, good basketball and great concessions.â€
An expanded tournament also might mean even more games than the three 40-minute running clock games the Craig team had to play Saturday.
“I talked to all the guys this morning and we’re all feeling it more than we use to,†Rizzo said.
“But it definitely was a good time.â€
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