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When Parkersburg South boys basketball coach Mike Fallon told me neither the girls program nor his squad had ever hosted a tournament at the school before I was shocked.
Supporters of the Patriots love the hardwood game. Not to mention, a student fan base known throughout the state as the Southside Psychos takes pleasure in making Rod Oldham Athletic Center an uncomfortable place to play for visiting teams.
Adversity stands as something all coaches want their teams to go through during the season, and let's be honest. The Psychos do a good job of cheering and making more than just some noise.
Let's not forget about the play of the Patriots themselves either. Both the boys and girls teams have become annual fixtures on the state tournament pine in Charleston.
The boys squad itself looks for a sixth straight trip to the Civic Center this season alone. As mentioned above road games are always valuable, but it is nice to play in front of the home town crowd whenever possible.
Patriot fans get two extra chances to see the boys at home this year because of something new.
The first Parkersburg South Invitational two-day tournament hosts its inaugural event at 5:30 p.m. Tuesday and Wednesday.
"Billy Camp, Coach Chris Hyson and myself talked about trying to put together something this summer," said Fallon. "Last year we played several tough road games and thought about hosting something here with some quality teams. South fans love basketball and we will be bringing in some people from out of town as well."
There was no doubt the event would be held at the ROAC. "This is our place and we love playing here," said Fallon. "We never thought about moving it at all."
Fortunately, the tournament came together smoothly with zero conflicts in dates. In fact, Teays Valley and Pennsylvania's First Love Christian Academy had a home and away scheduled but switched things up to be in Parkersburg instead.
"It was nice of them to do that for us," said Fallon.
Four great teams battle in two games apiece, and they all are talented squads.
Capital High School, who beat South 85-65 in the first round of the state tournament last season, joins the blue and white with a touch of red as the one of three West Virginia teams in the field.
Matt Greene's Cougar squad played Huntington for the state championship last season. Anthony Pittman leads the way for this year's team after averaging 14.3 points per game last season.
They face South on the first day in an 8 p.m. matchup.
Teays Valley Prep, the other Mountain State school, takes on First Love Christian Academy at 6 p.m. Tuesday. South fans may remember Teays Valley from the schedule one season ago.
"We asked if they would be interested if we put together a tournament and they said definitely," said Fallon, on Ryan Arrowood's team coming to the tournament.
Make sure to keep an eye on TVHS' 6-foot-11 center Sasha Sukhanov. I took some time out of my day Saturday to search YouTube for some of his highlights and came away impressed. His wingspan is incredible, but his game is even better. He can dunk, shoot the three, drive the lane and post up
Jay W. Bennett certainly receives an early Christmas present in these games.
Their opponent comes in ranked No. 11 in Pennsylvania's largest high school division. Khayree Wilson's team played some West Virginia schools last year. Fallon was able to contact them over the summer to get a gauge on interest.
"I got to see some of their kids at an exposure tournament this summer," said Fallon. "They are very good. They are athletic and can shoot the basketball. The Fletcher kid inside is strong and an animal."
Forward Ja'Mier Fletcher stands at 6-foot-7 and from the small amount of tape I found on him cleans up the boards well with a solid post game.
Winners and losers consist of the two matchups at 6 and 8 p.m. Wednesday.
"It is going to be interesting to watch," said Fallon. "I am not sure Teays Valley and First Love ever get to play in front of a crowd like this. Everyone is kind of on top of you and it is loud."
Doors are slated to open at 5 p.m.
Contact Joe Albright at jalbright@newsandsentinel.com