Real Deal nears rare June showcase
One year after the coronavirus pandemic halted its 15-year run, the Real Deal in the Rock is a week away from making its return.
The three-day basketball event is set to kick off June 25 at Little Rock Southwest High School. And next Friday can’t get here soon enough for founder Bill Ingram.
“We’re excited just to be playing again this year,” said Ingram, who also is the chairman of the Joe Johnson Hawks AAU team. “It’s been very different, I’ll put it that way. Having to cancel last year after 15 successful years, that breaks your momentum. But it was just one of those things that happened to everybody because of covid.
“And now, we’re trying to get back to some normalcy, and I’m just glad we can have it.”
A schedule of games won’t be released until Monday, but contests will be played at different locations throughout the city on June 26-27.
There were a number of sporting events around the county that were shelved last year because of the pandemic, but Ingram and his Real Deal in the Rock executive board attempted to keep their tournament from following suit. The showcase originally was slated to take place last year from March 27-29 but was pushed back to June 5-7 as concerns around covid-19 mounted. The Real Deal later was rescheduled for July 24-26 before it was eventually called off.
The situation has improved greatly in 2021. Vaccines have been created to help reduce covid-19 transmission, which has allowed many of the businesses and organizations that were forced to either limit their functionality or shut down last year to return to their normal operations.
“The overall response has been positive,” Ingram said. “People were like, ‘Hey, we need to play it this year regardless of the timing,’ and those are the things you like to hear. The enthusiasm has been great.”
The event usually has been held during late March or early April, but because of so many other events and happenings that are going on nationally, the Real Deal is being played later than normal.
“I was even wondering if we could have it in June, to be honest with you,” Ingram said. “We weren’t sure if we’d be able to get teams because during this time of the year, they’re at other places. But once I announced the date and saw that the response was so good, I knew we’d be fine.
“We’ll get back to normalcy next year by having it in April, but right now, next weekend is when it’s starting, and we’re all excited about it.”
One other change revolves around the primary location.
In year’s past, the majority of the action took place at P.A.R.K. on Geyer Springs Road in Little Rock, but Ingram said that facility will not be used this year. Instead, a bulk of the games will be held at Southwest.
The one thing that won’t change, Ingram said, is the level of talent that’ll be on display in Central Arkansas.
“It’ll be excellent as usual,” he said. “Some of the greatest talent is right here in the state of Arkansas, and it makes it better for those guys to get that spotlight on them. So there will still be plenty of top players here, and we’re really looking forward to it.”