Layoff has teams eager to begin Jammin’ again

After almost two weeks with no games, Daryl Macon is ready to return to the court.

So is Jawan Eldridge, Kaylon Tappin and every player on every roster for this week’s Jammin’ for Jackets basketball tournament.

Six of the eight teams entered in this year’s tournament have had games cancelled or postponed because of last week’s ice storm or by the high school football playoffs. Little Rock Parkview (30) enters tonight’s first-round game against Little Rock McClellan (3-1) as the team longest on the shelf. The Patriots haven’t played in 13 days.

“It’s been difficult waiting,” said Macon, a 6-1 senior guard who is averaging 16.7 points and six rebounds a game for the Patriots. “We need to make sure the rust doesn’t stay on us too long.”

The Jammin’ for Jackets tournament begins today at George Cirks Arena on the Little Rock Hall High campus. With a new main sponsor — Life CHAMPS — on board to keep the tournament going, the boys tournament enters its 11th year of existence.

Little Rock McClellan Coach Chris Threatt said no tournament prepares his team better for conference play or for the postseason than Jammin’ for Jackets.

“It will teach you the things you need to correct before you get to March,” Threatt said. “We can lose here, but the season is about what you do in late February and early March. You want to win now, but you don’t want to put the whole season on it.”

The winners of the four previous Jammin’ for Jackets tournaments have gone on to win state titles during the same season, including last year’s Class 7A champion North Little Rock. Since the 2007-2008 season, nine teams that have reached the Jackets’ championship game also have won state titles.

North Little Rock ( 3- 0) will be out to extend its winning streak, which stands at 30 games. Eldridge, a 6-1 senior, scored a team-high 18 points in the Charging Wildcats’ season opener against Wynne. He scored eight points against Jonesboro in the championship game of the Rumble on the Ridge in Forrest City, but that game Nov. 30 was the last time the ‘Cats have been involved in a game.

“You practice for your next game, regardless of when it is, but it’s tough not being on the court,” Eldridge said of his team’s 12-day break between games. “Eventually, you want to be going against someone in a different color jersey.”

The ‘Cats’ first-round opponent did not see their first action until Tuesday night. Episcopal Collegiate (1-0) had four games postponed or cancelled because the school’s football team was still active in the Class 3A state playoffs or by the weather.

Little Rock Hall, which has played in seven Jammin’ for Jackets tournament championship games, also will be playing in its first game since Nov. 30. Tappin led the Warriors (3-1) with 18 points in the consolation championship game against Forrest City in the Rumble.

Hall will face Little Rock Fair ( 4-1) in a first- round game. Little Rock Central (15) and Mills (2-3) will tip off the tournament at 4 p.m.