The Morning Journal (Lorain, OH)
HoopTech marking first-year anniversary
The North Ridgeville facility will celebrate its one-year anniversary on the weekend of July 31
North Ridgeville’s HoopTech basketball facility will celebrate its one-year anniversary with a weekend of basketball on July 31.
Located at North Ridgeville’s Victory Park, HoopTech is hosting an anniversary celebration with several basketball camps and tournaments.
“We have a few different things in store, starting with our 3v3 tournament that is free for members and pretty inexpensive for non-members at only $20 an athlete,” said HoopTech owner Dan McNamara. “It’s a way for us to get some on-court action while celebrating what has been a rollercoaster of a year.”
HoopTech opened in August during a time where novel coronavirus cases were still on the rise in Ohio. McNamara said the business has gone through its ups and downs, but thanks to support from northeast Ohio’s basketball community
HoopTech has been a success.
“It’s been stressful at times, but we’ve definitely been blessed by the support of the community,” McNamara said. “Memberships have been great as for a while there we had a waitlist. So overall the ups and downs of COVID have been interesting, to say the least.”
“It’s definitely been a rollercoaster, but we’ve been so happy to have the support of the communities around us that have made this definitely worthwhile.”
After the 3v3 tournament, a members-only celebration will be held on the true one-year anniversary of the facility’s grand opening on August 2.
Other events set for HoopTech’s anniversary weekend are an All-American girls showcase and the Dae Dae Grant Showcase. Grant, a third-team AllMAC selection at Miami (OH), is a regular at the facility and was approached by McNamara’s team after NIL restrictions were lifted by the NCAA earlier this month.
“He trains here a lot so it seemed like a natural fit especially with the changes in the NCAA,” said McNamara of the partnership with Grant. “He is an athlete that has come in and shared a lot of what we do, so he’s been a good advocate for us. So what better way to support him and his journey and a college athlete than to partner together and do something that he loves.”
Grant graduated from Lorain High School in 2019 after leading the Titans to a Division I final four appearance as a junior. During his senior campaign, Grant won the Lorain County Mr. Basketball award averaging 26 rebounds and five assists. He also earned a first-team All-Ohio nod.
“To have a guy from Lorain County just made it make that much more sense for us,” McNamara said. “Personally I wouldn’t have done this facility in any other location or city, so having a local Lorain County athlete be a part of our one-year anniversary was perfect.”
The Lorain County ties run deep at HoopTech with another Lorain County Mr. Basketball, Jordan Beard of Oberlin on staff.
Entrance into the showcase is $105 per player with a discount for members of the facility. Athletes will get an hour of skill work, combine testing and two regulation games at the showcase.
The facility has hosted several high-profile camps and events, even drawing professional basketball players to work out at its facility. During his time with the Cleveland Cavaliers, Andre Drummond made several appearances on the courts.
WNBA forward Cheyenne Parker of the Atlanta Dream also worked out at the facility in February.
HoopTech also hosted the West Side Senior AllStar games in late March after the cancellation of the Lorain County Senior AllStar games.
More information on HoopTech’s one-year anniversary celebration can be found on the facility’s Facebook page.