Southwest to host annual McFadden Freshman Tourney

EL CENTRO — Four years ago, former Southwest High School basketball coaches Kevin McFadden and Ruben Valenzuela were wracking their brains trying to figure out a way to flesh out the schedule of the school’s freshman team.

Providing them with a full complement of opponents was always a special challenge, because several area schools lacked the population to field freshman squads.

They alighted on the idea of having Southwest host a freshman tourney to give their school and others in the area with enough ninth graders the opportunity to test their mettle in a high-stakes environment.

Sadly, McFadden passed away in 2016 due to complications resulting from a longstanding heart condition. A beloved member of the community — El Centro born and raised — he had spent years touching young lives in the Valley, both as a counselor for first Central, then Southwest High Schools, and as a coach (sometimes head, sometimes assistant) for several of the Central Unified School District’s basketball teams — including Central Union’s 2014 CIF-winning girls’ side.

Valenzuela, currently athletic director at Southwest, describes McFadden as a “very stand-up guy” — “He always put students first” — and a “good basketball mind” who was “great to bounce ideas o of.”

The wound of McFadden’s passing was still fresh last year when Valenzuela was approached by McFadden’s father and father-in-law about finding some way to honor, in perpetuity, their family member’s contributions to the area, and it was decided that the freshman basketball tournament he’d helped author would be renamed the McFadden TipO Classic in remembrance.

This year’s edition takes place today, starting at 4 p.m., through Saturday.

Freshman teams from Brawley, Calexico, Central, Imperial, and Southwest will compete in a true round robin to decide the winner.

The full schedule is included below (all games take place at Southwest High):

Nov. 29

Brawley vs. Central – 4 p.m. Calexico vs. Imperial – 5:30 p.m. Brawley vs. Southwest – 7 p.m.

Nov. 30

Imperial vs. Southwest – 3:30 p.m. Central vs. Calexico – 5 p.m. Brawley vs. Imperial – 6:30 p.m. Central vs. Southwest – 8 p.m.

Dec. 1

Calexico vs. Southwest – 9 a.m. Imperial vs. Central – 10:30 a.m. Brawley vs. Calexico – 12 p.m.