Bluff City Classic won’t take court this summer
Lack of funding stalls annual league
The Bluff City Classic, the annual Memphis summer basketball league, will not be played this year due to lack of financial support, according to organizer Stanley Blue.
While the event was free for fans, it costs about $50,000 annually to run the league, Blue said. He said former University of Memphis and NBA star Penny Hardaway, who played a key role in the event’s 2010 comeback, should not have to pay for the event out of pocket every year.
“Last year opened my eyes,” Blue said. “We’re making all of these sacrifices from a financial standpoint, and there are no (additional) resources to support the event; it’s a little disappointing. It’s not fair to Penny to carry the entire weight of the event on his shoulders.”
Blue also said the Bluff, played at Southwest Tennessee Community College, was hurt last year because University of Memphis players didn’t participate. That decision was made by coach Josh Pastner because he was breaking in a largely inexperienced team in summer workouts at the Finch Center.
“When the University of Memphis players don’t participate, you aren’t going to attract top-level competition from other local colleges and universities,” Blue said. “It’s great when the NBA players come and participate in the league, but for the most part they are on vacation. They’re not ones you can count on day in and day out.”
Pastner said it was only a one-year decision to hold out his players. In retrospect, Pastner said, he should’ve communicated his plans better to Blue before the Bluff.
“I would’ve tried to get a couple of guys in there (if he had known it was the last year of the Bluff),” Pastner said.
Blue, who’s been involved with the Bluff for 26 years, said he’s hopeful it could someday return — with sponsorships and help from NBA players — even if he’s not involved. But he added that the event requires a significant commitment.
“I volunteered to do this,” Blue said. “I cut my hours at my office during those three days a week. I left my office around 2 and I was down at the gym from about 3, 3:30 p.m. to about 10:30 p.m. It was a passion of mine, and I did it out of the love of the game and to try to help young people develop during the summer months.”