PIZZA HUT INVITATIONAL FEATURED ON GREENSBORO TRANSIT AUTHORITY BUSSES IN DECEMBER
Fairway Outdoor Advertising Provides Billboard Promotion
GREENSBORO, N.C. – With Thanksgiving now in the rear-view mirror and the holiday shopping season underway, holiday high school basketball tournaments can’t be far behind. The 36th annual Pizza Hut Invitational presented by NewBridge Bank is set for Dec. 26-28, 2011.
Basketball fans will start seeing some interesting buses throughout Greensboro this week. The Pizza Hut Invitational, in conjunction with the Matthews Mobile Media and the Greensboro Transit Authority, will be featured on multiple GTA busses through the month of December, it was announced today.
With all tournament proceeds going to charitable organizations and the participating schools, Matthews Mobile Media and the Greensboro Transit Authority joined the tournament as in-kind sponsors this year. GTA donated advertising space on the buses while Matthews designed and produced the advertising and will handle installation and removal of the advertisements.
The first bus, as seen in the attached picture, features a “full wrap” design. Other buses will feature half wraps as well as additional smaller sizes. Each ad will include the participating schools as well as the tournament website, www.pizzahutinvitational.com. This year’s participating schools are Greensboro Day School, Grimsley High School, Northeast Guilford, Northern Guilford, Northwest Guilford, Page High School, Smith High School and Ragsdale High School.
In an additional in-kind sponsorship, Fairway Outdoor Advertising will again provide three static billboards and three rotating advertisements on their digital billboards throughout Greensboro. Fairway conducted a similar campaign last year. Men’s and women’s pairings and seedings will be announced at a news conference on Tuesday, Dec. 13.
The Pizza Hut Invitational presented by NewBridge Bank is an annual high school basketball tournament in Greensboro, N.C. Founded in 1976 as the Little 4, the tournament features men’s and women’s teams representing eight Guilford County schools playing at the Greensboro Coliseum Complex Special Events Center. Tournament proceeds are donated to charity and the participating schools; the Pizza Hut Invitational is planned and implemented by the Greensboro Sports Council.
If they would include HPCA, Wesleyan, and maybe Westchester, this tournament would raise so much money for all schools involved. Public high school basketball is almost like JV now except for a few teams. Nothing wrong with that, but this field will not draw the crowd that say a GDS/ HPCA final would.
Public school ball is DEAD in Guilford County………….I don’t even know why this tournament even exists any longer as none of these teams will be able to compete with GDS and all of their “re-classed, recycled talent” LOL! Better off simply saving your money and get yourself something nice for Christmas!
Greensboro Day vs. Northeast Guilford would a very good boys final at the Pizza Hut Invitational….The Southwest Guilford boys should one of the top 4-A teams in the state this year….They are loaded with Leach and Hanners, one of the best backcourts in the state…..They(the Cowboys) just have to be disciplined and come to play every night and not fall into any bad habits…..
The Greensboro Day girls may make a run at the Pizza Hut Tourney…..Smith will be steady and ready and Page can compete with Paris Kea in the lineup….Northwest with Natalie Harper and Alyssa Munson can be a team to reckon with…..
To get both Greensboro Day teams the Bengal boys and girls in the Finals, that would be a good draw and the NEG boys and the Page or Smith girls might create the biggest crowd for a girls final vs. the GDS girls…..GDS would rock the house with fans if both were in the finals….The Smith and PAGE boys will also make good comp for a Greensboro Day in the finals and one of those teams might knock off GDS in the semis……With GDS, Page, NEG, Smith even NWG, this is a good field…….
Northern Guilford’s boys will also give you a shake when they get Daniel Downing, T.J. Logan and John McBeth back…..If they win that state football title and we hope that they do, they will be pumped for basketball season and want to go far there too….
Soo,GDS steals everybodies playrs and they the big sh#t . . . .way to go Freddie the gr8 coach in guilford county. Lockin Dudley out only makes it easier for the rich schools.
To Ol’ Bawl Coach – your stupid statement is part of the reason that Guilford Co has a problem with keeping a lot of it’s better basketball players within the public school system. You stated “Soo, GDS steals everybodies players and they the big #?!X…”
#1 – Freddie does not pay any of these kids school fees which can be up to $22,000 per year with tuition, book fees, player fees, bus transportation and other misc cost throughout the year. It is us the parents that carry that cost for our kids (some with grants and/or loans if necessary). You are a fool if you think any of us take that burden lightly depending on our financail situation.
#2 – When you state “everybodies players” you again are missing the big picture. These are our kids (our meaning the parents) not any school in Guilford Co. We direct our kids not the school system.
#3 – Many of the kids on these teams both boys and girls were never at many of the high schools that you may be referring to. Most of the boys have been out of the public high schools for several years already and they were not “the man” prior to leaving their school. Most were the 2nd or 3rd best or just 1 of the starters when they left public schools. Most of the girls never went to a public high school. The ones that went to a public high school left early in the 9th or 10th grade (long before they were “the man/woman”).
The bottomline is that GDS is fortunate to have a good boys and girls program that the GDS fan base can enjoy watching each night. When you can combine the best educational situation for your child along with a solid sports program of their choice – that is what GDS is and what Freddie is all about. Few if any of these kids will ever make money playing basketball but all of them will be educated enough to get through “any” college and make a solid living in life.
There are far too many kids playing basketball and other sports with borderline grades and a lack of what is important in life. We are thankful that GDS first demands high level performance in the classroom above what is happening on the flloor. Yes – it can be expensive but I know our kids are getting the highest level of high school education available any where in America.
The tournament will be a great event.
GDS is a very talented and well coached team. Northeast will be strong this year. Smith returns all of their marquee players.
You have three very good teams in the boys division.
Anybody who pays for a kid to play basketball needs to think long and hard about their priorities. School should always all ways be about education. I have noticed kids jumping from school to school. No one can convince me that all these kids are going to GDS and reclassing for education purposes(altough GDS does have great acdemics). I will admit GDS iis a well coached team but 22k is a bit much to play basketball.
I’ll admit, I’ve not a fan of the little four since Demetria Toney played for Smith but I always wondered why Dudley was no longer involved in it.
I meant (been) a fan since I used to go to see Metrie play back a few years ago…
It doesn’t take alot of coaching when you have all the best players !!!!
It is my understanding that Dudley choose to leave the litte 4 several years ago so they could play in some other holiday tournament. Personal I do not think it was a bad decision because it helps give their kids some added time in front of coaches and scouts but that is only if you have the high level talent needed to compete in those tournaments. Dudley has been losing that high level talent to the private schools over the past 2-3 years. It hurts Dudley only because they are not sharing in the $8k or so that each school gets. Dudley would be a great draw for the tournament and I wish they were in it each year. I agree with an earlier write up about opening the tournament up to all Guilford Co schools. Play the first rounds as a home game for each school to set the seedings. This would lead into bracket play for the colsiem portion of the tournament. Only the top 6-8 teams would advance for both the girls and boys into a winners bracket play division. The teams losing the first round games would advance into a losers bracket play division that could continue to advance back into the winners bracket. In the end, there would only be 1 winner and everybody would finish from #1 – thru #20 based on their played games. Just treat it like an AAU style tournament basically.
I wish there was someway that you get in your Greensboro Sports the rankings of the high schools in Greensboro academically. How does each high school rank as far as education goes, because that is what people go to school for is to get an education. Once you see those rankings you will understnad why people transfer to private schools. In myt opinion teachers in GCS are told to bring the students that are sub par up to par and do very little for the gifted and talented. They are suppose to get it ontheir own. The GCS are trying to buy land next to Kernersville too build a new high school. How does that make sense. Just about all they do in the GCS System makes no sense.
Concerning the Pizza Hut or Little Four Tournament, name some schools or players that as a fan that you would have loved to see play in that Tournament?
Hopefully I won’t need a cup of coffee to keep me awake while GDS shows the fans how they can hold the ball for 7 mins. I remember leaving the tourney when they held the ball against Dudley.
A strategy designed for winning rather than entertaining. Sorry you didn’t get your entertainment value out of it.
If you come to watch GDS this year and expect to see motion, you’ll probably see it run for 15 seconds followed by an alley-oop pass. This team, if it is has a flaw thus far, is that it tries to push the tempo frequently. Expect in tighter games to see it slow down a little, if anyone in the tournament can match their size or speed. This team is BIG and FAST.
Two things
How is GDS big? Biggest player is 6’6 and maybe 190
Pirate I suggest u read the book titled “Dumming Us Down” The entire american education system was design to teach to the middle, Surely you can’t believe all these kids transferred to private schools for such a great education. The foundation for a great education is laid in elementary school. Most of these kids transferred for basketball. There is nothing wrong with that but it is the truth
“How is GDS big? Biggest player is 6’6 and maybe 190″
Cool. Go ahead and believe that. Saw them play Christ School and they were as big, if not bigger, than that team. Roster shows three at 6’7” and pretty sure all 3 were on the floor at the same time during periods of that game.
Come on GDS fan you, me and those three young men know they are not 6’7. Everybody knows basketball coaches give their players an inch or an inch and a half. 6’7 is not really BIG. They will all be guards at the next level so I don’t really understand why they are playing inside at GDS.