Whenever a tournament is established, longevity can be an issue for various reasons.
The West Virginia Hometown Invitational Tournament has weathered the changes over the years and has established itself as one of the premier events for high school basketball in the Mountain State.
The primary goal of the tournament, which crowned its first champion in 2011, was to give the athletes from the smaller public schools in West Virginia an opportunity to participate in a statewide tournament.
The WVHIT is divided into two Divisions, normally determined by school size, with a champion being crowned on both sides. Teams can also be shifted within divisions based on coaches’ discretion.
Greenbrier West is the defending champion in Division 1 and also brought home the title in 2019.
Cavaliers head coach Jared Robertson explained why he feels the WVHIT titles coincided with his teams last two trips to the WVSSAC state tournament those same years.
“It’s hard to simulate what happens when you get to sectional or regionals and states. The WVHIT does a great job of making every team feel involved. You get to play even if you lose the first game, but it still knocks you out for the championship,” Robertson said. “We have been lucky enough the last few years to be competitive in it and it has made our kids really look forward to those (postseason) experiences.”
Division 1 includes, in order of seeding, South Harrison, Tygarts Valley, Greenbrier West, East Hardy, Meadow Bridge and Clay-Battelle.
Division 2 is made up of Harman, Montcalm, Paden City, Union, Hundred and Paw Paw.
Adding to the postseason feel of the tournament, the two opening round games are played on hometown courts with the championship games played Feb. 11-12 at South Harrison High School.
While the schools may be smaller in enrollment, they are from short on talent.
South Harrison (5-0) is undefeated and ranked No. 8 in the latest Class AA Coaches Poll, while Tygarts Valley (6-1) has just on loss and is ranked No. 9 in Class A.
The Cavaliers (5-1) are ranked No. 5 in Class A. Harman (8-1) has just one setback this year coming at the hands of Tygarts Valley.
“South Harrison was good last year and I believe they lost maybe one kid. Tygarts Valley has been ranked all year,” Robertson said. “Being seeded behind them is not an insult by any stretch.”
One of the major changes the tournament experienced was when the WVSSAC expanded basketball classifications from three classes to four.
“When they went to the four class division, they kept the tournament open to anyone that was single-A in the previous three-division format. No one really new if the four class format was going to stick or not,” Robertson said. “The four divisions coast us several teams because with the new sections, teams are trying to play all the teams they were put in their section or region.”
While the tournament has been a great experience for players that may never play in a state tournament environment, the WVHIT has also brought teams together from various parts of the state that would otherwise never play each other.
“Trip can be a pain in a way for a basketball team. In a lot of ways though, a trip is a chance for the kids to get away and hang out with each other. We usually have a team dinner somewhere and our kids have been able to go to different parts of the state,” Robertson said. “At times we have stayed the night, plus you get to see other schools. I have met coaches and I have good friends from the WVHIT that I probably would have never met without it.”
Tournament play begins on Jan. 11 when Union hosts Harman at 6 p.m.
WVHIT schedule
Tues. Jan 11
Harman at Union, 6 p.m.
Wed. Jan 19
Clay-Battelle at Greenbrier West, 7:30 p.m.
Fri. Jan 21
Hundred at Harman, 6:00 PM
Sat. Jan 22
Paw Paw at Paden City, 1 p.m.
Meadow Bridge at East Hardy, 3:30 p.m.
Greenbrier West at Tygarts Valley, 6 p.m.
Sat. Jan 29
Paden City at Montcalm, 1 p.m.
South Harrison at Meadow Bridge, 2:30 p.m.
Thurs. Feb 3
Union at Hundred, 6 p.m.
Fri. Feb 4
Montcalm at Paw Paw, 7 p.m.
East Hardy at South Harrison, 7:30 p.m.
Sat. Feb 5
Tygarts Valley at Clay-Battelle, 12:30 p.m.
Fri./Sat. Feb 11-12
Finals Weekend at South Harrison HS
