Top Tier Events has brought the KYDA Invitational to Riverfront Sports in Scranton for the first time.
The new event, which runs Saturday and Sunday, has attracted some of the nation’s top college basketball prospects and the high-level AAU teams on which they play. Teams from the Nike Elite Youth Basketball League and the Under Armour Association are among those in the field.
Proceeds from the event benefit Keep Youth Dreams Alive, a New York City-area, non-profit agency that features enrichment programs for grades 3-12 and is designed to keep young people off the streets. Its programs include recreational and travel youth basketball.
“It’s a little fundraising obviously, a little exposure for KYDA and really just giving them a good quality event,” said Oz Cross from the KYDA, which will have some of its athletes playing in the event.
Cross was an assistant coach when Riverfront Sports and NEPA Elite AAU club owner Kevin Clark was a player at St. John’s University.
“We’ve had a great relationship ever since,” Cross said.
Fans are welcome at the event, which they can learn more about through other stories at https://nepasportsnation.com/nepa-elite/. Coverage will continue there during and after the event.
Weekend passes are $25 per person and one-day passes are $15. Children under 10 are free.
Credit cards are not accepted on site, but there is ATM access at Riverfront.
All spectators must wear masks at all times. They can arrive 15 minutes before scheduled games.
Schedule information can be found at https://basketball.exposureevents.com/162850/kyda-invitational/schedule.
The highest-level games involving the older players are featured on the three courts at Riverfront Sports.
There are also games being played at Scranton High School, Holy Rosary Center, the Moosic Youth Center and Throop Civic Center.
The boys divisions are: KYDA Platinum 17U, KYDA Platinum 16U, KYDA Platinum 15U, 10th/11th Grade, 9th Grade, 8th Grade and 7th Grade.
The girls divisions are 10th/11th Grade, 9th/10th Grade and 7th/8th Grade.
NEPA Elite, NEPA Flames, JB Hoops and NEPA Bulldogs, all programs out of Riverfront Sports, have teams entered in many of the divisions.
Streaming of games at Riverfront is available by purchasing an account at www.livebarn.com.
Game times range from 9:05 a.m. to 7:55 p.m. Saturday and 8:00 a.m. to 5:45 p.m. Sunday.
