NORFOLK, VA (WTKR)- Many basketball fans in Hampton Roads are familiar with the Portsmouth Invitational Tournament, a decades-long tradition in the 757. Now a similar event will showcase women's hoops.
The Women's Professional Basketball Invitational Tournament is coming to Norfolk next spring. It will be held at Chartway Arena at Old Dominion April 7-10. The idea was conceived during an NBA All-Star Weekend more than 10 years ago, a vision of Charles Hatcher, along with Wali Jones and a handful of others.
"In the last three years, the light bulb popped," said Hatcher. "What better place to have it started than in Hampton Roads? It's a real treat for me."
The tournament will feature 48 players from colleges across the country, ranging from the Power Five leagues to mid-majors and even include some Division II and III talent. They will be divided into six teams of eight players and compete in front of scouts from the WNBA and overseas clubs. It's a platform meant to elevate the women's game.
"The young ladies who put four years into their education and their game and their aspirations, now they have the same opportunity that the males have," Hatcher noted.
Hatcher is a Norfolk native who broke plenty of barriers in his own right. A Norview graduate, he became the first African-American player to win the city's Most Outstanding Player honor in high school. He also was the first Black basketball student-athlete to be honored as All-City, All-District and All-State, according to the WPBIT website. More than 50 years later, he's still working to make a difference.
"This is the type of excitement that can give, not just serious basketball opportunities for the kids, but can also bring excitement and zeal," he pointed out.
The Norfolk pioneer isn't alone in his efforts. Plenty of big names have stepped up to help make the tournament a reality. Old Dominion legend and Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Famer Nancy Lieberman, renowned coach Susan Summons, former NBA player Major Jones and Charlie Neal, who is in the MEAC, CIAA and Black College Football Hall of Fames, are among those who have put their support behind the event.
"There are so many great women's players who really don't get the PR that they need to showcase themselves," Lieberman said. "We're going to have every (WNBA) franchise here. We're going to have European scouts here."
"When this event comes out, it will be burning holes through every community, every household," added Summons. "Little girls now have big girls to look up to."
Next spring will mark the first jump ball in what will hopefully become a long tradition. It's just the latest example of how Hatcher continues to impact the game, both locally and nationally.
"It's beyond words of what I feel, the way it's coming back," the coach said. "I want this to be a part of the fiber of the Hampton Roads and Norfolk community."
WTKR News 3 is the official news partner of the Women's Professional Basketball Invitational Tournament. For more information on the WPBIT, click here.
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