Biddy International set for this week

Some of the best young basketball talent in the country will be competing in Thibodaux this week for a chance to be crowned International Champions.

The Biddy Basketball World Tournament will take place this week at the Warren J. Harang Auditorium, an event that will begin on Friday afternoon and will run through Tuesday.

The event will feature 16 of the best U8 teams in Biddy Basketball.

Several local teams are expected to compete at the event, including South Lafourche, Raceland, Thibodaux and defending champion Terrebonne.

“It amazes me,” Biddy National Director Firmin Simms said. “The young ball players today are so skilled and they are so gifted. They are so much more advanced and so much more skilled than they have ever been in the past. It’s the exposure. They see so much of the game on TV and on video games. Biddy just wants to give those kids a chance to play and compete – maybe even for an education at the college level.”

This year will mark the 21st-straight year the tournament is in Thibodaux, and Simms said that’s by design.

He said it’s because the city hosts one heck of an event.

The national director applauded the work of Mickey Jennings, who has directed the tournament for more than 15 years. Simms said the work of Jennings and others makes Thibodaux a logical fit.

Jennings said he takes pride in his task of making the tournament the best it can be.

“We have great support,” Jennings said at last year’s event. “A lot of people put in a lot of time to this. And look, we are very blessed with a good event. Coaches say they love it and think it’s one of the better tournaments around. We take pride in that.”