U.S. VIRGIN ISLANDS—Governor Albert Bryan Jr. and Sports, Parks and Recreation Director Calvert White met with Nels Hawkinson, the founder of the Paradise Jam Tournament that takes place every year during the Thanksgiving holiday on St. Thomas.
The Division I NCAA men’s and women’s basketball tournament is celebrating 20 years of competition in the Territory this year.
The lineup for the Men’s Tournament, which takes place November 22-25 at the University of the Virgin Islands Sports and Fitness Center on St. Thomas, features Cincinnati; Western Kentucky; Illinois State; Valparaiso; Nevada; Fordham; and Bowling Green.
The Women’s Tournament, November 28-30, features a number of teams expected to be in the Top 10: 2019 National Champions Baylor; Oregon; South Carolina; Louisville, Oklahoma State; Indiana; Washington State; and UT Arlington.
Also this year, St. Thomas native Aliyah Boston, a standout player for the Charlotte Amalie High School Chickenhawks, returns to the Territory as a rising star for the South Carolina Gamecocks. The freshman forward was ESPN’s No. 3 pick of the 2019 national recruiting class.
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