Dru Gimlin tourney brings B-ball enthusiasts together

QUINCY – Downtown Quincy hosted the annual Dru Gimlin 3-on-3 Basketball tournament Saturday. The games began at 9 a.m. and lasted until 6 p.m., making for a full day of basketball in honor of the memory of Dru Gimlin. 

“We are all truly thankful for our community and everybody that continues to come support the tournament,” said Stephanie Boorman, who runs the tournament.  

This year, 123 teams registered to play, which is the most teams the tournament has seen, with last year’s tournament having 124 teams sign up, with a couple of teams unable to make the tournament. While most of the teams come from Quincy and cities in the Basin and Washington, Gimlin’s nephews from Idaho to play in the tournament as well.  

The tournament went smoothly this year as there were enough volunteers to help with everything that was needed. Boorman said that there were volunteers helping coordinate other volunteers into areas where they were needed and taking charge when necessary. 

“I was actually able to sit down at one point, which hardly ever happens,” she said. 

She said there were once again people who didn’t even sign up to volunteer stepping in to fill roles throughout the tournament 

The amount of volunteering and support from the community had increased from last year, she said. There was also a strong representation from public servants present with three council members, Pat Haley, the City Administrator, Boorman herself as the City Clerk, Jorge Trujillo, the Police Captain, David Durfee, the Fire Chief, School Board Members, teachers from Quincy and one from Ephrata, youth athletic coaches, farmers, students and numerous Quincy alumni. 

“It’s a full community effort to keep that tournament going, like the day of,” said Boorman. “Everybody shows up and it’s a true blessing to see and experience.” 

Boorman said there were quite a few highlights from the tournament this year that she enjoyed. One of which was when one of the third-fourth-grade brackets fell behind by an hour, she had the opportunity to show people how the courts are marked in the tournament as they transitioned the courts from having 10-foot to 8-foot hoops. 

Another highlight came from the involvement of the Gimlin family in the tournament. Dru’s sister, Andrea, and her husband, Enrique, were some of the first to fill in volunteering roles wherever they were needed as court monitors for the entire day and their son, Paxton, flew in from Hawaii to court monitor with his girlfriend sitting in as a scorekeeper, said Boorman. 

“They just took it and ran with it and hopped out on those courts and started court monitoring, scorekeeping, giving our court monitors breaks,” she said. “It was really fun to see them just get out there and fully involved in getting their hands dirty and taking on the roles that nobody wants to volunteer for.” 

Former classmates and teammates of Dru’s are still showing up to participate in different ways, said Boorman. Two of the seniors from 2004 who coordinated the first Dru Gimlin, 3-on-3, Drew Ferguson and Joel Omlin, were back this year as coaches and spectators, as they had their own children playing in the tournament. 

“It was really cool to see everything evolve and see these guys out there, getting to enjoy what they started 21 years ago,” she said. 

The Smilin’ 4 Rylinn pulled pork fundraiser for Rylinn Massey was the main food vendor at the tournament, with all proceeds going to support Rylinn. The fundraiser raised over $5,000 that day, said Boorman. 

Boorman said that she and the other organizers are very grateful for the continued support from the community each year in making sure that the tournament is a success. 

“Even from out of town, we have people thanking us again for a wonderful tournament and they’re looking forward to next year,” said Boorman. “You just see that there’s that commitment and while there’s that commitment, there's a handful of us that are going to continue to keep it going and try to make it better next year.” 

Tournament Champions 

3/4 grade boys: Tribe (Moses Lake)
3/4 grade girls: Kodiaks (Leavenworth)
5/6 grade boys: Elite (Wenatchee)
5/6 grade girls: Dawgs (Cashmere)
7/8 grade boys: Drewsky Elite (Quincy)
7/8 grade girls: Buckets (Royal City)
9/10 grade boys: ML Warriors (Moses Lake)
9/10 grade girls: Lady Ballers (Quincy)
11/12 grade boys: Cuatro Amigos (Quincy)
Men’s REC: Gorge Yuckets (Quincy)
Men’s Elite: Tri-Yak Ballers (Yakima)
Men’s Mature: 3pt. Assassins (Quincy) 

    A player in one of the adult brackets makes a layup at the hoop while being defended against. The adult brackets consisted of a Rec, Elite, and Mature division.
  

    A Kodiak player makes a play for the hoop while her teammate defends against two Tiger Queens players at the Dru Gimlin tournament. The Kodiaks went on to become the champions of the 3/4 grade bracket.
  

    A player from the Road Crew defends against a player from the Bad Apples. Stephanie Boorman, who runs the tournament, said that this year there was a great number of volunteers that helped the tournament run smoothly.
  

    Lady Ballers player prepares to pass the ball to an open teammate while a Royal player jumps to block a potential shot. The Lady Ballers became the champions of the 9/10 grade bracket.
  

    During one of the high school aged games in the tournament, two players defend against their opponent as he plays for the hoop. The tournament featured brackets for grades 3-12 for boys' and girls' teams.
  

    A Quincy player prepares to make a shot against the Ravenites in the 3/4 grade bracket early in the tournament.
  

    A player from the Court Queens keeps the ball away from a defending player from the Lil Lady Tigers in the 5/6 grade bracket.
  

    An Eastmont player dribbles the ball as a Cascade player closes in. Teams from all around the state and players from outside the state joined in on the competition.