Today in Fairbanks, Alaska, the high temperature will be an unseasonably warm 13 degrees and daylight will last for only six hours and six minutes. But that will not shadow the excitement the Golden Heart City feels for a rare winter weekend in the sun.

Tomorrow night, Alaska-Fairbanks tips off its own men’s basketball preseason tournament, the ninth annual BP Top of the World Classic. The four-day event features UAF, a Division II program, and seven Division I schools that make the long journey to the arctic. But aside from basketball, the hospitality is what attracts most schools.

One of the major highlights on the city’s yearly calendar, the tournament will quickly show players and coaches that it is different than any other. Greeting each team today at the airport will be a personal cheerleading squad for the team’s entire stay. It is part of the support the city of 32,000 bestows on all its tournament guests.

‘It’s more of a community event than a basketball tournament,’ said Mike Fisher, the host school coordinator who assigns a local school and its cheerleading squad to each university.

‘We’ve had teams that have also played in the more publicized Great Alaska Shootout in Anchorage,’ said George Roderick, tournament chair and a former UAF coach from 1977 to 1996. ‘And even though we don’t have the ESPN contract and a big arena, they like our tournament better because of the true Alaskan hospitality and entertainment presented.’

Teams are also given host families, which not only attend practices and games, but arrange activities at the host school, select restaurants and lead the team in extra activities such as dogsledding, snowmobiling or visiting the Alaskan pipeline.

‘We love watching the basketball, but it’s the personal part that is the highlight,’ said Scott Wilkes, host family coordinator.

‘There is a bond that develops hanging out with a team,’ Wilkes said. ‘Our first year we had Utah State and my daughter, Chelsea, 10 at the time, was so into the team that when they lost in overtime in the finals she was in tears.’

Utah State happened to be playing in Wilkes’ hometown of Santa Barbara, Calif., later that season when he and his family were there on vacation. Wilkes said it was like seeing old friends when he and his family were invited to Utah State’s practice and game later that day.

Students in middle schools and high schools all over Fairbanks welcome players and coaches as if they were old friends. Assemblies and pep rallies are held. Teams may put on a dunking display or hold 3-point shooting contests against the local school’s team.

‘The friendliness was surprising,’ said Arthur Culver, a freshman at Rice last year when the Owls won the tournament. ‘They didn’t just root for UAF, but they seemed to be supportive of everybody.’

Not all universities, however, take advantage of the extra activities available to them. Some coaches completely focus on basketball and forgo an afternoon of snowmobiling or dunking.

Then there are the players and coaches who don’t give the city a chance until they arrive and see the overwhelming support, such as Providence’s 1996 head coach Pete Gillick.

‘(Gillick) had a bunch of inner-city kids from New York who got in at 10 at night and there were cheerleaders in their face, people handing them Eskimo Pie ice creams, and they thought they were getting mugged or something,’ Roderick said. ‘They went on to meet their hosts personally and turned out doing all the outdoor activities.’

Even though most teams over the last eight years have enjoyed the experience, Roderick said it is difficult to attract big-name schools. Roderick said that is not only because of the daunting travel and missed classes, but also because the games are not televised.

‘This is a trip of a lifetime for these kids,’ Roderick said. ‘It’s such a positive thing for communities like us. Why turn down these educational experiences and deny kids that just so you can make more money by playing more home games or getting another game on ESPN?’

Without a television contract, though, an opportunity to showcase the unique Top of the World Classic and the city of Fairbanks is clearly missed. Roderick said there are no plans at this time to sell television rights for the future.

But that issue is not on the minds of the city as the Classic returns tomorrow night. Originally coined in its beginnings as a gold rush town, the Golden Heart City motto has also come to embody the generosity and kindness of all Fairbanksans.

‘It’s the friendliest town in the world,’ Fairbanks Mayor Steve Thompson said, ‘right here.’

In honor of the BP Top of the World Classic, our first four picks are its opening-round games.

ALASKA-FAIRBANKS VS. CENTRAL FLORIDA

THURSDAY, 10 P.M.

In 2002, a veteran UAF team won the BP Top of the World Classic and became the first D-II team ever to win a D-I tournament. This year’s team is younger, but they will feed off the home crowd in an upset against a defending Atlantic Sun Conference champion Central Florida team that must be fatigued from today’s marathon, 3,763-mile trip.

PICK: ALASKA-FAIRBANKS 68, CENTRAL FLORIDA 61

UTAH STATE VS. GEORGIA SOUTHERN

FRIDAY, 12:30 A.M.

Fresh after a mere 3,515-mile jaunt, Georgia Southern will use a renewed emphasis on defense to upset an overconfident Utah State team that went 25-3 last year.

PICK: GEORGIA SOUTHERN 58, UTAH STATE 54

NORTHWESTERN VS. PORTLAND

FRIDAY, 10 P.M.

After posting its best finish in the Big Ten in 35 years (t-5th), there is rare anticipation for basketball in Evanston, Ill.

PICK: NORTHWESTERN 73, PORTLAND 46

WESTERN MICHIGAN VS. NEW MEXICO STATE

SATURDAY, 12:30 A.M.

Western Michigan guard Ben Reed becomes the number one option with the departure of Mike Williams, who led the Broncos to the MAC title as conference player of the year a season ago.

PICK: WESTERN MICHIGAN 84, NEW MEXICO STATE 70

NO. 6 SYRACUSE VS NO. 12 MISSISSIPPI STATE

THURSDAY, 9 P.M., ESPN

First-team preseason All-American Lawrence Roberts returns to the Bulldogs lineup after missing the first two games with a suspension and a broken nose. He will neutralize SU forward Hakim Warrick, and SU guard Gerry McNamara doesn’t appear ready to pick up the slack from downtown.

PICK: MISSISSIPPI STATE 69, SYRACUSE 64

Published on November 16, 2004 at 12:00 pm