Dick Vitale Tennis extravaganza returns to Lakewood Ranch Golf & Country Club

The 2011 Dick Vitale Intercollegiate Clay Court Classic will return to the Lakewood Ranch Golf & Country Club from Nov. 11-13, 2011.

This is the only clay court college tournament in the nation and the only event of its kind that brings men’s and women’s teams in for one event.

New this year, ESPN sportscaster and Lakewood Ranch resident Dick Vitale is adding his name to the tournament.

“This event is going to feature some of the greatest players on the collegiate level,” Vitale said. “Lakewood Ranch is blessed to have teams like these, all coming here. I would encourage anyone who wants to get involved to sponsor the tournament with a banner that will hang at all the weekend events – including the party at my house. I’ll be here to introduce the players and it’s gonna be awesome baby with a capital A!”

The best college players in the country will battle it out in three days of competition.

Men’s teams include Arizona, Pepperdine, Minnesota, Miami, Florida, Ole Miss., Virginia, Alabama, and Duke. Women's teams include Oklahoma St., Mississippi St., Miami, Notre Dame, Tennessee, Baylor, Northwestern and Clemson.

“We have a waiting list for college teams that want to enter this tournament,” said Paul Lederman, Lakewood Ranch’s director of athletics. “It’s a huge win for our area, and has become a huge event in the collegiate tennis world after our successful inaugural event in 2010. We plan to bring this back every year. “

Admission to the tournament will be free and open to the public but donations will be taken for the V Foundation for Cancer Research. The V Foundation for Cancer Research was founded in 1993 by ESPN and the late Jim Valvano, legendary North Carolina State basketball coach and ESPN commentator.

Since 1993, The Foundation has raised more than $100 million to fund cancer research grants nationwide. It awards 100 percent of all direct cash donations and net proceeds of events directly to cancer research and related programs. Administrative and fundraising expenses are paid by the Foundation's endowment.

The Foundation awards grants through a competitive awards process strictly supervised by a Scientific Advisory Board. For more information on The V Foundation or to make a donation, please visit www.jimmyv.org.

Anyone interested in sponsoring the Dick Vitale Clay Court Classic or hanging a banner at the tournament or at the party at Dick Vitale’s house can contact the tournament team at 941-907-2255 or 941-907-2935. The full tournament schedule will be released at a later date.

Will Manatee County ever see another Clifford Rozier

It’s been 17 years since Clifford Rozier became the first and only Manatee County player selected in the first round of the NBA draft.

The former Southeast great was chosen16^th overall by Golden State in 1994 after finishing up his All-American career at Louisville.

Rozier played four seasons in the NBA prematurely ending his career in 1998. His rookie season was his best, averaging 6.8 points and 4.3 rebounds per game.

The 6-11 forward/center, who turns 39 in October, was named Florida’s Mr. Basketball in 1990 when he averaged 35 points and 16 points for Southeast.

Thursday night's draft ended with hoops fans around here wondering if Manatee County will ever see another first or second round NBA pick?

We all know this is football country, but still that’s a long time since Rozier’s name was called in the draft. The closet we’ve had to anyone since then getting drafted were both from Sarasota County.

Riverview High’s Altron Jackson, who is the number two career scorer at the University of South Florida, figured to be selected after his junior season with Bulls. He decided to stay in school for another year and his numbers went down and he was not selected.

Justin Hamilton, a standout point guard for four years at Florida, was another player who seemed on the cusp of getting drafted, but the Booker High product never had his name called.

Both went to Europe. Jackson had a solid career overseas reaching all star potential while Hamilton is still playing.

Hamilton, who finished up at Florida in 2003, played briefly in the NBDL. The 30-year-old guard has played six seasons in Europe winning the Spanish National Championship with Real Madrid in 2005 and has won three Belgian National Championships in the last four years.

The 31-year-old Jackson finished his career at USF in 2002 with 2,017 points averaging 16.5 points per game. He is Conference USA’s third ranked career scoring leader and was number one when he finished his college career.

Lincoln High’s Waite Bellamy was the 33d pick in the 1963 NBA draft after averaging 27.9 points per game at Florida A&M. He had a standout pro career in the Eastern Basketball League where he won three scoring titles.