Marty Pallman
The oldest tournament in the area is returning for its 48th year beginning today at Vanguard High School in Ocala.
The Kingdom of the Sun is one of the longest-running 16-team tournaments in the nation. Longtime Vanguard head basketball coach Jim Haley started the tourney in 1974, and it has rivaled the City of Palms tournament in Fort Myers for the teams it has brought in through the years.
The Vanguard head basketball coach runs the tournament each year, and that honor falls on fifth-year Knights coach Todd Davis. Davis is being helped by Donnie Wilkie, who is responsible for starting the City of Palms tourney and the Wally Keller Classic in Punta Gorda.
P.K. Yonge (Gainesville) faces Hawthorne in the first game of the evening at approximately 6:10 p.m.
The Blue Wave and Hornets have split their last 10 meetings. Last year, P.K. Yonge won 48-42 at Hawthorne with the Hornets winning 55-53 at the Blue Wave gym.Â
The two teams will have a home-and-home later in the season but get to see each other on the opening day of the Kingdom.
“It’s always a big game and a battle when we play Hawthorne,” P.K. Yonge head coach Boderick Johnson said. “We’ve already been tested in most of our games and this will be another big test for us.”
The Blue Wave, who replaced their top two scorers from last year’s 18-10 and advanced to the 3A playoffs last season, has started 3-4 with a schedule that includes Potter’s House Christian (Jacksonville), Cleveland (TN), Gainesville, defending 3A state champion Florida High (Tallahassee), and Andrew Jackson (Jacksonville). P.K. Yonge defeated Jackson on Dec. 17.
“It took us a little while to get going with football season wrapping up,” Johnson said. “We are fortunate to have some seniors returning to help make up for losing our leading scorers from last year.”
Hawthorne has only played one game to this point — a 70-69 win over Hilliard on Dec. 21. The reason for that, of course, is the Hornets football team was busy winning its first state football title. With most of the basketball players on the football team, Hornets coach Greg Bowie didn’t schedule any games for the first month of the season.
“Congratulations to Hawthorne for their work on the football field,” Johnson said. “They (Hawthorne) haven’t played many games so far but I’m sure they will be ready on Tuesday night.”
Hawthorne advanced to their fourth state semifinal appearance in eight seasons last season, being knocked out by eventual 1A state champion Bradford (Starke). The Hornets won the state title in 2020.
Tuesday night’s game from Ocala will be broadcast on Mainstreet Daily News beginning with the pregame show at 6 p.m.
Click here for the tournament bracket with start times and other teams participating.