Brandon Bailey's legacy lives on with 3-on-3 basketball shootout
The Brandon Bailey 3-on-3 Basketball Shootout has become a big deal in the region. The name attached to the tournament, the family and the people behind the scenes are what make the tournament the success it is.
Bailey passed away on July 5, 2012, from a fireworks accident. He graduated from Newcastle High School in 2011.
Bailey was a graduate of Newcastle, but more importantly he was a part of the community. He was largely involved and was known around the community for his large personality.
“Brandon pretty much played everything,” His mother Gayle Bailey said. “He was the quarterback of the football team. He was a starter in football. Brandon was diagnosed in his junior year, after the football season he had a concussion and he was having trouble with his neck and stuff. He was going into his senior season. We had changed divisions and they were expected to go really far. Brandon was diagnosed with spinal stenosis, and he wasn’t allowed to play. They said it was too dangerous. He didn’t get to play his senior year of football. He coached his team; he stood on the sidelines, he was still very much a leader, and he stood by his teammates.”
Bailey had to put his energy into basketball his senior season because of his diagnosis with spinal stenosis.
“He has always played every sport. He really put his heart into basketball his senior year, since that was the only thing he really got to play,” Bailey said. “Then, he ran hurdles and he advanced to regionals every year of high school in his hurdles. I can’t remember all of his awards. He was always all-district, all-region and even got all-state his junior year for playing safety in football. He was safety and quarterback. He was very athletic, very competitive. He was salutatorian. He excelled in his academics and went to UIL competitions.”
The legacy Brandon left behind is felt in the community response to the tournament.
“As Brandon was going through school we would play Woodson or we would play Throckmorton and he was active in all of that,” Newcastle educator Gordon Grubbs said. “Then he spoke at Fields of Faith there in Graham. Anyone who knew Brandon just loved him.”
The Brandon Bailey 3-on-3 Basketball Shootout is a testament that honors his legacy and brings the community together.
“We started this tournament in the spring after Brandon had passed, as a fund-raiser to raise a scholarship in his name,” Newcastle educator Courtney Bozeman said. “We give scholarships out to kids from Graham, Olney, Newcastle, Woodson and Throckmorton. This is one of two main fund raisers that puts money in this fund. Brandon went to school here (Newcastle) and was a large part of this community. He was very high in academics, very high in his faith and very high in his sports. So we tried to find something that he would have truly enjoyed. Really we could have picked anything, but we picked basketball. So, we started this, and it has been a huge success, mainly because it is in Brandon’s name. Just what he meant to the community, what the family means to the community. We have been doing this, and this will be our fourth one. The kids look forward to this; we all look forward to this. The community looks forward to it.”
The tournament’s success has been consistent. With 67 teams last year that came from all over, there is no doubt that there is strong support for the event.
“It’s been pretty consistent,” Bailey said. “It probably started out with 50 teams. The first year there was right at 60 teams. We have teams that come from Stephenville, Wichita Falls, Childress, Abilene, Breckenridge, Jacksboro, Throckmorton, Graham, Woodson, Brock, and a lot of it is word of mouth. A lot of people know the family, and it has spread from there. It is a testament to Brandon and to the Bailey family.”
The support from the other communities is so strong that the Baileys believed it was necessary to offer scholarships to students from neighboring communities, as well.
“Brandon was very competitive. We were so very blessed by the other communities,” Bailey said. “(That is) the reason why the scholarship is not just for Newcastle. We do a $4,000 to Newcastle, and then we have been blessed to give another $500 scholarship to students from Newcastle. The year that happened, it’s one thing when your community supports you but it’s another thing when other communities are that behind you. That year Throckmorton dedicated their seats and then their state championship to Brandon. The Woodson teachers were in on this with Newcastle when this (tournament) started, and said ‘Hey I want to help’, Gordon Thomas over at Woodson was (one of the teachers who helped). With the scholarship we felt like, Graham donates their junior high gyms, and we felt it was only right that we do the scholarship for Graham, Woodson, Throckmorton and Olney as well. We have been very blessed.”
The tournament has helped the Bailey family and Newcastle community raise a lot of money for scholarships over its three years of existence.
“We have given away through last year, the three years of the tournament, $22,000 in scholarships in Brandon’s name,” Bailey said. “This year we are on track to give away $6,500 or so. We haven’t done all of our selections. We have already given away our Graham scholarship to Weston Womack for $500. We are not sure how many others. We will have one in Olney that is $500, but the big one in Newcastle, we are not sure how many applicants there are yet. We will be meeting next week to decide that. We are going to give away another $7,000 or so probably this year. Through last year it was $22,000.”
An event with this much support is complicated to put on. The amount of volunteers and support received makes it a fun event.
“Gayle keeps up with who all sent in the forms and then I make the brackets,” Bozeman said. “We have them divided into age groups. We have several volunteers. We have teachers who no longer teach here that help. We have teachers from Woodson that volunteer. We have people from Throckmorton that help. All of the teachers and coaches here (Newcastle) help. My husband and I, we run the Graham gyms. This year we are going to have certified officials call the games. Normally, the teachers here call it. They have informed me that it is time. I contacted Wichita Falls, and I have officials on standby. So, that will be new for this year.”
The event is a great testament of community support and goodwill and continues to come together stronger every year.
The sanctioned officiating should help create a new level of competition this year. Those interested in signing up have until Monday, May 16. The tournament will be held all day on Saturday, May 28, at the Graham junior high gyms and at the Newcastle gym. The finals will be played in the Newcastle Gym beginning at 6:30 p.m.
There are boys and girls divisions and then age brackets. The age brackets range from elementary to adults.
The brackets can fill up, however.
“Last year, some of our brackets filled up,” Bailey said. “There are only 10 teams per division, or 11 depending . The college boys and the men they kind of fill up kind of quick. Junior high boys fill up too.”
The family is appreciative of the support and said they feel so blessed through the success of the tournament and the scholarships awarded.
“The family, we really enjoy all of that,” Bailey said. “At the very beginning, we introduce all of the scholarship recipients that are there. We talk about that and thank everybody. It’s really a lot of fun for us, because we get to see everybody. It’s hard to be in three different gyms and thank everybody, but we try.”
For information about the tournament or to sign up, more information is available at www.newcastle-isd.net or on Facebook. Newcastle participants can also call Gayle Bailey at 940-846-3531. Graham participants can call Courtney Bozeman at 940-521-4023.
The team entry fee is $50 for a team of three or four that wants to play. Sponsorship opportunities are also available for $200.
