With four seconds left on the clock, Kansas State’s Keyontae Johnson scored to help his team edge out Louisiana State University by two points during the 2022 Cayman Islands Classic Championship finals on Wednesday, 23 Nov.
The Wildcats lifted the Classic trophy after Johnson’s jumper with 4.7 seconds on the clock, aiding a 61-59 comeback victory inside the John Gray Gymnasium.
Johnson and his teammate Markquis Nowell were both presented with the Most Valuable Player award after the pair contributed 34 points against LSU.
Speaking with the Cayman Compass after the match, Nowell said while he may have stood out during the game, he owes his performance to his teammates.
“We just beat a very good LSU team,” Nowell said. “It came down to the wire, but I’m just grateful to win the trophy out there. It feels good to get the MVP at any tournament, but this was a total team effort. The coaches gave us a good game plan and we just executed it.”
The tournament, which featured a talent pool from eight schools, attracted thousands of fans over the course of three days, and finished with Nevada taking third place, LSU Tigers second, and Kansas claiming first.
Tournament’s tourism impact
While the Cayman Islands Classic tournament is primarily focused on bringing elite basketball to the island, the tournament also contributes hundreds of thousands of dollars to Cayman’s economy.
Speaking with the Compass, Collin Anglin, one of the event organisers, estimated the tournament had generated more than $2 million.
“These kinds of tournaments have a very impressive track record in terms of the economic impact,” Anglin said. “You’re talking about college fans; they travel and follow their teams, they come to spend money. This tournament… has brought 1,000 to 1,200 people here. They are spending at least $2,500 a person.”
More than 200 players, divided into eight teams, took part in the tournament. Team officials, coaches, fans, family, international media, and NBA scouts also came for the basketball event.
Anglin said the visitors contributed to different parts of the tourism sector.
“They are paying the taxis, they’re paying the restaurants, they’re going to the supermarket, all the excursions, swimming with the stingrays, and I know that I am understating it here, but they are spending at least… $2.5 million in just five 1/2 days.”
He added that he believes the tournament is one of the “top tourism events in terms of its economic impact”.
Motivating local talent
The three-day event saw hundreds of local school students and aspiring Caymanian ballers attend the event. Anglin noted that the Cayman Classic served as a means of motivation for many coming through Cayman’s basketball ranks.
“It’s really huge for the sport of basketball,” he said. “So many athletes… want to know what it takes… to get to the level, to get a college scholarship and play in the NCAA.”
While Cayman has produced several elite university basketball players in the past, including the likes of Joshua O’Garro, who plays for San Jose State University, Anglin said seeing elite ballers live in action opens a new perspective for Cayman up-and-comers.
“A lot of times they’re just stuck here in Cayman, where they don’t get out or travel much to gain experience,” he said. “So, seeing this level of basketball, up close and personal, makes an incredible difference for an athlete because they get to measure themselves based on what they are seeing.”
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We saw the game. With just 2 seconds to go, after several timeouts called by Louisiana, Louisiana got a ball into the net that would have been an equalizer.
In fact the score board changed to reflect this.
Then they looked at the video of the shot and decided that it was too late by 1/10 of a second.
A real nail-biter.