The No Slam Basketball Jam, as it was originally known, was started in 1988.Sacred Heart of Jesus school gym did not have breakaway rims on their hoops at that time. Tom Casey was an alumni of the school, and a basketball coach. He decided to do something about the rims. As such, he created the No Slam Basketball Jam (NSBJ) serving as its first director to raise the necessary funds for the new rims. The tournament started out small, but he quickly developed it into the wonderful event it is today. At one point Tom was running three “tournaments” within the NSBJ. He had the alumni division, the 6 foot 1 and under division, and the competitive division. In fact, there were so many games that some of them had to be played at Baseline Junior High. Needless to say, the money was raised for the new rims. The two competitive divisions were eventually dropped. However, the alumni portion of this tournament caught on in a hurry, and is still running today.
At some point Tom decided to hang up his administrative clipboard, and at that point Dennis and Helen Nickerson took the lead as directors. They ran the tournament for quite a few years, and set all of the attendance and participation records. At one point there was more than 140 players.This was the time when Brittney Kupfner started to become involved in the tournament. Dennis and Helen decided to pass the torch on to their eldest son, Joe. He and his wife Charity ran the tournament for a few years at that point. Brittney was always involved and was a major participant in making the tournament happen.
At that point the tournament had seemingly run its course and didn’t happen one year. That was the year that Brittney passed away.After she was gone, the No Slam board in conjunction with the SHJ Athletic Department decided that the best way to honor her memory would be to bring the tournament back. She really loved this tournament. The tournament was repacked as the “No Slam Tournament, in Honor of Brittney Kupfner “24”. The tournament was back in business.
A few years ago Joe and Charity stepped aside, and Joe’s sister Jennifer who along with her husband Mike took over as directors and they have run the tournament for the past few years. This somewhat brought the tournament full circle. Mike Ward was the school’s gym teacher for a year. Anyway, Brittney’s brother, Josh, and cousin Devon and Jamie, have joined the board, and have been pivotal in making this tournament happen. In addition, Joe and Charity have come around, and are back involved as well. The No Slam board truly hopes that this tournament goes strong into the future! There have also been countless volunteers throughout the years that have made this tournament such a great sucess. The No Slam directors would like to thank each and every person that has been involved over the years!!
