The latest local news, weather and high school sports in and around Columbia and Jefferson City

There really is no place like home for the holidays.

For basketball junkies, they'll have second and third homes --- Fleming Fieldhouse and Rackers Fieldhouse.

Four days, 30 games --- 15 boys games, 15 girls games. Pull up a bleacher and enjoy.

It's a bountiful buffet of basketball.

"If you're a basketball fan, you couldn't ask for anything more," Jefferson City Lady Jays coach Shane Meyer said during Wednesday's kickoff press conference at Joe Machens. "It's going to be four really good days of basketball.

"If you're a fan, you're certainly going to get your money's worth."

This four-day frenzy starts Dec. 22 with the six-game National Guard Shootout at Fleming Fieldhouse --- six games involving 12 area teams.

That will serve as the appetizer for the main events --- the Joe Machens Great 8 Classic (boys) and the State Farm Invitational (girls), which will run Dec. 27-29.

"This is something our kids really look forward to every year," Helias coach Josh Buffington said. "To play over the holidays --- and it's a time we can bond as a team and be in the gym together --- it's just really good for our team.

"It's a great event, with great competition and great coaches. Anybody who wants to see some good basketball, this is one of the premier tournaments in the state. If you want to get out of the house over the holidays, you should come to these tournaments, because you're going to see a lot of good things."

And it could offer some very interesting matchups, especially in the Great 8. Jefferson City and Helias are on the same side of the bracket; on the other side bracket, you have Rock Bridge and Mexico.

Jays and Crusaders ... enough said. Rock Bridge is coached by Jim Scanlon; Mexico is coached by his son, Brennan.

Bracketology at its best.

"There could potentially be some really fun second-round matchups," Jays coach Blair Thompson said.

"The reputation of this tournament precedes itself. We've got the top teams in the area and we're bringing in some really good teams from other states. They're coming in blind, a little bit, because you don't know that much about them.

"You just do the best you can."

The Great 8 has teams from Arkansas, Kentucky, Tennessee and Ohio; the State Farm includes teams from Kentucky and Illinois.

"It's a marquee event, not only in Missouri, but in the Midwest, I think," Thompson said. "It's a really high level of competition.

"It's always been a lot of fun and I'm sure it will be again this year. It's a top-notch event."

You'll get no arguments.

Said Lady Crusaders coach Doug Light: "This is my 11th year as a coach in this tournament (seven with the Lady Jays, the last four with Helias). It's just run so well, it's so impressive. It's big time, first-class.

"And it's such great competition. The first thing you have to do is win that first game, and then go from there."

These tournaments can serve as a benchmark.

"It's a highlight of our year and something we really look forward to," Meyer said. "It sits in a great position on the calender; you're kind of at the midway point, so you can break down your season, and then exhale a little bit and get geared up for the second half of the season."

On Dec. 29, both tournaments will conclude at Fleming Fieldhouse (the State Farm will be held at Rackers Fieldhouse the first two days.) The action starts at 9 a.m. on the final day; the last game is scheduled to start at 8 p.m.

Eight games, and roughly 13 straight hours of holiday hoops.

"You kind of lose track of time, whether it's even dark or not, if you hang around there long enough," Light said. "But you can enjoy a lot of basketball and see some great players.

"It's just a lot of fun."

That, after all, is what the holidays are all about.

Here are the schedules for these events (team capsules are available at www.jeffersoncitysports.org):

NATIONAL GUARD SHOOTOUT, Dec. 22, Fleming Fieldhouse (Boys-B, Girls-G)

Noon: New Bloomfield vs. Chamois, (G)

1:30 p.m.: New Bloomfield vs. Chamois, (B)

3 p.m.: California vs. South Callaway, (G)

4:30 p.m.: California vs. Hermann, (B)

6 p.m.:  Fatima vs. Hermann, (G)

7:30 p.m.: Fatima vs. Southern Boone, (B)

JOE MACHENS GREAT 8 CLASSIC, Dec. 27-29 (First-round pairings, Dec. 27, Fleming Fieldhouse)

4 p.m.: Rock Bridge vs. Louisville Male (Ky.)

5:30 p.m.: Mexico vs. Lausanne Collegiate (Tenn.)

7 p.m.: Jefferson City vs. St. Francis DeSales (Ohio)

8:30 p.m.: Helias vs. Little Rock Central (Ark.)

STATE FARM INVITATIONAL, Dec. 27-29 (First-round pairings, Dec. 27, Rackers Fieldhouse)

2:30 p.m.: Mexico vs. Benton

4 p.m.: Jefferson City vs. Quincy (Ill.)

5:30 p.m.: Helias vs. Louisville Male (Ky.)

7 p.m.: Lee's Summit West vs. Eureka