The Barclays Center, home of the Brooklyn Nets, was taken over by Poly Prep Middle School basketball players and their families on Sunday, January 5, for the Middle School Blue vs. Gray Basketball Game. 

This game was a chance for students on Poly’s Middle School Boys’ and Girls’ Basketball teams to scrimmage against each other in the Barclays Center’s huge empty arena and professional basketball court. The game was designed to combine groups of players on the Middle School Basketball teams that do not necessarily play together. They divided up the Boys’ and Girls’ Middle School Basketball teams into new Blue and Gray teams. “We didn’t use their regular Blue and Gray status because that isn’t really decided by ability. We didn’t want a lopsided game. So, they actually got to choose their own teams,” said Bill McNally, director of sports information. This year, the Gray team won the game by five points. 

McNally has been organizing Poly Athletics events and scrimmages at the Barclays Center since 2012, which was when the center was first built, according to the Barclays Center website. This year, 32 Middle School students attended and participated in the game, with 175 family members there to support and cheer them on. Jared Winston, director of student life, even attended to be an announcer, simulating a professional game experience. 

All students were given the opportunity to take a photo on the court, and the entire game was filmed. The game “was more of a keepsake for people. To have a photo on the court and to have that memory of a happy and joyful day,” said McNally. “I think when you’re in lower school, middle school, and high school, it’s great to create beautiful memories. So we were really there to make a memory. It wasn’t about winning or losing.” 

Gemma Vitolo, an eighth grader on the Middle School Girls Basketball team, attended this year’s Blue vs. Gray game. Vitolo shared, “The game at the Barclays Center was a really fun experience, and I am really happy we were able to play there. The idea of playing on the same court where NBA players practice and compete is so cool.” 

The Blue vs. Gray Middle School Basketball Game at the Barclays Center was a unique way to create competition at the middle school level. “The way our middle school is structured, there aren’t as many opportunities to compete. This is just a way to keep the players interested and make them excited about participating,” said Daniel Doughty, head of Middle School. 

However, the games aren’t just engaging for the middle school players. The game was also a fun and interactive experience for the family members in the stands. “It was a really fun and supportive environment. It was super cool to have the opportunity to be in the Barclays Center when no one else was there,” said Senior Hannah Goldberg, who attended a Blue and Gray game three years ago to support her younger brother. 

Not only are these games a unique opportunity to create a memory and appreciate the arena, they are also beneficial to building each basketball player’s skills. According to the Watts Basketball Website, these kinds of scrimmages “play an essential role in exposing players to game situations, and [they] provide an opportunity for the players to learn which of their moves work, and how and when to use them.” 

Other scrimmages have been hosted for Poly Middle School at other unique event spaces, similar to the Barclays Center. Poly is partnered with the manager of Playbook, which, according to the Playbook website, is a supportive platform for creators in fitness and sports. This has allowed Poly Middle School to engage in scrimmages at “MetLife stadium, the Boys’ and Girls’ Soccer played at the Red Bull Arena, and a group of Girls’ Tennis players played at the Billie Jean King National Tennis Center,” said McNally. Each team typically gets to participate in one of these types of trips per season. 

To continue to provide more opportunities for middle school teams to explore athletics and view it from a professional lens, McNally has been discussing ideas for other types of trips. “I was talking about possibly taking the middle school teams to go watch college sports games,” said McNally