What: The eight teams competing in the prestigious AdvoCare Invitational are holding shootarounds and media availabilities in advance of the tournament. The event, considered one of the top early-season tune-ups in the country, features two Top 20 teams – No. 14 Florida State and No. 17 LSU – as well as Villanova, winners of two of the past three NCAA men’s national championships, College of Charleston, Alabama-Birmingham, Canisius, Oklahoma State and Memphis, coached by former Orlando Magic star guard Penny Hardaway.
Players from Central Florida and Tampa Bay are playing on various participating teams and will be available for media interviews. Among them are College of Charleston’s Grant Riller (Ocoee); Florida State’s Wyatt Wilkes (Winter Park) and Will Miles (Trinity Park); Memphis’ Antwann Jones (Oak Ridge); Oklahoma State’s Thomas Dziagwa (Tampa Catholic) and Duncan Demuth (Seminole).
When: Wednesday, 9 a.m. to 5:30 p.m.
Where: HP Field House at ESPN Wide World of Sports Complex at Walt Disney World Resort
Schedule:
9 a.m. – 9:55 a.m. Villanova (Closed to media, interviews afterwards)
10:05 – 11 a.m. Oklahoma State (Open to media, interviews afterwards)
11:10 – 12:05 p.m. Canisius (Open first 10 minutes, interviews afterwards)
12:15 – 1:10 p.m. Memphis (Open to media, interviews afterwards)
1:20 – 2:15 p.m. Charleston (Closed to media, interviews beforehand)
2:25 – 3:20 p.m. UAB (Open first 15 minutes, interviews afterwards)
3:30 – 4:25 p.m. LSU (Closed to media, interviews afterwards)
4:35 – 5:30 p.m. Florida State (Open to media, interviews afterwards)
Format: The tournament takes place Thanksgiving weekend (Thursday, Friday and Sunday) and features 12 games with each team playing one game per day. The two unbeaten teams face off in the championship game Sunday. All games will be televised on ESPN, ESPN2, ESPN3 or ESPNU.
All interview requests must be coordinated through Charley Green from ESPN, Reggie Roberts from Disney Sports or the school SID staff. Interviews will be conducted courtside. There is no formal press conference. The shootarounds will be the only official media availability prior to the tournament.
NOTE: Please review the media schedule listed above to ensure compliance with each team’s media policy for the tournament.
Media credentials will be available for pickup prior to the start of each game at the credential tent outside the main gate at ESPN Wide World of Sports Complex. To apply for media credentials, visit www.SportsSystems.com/espnevents.
For more information, visit www.disneysportsnews.com or http://www.sportssystems.com/clients/espnevents.
Directions: From I-4 East or West to ESPN Wide World of Sports Complex— Take exit 65, follow signs to ESPN Wide World of Sports.
Contacts: Charley Green, Media Coordinator – Cell: 214-734-8028
Reggie Roberts, Disney Sports PR Manager – Office: 407-566-7198
Cell: 407-353-8848, Reginald.D.Roberts@disney.com