There was no Dan Rysavy Memorial Classic last season.

Tuesday, April 25, 2000

There was no Dan Rysavy Memorial Classic last season.

Mick Garry, the organizer of the three-on-three basketball tournament, was sidelined by a wedding in the family.

And how Mick Garry goes, so goes the annual (for the most part) tournament.

"Mick’s the one who keeps the ball rolling," said Donald Dieser at Saturday’s 16th incarnation of the Rysavy Classic.

Dieser, like Garry, is a 1981 graduate of Pacelli High School. Both were classmates of Dan Rysavy, who died in 1983 of cancer.

Garry began the tournament 17 years ago in order to honor his fallen friend and to raise money for a scholarship in Rysavy’s name.

Annually, the scholarship doesn’t go to the student with the best grades or the best athlete, rather to "someone who is known as a good friend to a lot of people," Garry said, "because that’s what Dan was."

The tournament is open to Pacelli graduates and spouses of Pacelli grads. Teams are assigned the morning of the tournament, so as to insure no team comes in with a loaded deck.

"We want everyone to play," Garry said. "It’s not just for the jocks."

Always held the Saturday before Easter, the Rysavy Classic drew 13 teams worth of participants this year. It wasn’t a bad showing considering it was coming off a sabbatical.

"We’re back strong," said Garry, who lives in Sioux Falls, S.D., where he works as a sports reporter.

Garry called the tournament’s success "a testament to the bonds we made while in high school."

Dieser is proof positive of those bonds. He’s an account ant and now hails from Manhattan Beach, Calif.

When asked what brings him home, he spread his arms open to the basketball court before him and answered, "This – the chance to see everybody, to keep in touch."

For that, he and the others have Garry to thank.