The high school basketball season is underway, and the opening week means the annual 10 & 32 Tip-Off Classic is being played in Orion.
The tournament’s namesake honors the jersey numbers that 2011 Orion High School graduates Danny DeBacker and Andy Adams wore.
DeBacker and Adams were senior starters on Oron’s 2011 boys basketball team that won 30 games, claimed a sectional championship, and advanced to the Elite 8 for the only time in school history.
Both were tragically killed in a car accident at the ages of 22 and 21, respectively, in 2014.
Orion assistant boys basketball coach Travis Anderson was teammates, classmates, and friends with both. He spoke with WRMJ about the meaning of the week.
Anderson’s two-year-old son’s middle name is Daniel, in honor of DeBacker.