Jon Edmondson, OCS ’05, stood at the free throw line. It was the final seconds of the 2004 Overbrook Classic first-round game. His little brother Josh, OCS ’09, a fourth grader at the time, watched from the bleachers. The gym was silent as Jon propelled the basketball toward the basket. The game-winner sailed through the net and the buzzer blared. 

“In an instant, the place exploded,” Josh Edmondson remembered. “The Overbrook student section, dubbed the O-Zone back then, rushed the court, swarming the team in pure joy. I can still see it. I can still hear it.” 

“And I remember thinking, ‘That’s what I want,’” he continued. “I wanted to be the starting Overbrook point guard … to feel that pressure, to hear that roar, to look up and see that back corner of the gym packed, loud, and ready to storm the court again.” 

“It was not just about winning a game. It was about being part of something bigger – a tradition, an atmosphere, a moment you never forget.” 

Josh got his moment and played in the tournament as a student and now he is a participating coach for St. Matthew School, giving him a 360 view of the event.  

“You see these kids bond in such a short span of time, not because of wins or losses, but because they are proud to wear their school colors and compete for those who came before them,” Josh, now known as Coach Edmondson, said. “That is when you realize it’s bigger than basketball. It’s tradition. It’s community. It’s memories that last a lifetime.”  

The feelings expressed by Josh rest at the heart of why Herschel Lovvorn and Steve Barrick started the basketball tournament, then called the Holiday Classic, in the early 1980s when both served as PE teachers at Overbrook.  

“We wanted to do something for the school,” Mr. Lovvorn recalled. “There is something about Overbrook. It’s different. It was a joy to go to work.”  

Mr. Lovvorn and Mr. Barrick decided to start a basketball tournament to kick off the winter basketball season. Their goal was to bring junior high students from other private, parochial, and public schools together to play in a fun but competitive atmosphere.  

“We started it for the school; we did it for the kids,” Mr. Lovvorn said, getting a bit choked up. “I hope you can tell in my voice, the joy I felt in that school. It still affects me at 70 years old.” 

The early days of the Overbrook Classic began with just one gym and eight teams. The idea of the fundraiser/tournament quickly took hold, and the tournament grew to 64 teams and three gyms (Overbrook, St. Cecilia Academy, and Aquinas College gyms) at its largest. While the number of teams and participants has ebbed and flowed throughout its 40 years, what has remained constant is its meaning to the community.  

“I think it is a combination of this historic kick-off of the basketball season and a friendly tournament that people really like to be involved in,” said Mrs. Amelia Malone, one of the 2025 Overbrook Classic co-chairs. “People think it is fun, and the holidays make it nuts, but very enjoyable.”  

“I have followed [the Classic] throughout the years, and it is a huge deal in school bonding for parents and students that make it a great event,” said Barrick, now Associate Athletic Director and Director of Facilities at Belmont University. “That campus and that job shaped who I am. It shaped my life. I absolutely love that [the Classic] is still going strong.” 

“That tournament will always hold a special place in my heart — not just for the games, but for the people, the moments, and the memories made along the way,” Josh said. “What felt ordinary back then has become something truly special now — a reminder that the best memories aren’t always obvious in the moment. Sometimes, they are as simple as a basketball tournament!”