VICTORIA – A showcase of pro, college, and high school basketball talent is coming to The University of Victoria's CARSA Performance Gym, as the Ball Don't Stop Pro-Am touches down on Vancouver Island for the first time.

On August 7, the Ball Don't Stop Pro-Am is coming to Victoria, bringing with it a fast-paced celebration featuring NBA stars, top collegiate talent, and some of the most electrifying high school prospects in the province. The gym is going to be packed and if the past few stops are any indication, you'll want to keep your phone ready—you never know who might walk through the doors.

Since 2016, the Pro-Am has earned a reputation as one of the most high-energy showcases in the country. NBA veterans and international stars, such as Scottie Barnes, Jamal Crawford, Chris Boucher, and Shaedon Sharpe, have all taken the court under the Ball Don't Stop banner, blurring the lines between streetball and pro-style basketball.

While the list of headliners has yet to be released, the main event will feature UVic's own Ethan Boag, Shadynn Smid, Griffin Arnatt, and Renoldo Robinson, who recently represented Canada at the FISU America 3x3 tournament in Brasilia, Brazil, where they finished fourth. They will be competing alongside players the likes of Boston Celtics guard and the 2024-25 NBA Sixth Man of the Year Payton Pritchard, Memphis Grizzlies forward and 2024-25 NBA All-Rookie First Team selection Jaylen Wells, and Atlanta Hawks centre Mouhamed Gueye, to name a few.

Two games are on the schedule, tipping off at 6:00 p.m. with a high school boys' showdown pitting Vancouver Island against the Lower Mainland. It's a glimpse at the next wave of B.C. talent featuring a Vikes preview of sorts, with incoming UVic recruits Tyler Felt, Toren Franklin, and Justin Hinrichsen set to suit up for the Island side, giving fans a first look at the future of the program.

Felt and Hinrichsen are fresh off another banner season after helping the Spectrum Thunder to its second B.C. Boys' Quad-A high school basketball championship in as many years.

The Ball Don't Stop Pro-Am is not a UVic event, but with the CARSA Performance Gym serving as the stage and featuring so much local talent, the evening will feel like a home game for Victoria hoops fans.

The energy starts at 6:00 p.m. (doors open at 5:30 p.m.). The Pro-Am tips at 7:30 p.m. Tickets are available at balldontstop.com/pro-am
 
A Ball Don't Stop youth pro camp day will take place at UVic on Friday, August 8, led by the NBA's reigning Sixth Man of the Year Celtics guard Payton Pritchard.