The 14th Annual Mike Blake Tip-Off Classic kicks off on November 28 and runs through Sunday,
December 4, 2022. Close to 1,000 athletes will travel through our area, engaging in not only exciting
basketball, but an amazing opportunity for all those involved to raise money for incredibly worthy
families. Upper Saddle River’s Mike Blake Tournament is a wonderful gathering of Bergen County’s best
basketball players.

The tournament was created to honor the memory of a man who was a tremendous coach, mentor and
friend of USR. He was dedicated to the nurturing and development of so many children in our town and
touched the lives of countless people. For ten years, all the proceeds of this tournament were donated
to Mike Blake’s family to help his children attend college after he lost his life. Mike’s children are now
grown.

In 2018 and 2019 the proceeds of this tournament were given to Evan and Tyler Casalino who were
struck with the unthinkable tragedy of losing both parents within a few years of each other. Evan was
attending Harvard and Tyler was still at Northern Highlands. Then Covid canceled the tournament for
the 2020 and 2021 seasons. Since then, Evan has graduated from Harvard and Tyler is a sophomore at
Lehigh. We will once again this year give the proceeds from the Mike Blake Tournament to the Casalino
family as well others in our community who are in need.

Posted in Uncategorized

Leave a Comment