PROVIDENCE – It was the spring of 1994 and Rob Kennedy remembers the game like it was yesterday.

 Kennedy was the president of a young grassroots basketball tournament organizer called the Hoop Group. He sponsored an event at Providence College and the stars instantly arrived en masse.

 “That first year we had an unbelievable group of kids and that really made an impression on the people at Providence,” said Kennedy. “We had Chris Herren (of Durfee High) and Steve Wojciechowski (Duke), who were great high school players, and the championship game between the Gauchos and Riverside Church was unbelievable.”

 The two New York-based AAU programs were especially loaded that year. In the game, ultimately won by Riverside, were future NBA players God Shammgod (who starred at Providence College), Stephon Marbury (Georgia Tech), Felipe Lopez (St. John’s), Zendon Hamilton (St. John’s), Adonal Foyle (Colgate) and Kareem Reid (Arkansas). Herren, Lopez, Foyle, Hamilton, Reid and Wojciechowski all played in the 1994 McDonald’s All-American game.

 That type of talent attracted college coaches from around the country, not to mention local basketball fans. This weekend, Kennedy is hosting his 19th Jam Fest in Providence and other gyms around the state. While most of the elite high school players in the East will again be in attendance, the event has grown into a massive undertaking. Nearly 300 teams, stocked with players ranging from 12-18 and traveling from as far away as Virginia and Central Pennsylvania, will be in town. The older divisions will play at PC and Rhode Island College but the other age groups are spread from Woonsocket High School to the West Warwick Civic Center.

 “Providence is the perfect city for us because everything is so close,” said Kennedy. “We’ll have about 200 teams spending one or two nights in area hotels and with food and gas, the economic impact is pretty strong. We could be bringing almost $1 million to the area.”

 The Hoop Group’s events are seen as marquee stops on an AAU calendar that begins right after the conclusion of the high school season and runs until the fall. Last week, the company ran a similar-sized event based at the University of Pittsburgh. In May, they’ll run another big tournament in Hampton, Va.

 The company may be the largest tournament organizer in the East but is far from alone. Last weekend, AAU teams from around the country played in events in Houston and Arkansas, as well as Pittsburgh. This weekend’s Jam Fest lost a few teams based in the East to the King James Shooting Stars Classic in Ohio.

 While the best players continue to travel to face the best competition, for the first time in years college recruiters aren’t watching from the stands. New NCAA rules have prohibited coaches from evaluating prospects outside of their high schools this spring. The rule is intended to address concerns about the amount of class time missed by prospects in order to travel to and from events; keep college coaches on their own campuses and working with their current players; and also try to limit the role of AAU coaches.

 Kennedy thinks the rule is failing on all fronts. He says that of the 5,000 kids who’d play in his events in both Pittsburgh and Providence, ``less than five percent will miss class on a Friday.”

 “The object of these kids is to become better players and that includes playing games,” said Kennedy. “They’ll play games whether coaches are in the stands or not. What this rule is doing is preventing the unsigned high school senior from getting seen and receiving a scholarship.”

 Two Rhode Island AAU programs – the Hawks and the Breakers – have teams entered in virtually every age group. Among the elite prospects expected to attend are Virginia juniors Kendall Marshall (who’s headed to North Carolina) and Andre Dawkins (Duke), Massachusetts stars Nate Lubick (Georgetown) and Carson Desrosiers (Syracuse, PC, BC all involved) and New Jersey stars Kyrie Irving and Michael Gilchrist. Irving is a major target for several Big East programs while the 6-7 Gilchrist is rated one of the top three sophomores in the country.

 All of the games at all eight sites are open to the public. For a complete schedule, go to www.hoopgroup.com.