The voice of BRIT: Jordie Hughton

Anyone who has been to the Bedford Road Invitational Tournament (BRIT) since the turn of the millennium has heard his voice.

A booming baritone, announcing each high school basketball player in the starting lineup like they’ve just joined the Tune Squad in Space Jam. And they’ve certainly heard his signature call for a shot from beyond the arc.

“I like saying ‘FOR THREEEEEEE,'” Hughton told 650 CKOM at halftime Thursday.

“It’s a lot of fun. It sounds great in this gym, so I’ll keep doing it.”

Working as a music teacher in Saskatoon and performing as a member of the Fireside Singers, Hughton isn’t the stereotypical basketball announcer in many’s minds.

But he got involved in BRIT early on as a student at Bedford Road Collegiate, convinced to join the scorer’s table by his Grade 9 gym teacher and longtime tournament organizer Kelly Bowers.

“Around that time Vince Carter and the Raptors were a really big thing, and I got into basketball that way,” Hughton said.

“I thought, I’ve always been into performing and singing. I just saw this as another way of performing.”

Getting involved with the tournament grew his love for the game. Other than a four year break when he went to university, he’s kept coming back to announce.

He’s now announced in 15 BRITs combined.

“I love the game, and I love coming back to support my school,” he said.

Over the years, Hughton has witnessed some awesome moments in the tournament too — several of them involving Saskatoon’s Holy Cross Crusaders.

One year he remembers Holy Cross hitting a buzzer beater to tie a game on a packed Friday night in the gym, then winning it in overtime.

He also fondly recalls the electric atmosphere when the Crusaders won back-to-back tournaments in 2003 and 2004 — marking the last time a Saskatoon team won BRIT.

“People were sitting on each other in here, the atmosphere was incredible,” he said.

“That’s the really special thing about this tournament, the atmosphere is second to none.”

Hughton has also received some great compliments from teams that have travelled a long way to take part in the competition.

“A team from Australia came a few years ago and said ‘it feels like we’re in the NBA,'” he said.

“That made me feel really special.”

Hughton plans to keep announcing at the tournament as long as he’s in Saskatoon — though he’s not sure if he can match the number of years his old gym teacher Bowers has been involved.

“We’ll see,” he said.