Holly Pond’s Cody Jones is hungry for a basket against West Point earlier this season — and for the Broncos to take home the title trophy from their 58th annual Thanksgiving tournament.

Thanksgiving has long been a defined by family, friends and hearty meals encapsulated by a tried theme of togetherness.

For most prep basketball squads, however, another type of holiday mantra stands out — ruthlessness.

That’s not because the kids and coaches are bad people — far from it. It just so happens that most of these schools are as ready as can be to participate in some highly competitive tournaments come turkey time.

Look no further than Mitch Morris, a noted family man who’ll spend much of the holiday break coaching his Holly Pond team during their 58th annual Thanksgiving tournament.

The hoops event will feature the hosting Broncos, as well as county squads West Point, Fairview and Vinemont.

Don’t expect any team to pass the gravy.

“We don’t have this tournament just to have it,” Morris said. “We want to win it, too. We’ve come up short in the past and so have other teams. That being said, I hope our county guys can do well against the other schools in the tournament.”

The Aggies will open tournament play Wednesday with a 4 p.m. contest against Hartselle. That matchup will be followed by Vinemont and Locust Fork at 5:30 p.m., West Point and J.B. Pennington at 7 p.m. and finally Holly Pond versus Arab at 8:30 p.m.

Here’s a look at the full tourney schedule:

Wednesday

Game 1 — Fairview vs. Hartselle, 4 p.m.

Game 2 — Vinemont vs. Locust Fork, 5:30 p.m.

Game 3 — West Point vs. J.B. Pennington, 7 p.m.

Game 4 — Holly Pond vs. Arab, 8:30 p.m.

Thursday

Game 5 — Loser 3 vs. Loser 4, 4 p.m.

Game 6 — Loser 1 vs. Loser 2, 5:30 p.m.

Game 7 — Winner 1 vs. Winner 2, 7 p.m.

Game 8 — Winner 3 vs. Winner 4, 8:30 p.m.

Friday

Fifth-Place Game — Winner 5 vs. Winner 6, 5 p.m.

Consolation Game — Loser 7 vs. Loser 8, 6:30 p.m.

Championship Game — Winner 7 vs. Winner 8, 8 p.m.

Hanceville Thanksgiving Tournament

Hanceville, Good Hope and Cold Springs will all vie for bragging rights at the Bulldogs’ 32nd annual Thanksgiving tournament, which begins Tuesday afternoon.

The Raiders play Corner at 5 p.m., and the Eagles duke it out with Cleveland at 6:15 p.m. Hanceville will play the winner of Dora and Mortimer Jordan at 7:45 p.m. on Wednesday.

Here’s a look at the full tournament schedule:

Tuesday

Game 1 — Corner vs. Good Hope, 5 p.m.

Game 2 — Cold Springs vs. Cleveland, 6:15 p.m.

Game 3 — Dora vs. Mortimer Jordan, 7:30 p.m.

Wednesday

Game 4 — Loser 3 vs. Hanceville, 4 p.m.

Game 5 — Loser 1 vs. Loser 2, 5:15 p.m.

Game 6 — Winner 1 vs. Winner 2, 6:30 p.m.

Game 7 — Winner 3 vs. Hanceville, 7:45 p.m.

Friday

Game 9 — Loser 5 vs. TBA, 3 p.m.

Fifth-Place Game — Winner 5 vs. Loser 3, 4:45 p.m.

Consolation Game — Loser 6 vs. Loser 7, 6 p.m.

Championship Game — Winner 6 vs. Winner 7, 7:30 p.m.

Danville Thanksgiving Classic

The seventh annual Lady Hawks Thanksgiving Classic will once again be stocked full of talented girls’ basketball squads from around the state.

On the local scene, Holly Pond and Cold Springs — along with Fairview and West Point — will trek up to Danville for a high-stakes event starting Wednesday.

The Broncos are making their seventh appearance in as many years and hope to better a 1-2 mark in 2013, which included a pair of losses to Oneonta and Austin.

“It’s a great tournament with strong competition,” Green and White coach Scott Adams said. “We get a lot out of this one.”

In other bouts, Cold Springs and West Point will play Hartselle and Decatur, respectively, at 2 p.m. Fairview takes on Brewer at 10 a.m.

The tournament will conclude on Friday.