With March Madness already over and the end now in sight for the NBA postseason, these could be sad times for a basketball junkie.

Don't worry, though. There's plenty of hoops action going on around town over the next couple weeks -- and possible longer -- to fill that void.

Grim's Grill will get the action started Saturday afternoon with a coed 3-on-3 tournament in the Habana Plaza parking lot that will raise funds for the Key West High softball program and the International Women's Flag Football Association. The following Saturday, May 1, the Frederick Douglass Gym will host the Marques Butler Basketball Extravaganza, which will feature a pair of games along with a shooting and slam dunk contest and benefit the Marques Butler Foundation.

John Grimesey, owner of Grim's Grill, is no stranger to hosting basketball fundraisers. In addition to running several 3-on-3 fundraising tournaments around Key West from 1994-2000, he also challenged the city to take him on in various basketball contests a few weeks ago at "Beat Grim Day." That event raised $500 for the PAL and Key West High basketball programs and helped spark the inspiration for Saturday's tournament, which still has spots available for teams.

After opening Grim's last summer with the slogan "The World's Greatest Sports Bar," Grimesey said he has been focused to do whatever he could to live up to that tagline.

"Since I opened this bar, I've been thinking about putting a basketball hoop up in the parking lot," he said. "I just love the idea. It beats the hell out of a pool table."

Since buying the adjustable hoop and putting it up just outside the entrance to the restaurant, he said it has gotten plenty of use.

"We shoot around out there pretty much every night," Grimesey said. "It's just like darts or pool or whatever, we just shoot baskets. It's beautiful."

The Marques Butler Extravaganza will tip off a week from Saturday at noon with an Old School game, featuring several older former basketball players from around Key West. Several current and former boys and girls Key West High players will then participate in the shooting and dunk contests, and the event will wrap up with a Young Guns game, featuring many recent high school standouts from the last 10 years.

There will also be door prizes and raffles. Admission is $5.

"I felt like this was something that would bring the whole community together," said event organizer Orieon Thurston, who graduated from Key West High in 1986 after a standout hoops career and went on to play at St. Cloud State in Minnesota before enjoying a lengthy career playing professionally overseas. "Hopefully this won't be just a one-time thing. We'd like to make it a yearly event."

Grimesey said he's not sure what his next fundraiser will be, but he is kicking around a few ideas. One of them is for a 2-on-2 tournament in which all the competitors are 6-foot or under with the goal lowered to 8 and a half feet.

"It's an adjustable rim so you can do all kinds of stuff with it and have a lot of fun," Grimesey said. "I think the 6-foot and under tournament would be hilarious. You can kind of go to war underneath. I might even shrink the court to make it an inside game."

To enter a team or for info on the tournament, contact Grimesey at Grim's or at 305-304-1080.

"I'm always coming up with stupid stuff," he said. "We'll get through this one and then start worrying about the next one."

Assistant Sports Editor Willis Jacobson's Gettin' the 'W' column appears exclusively each Friday in The Citizen. He can be reached at 305-292-7777, Ext. 223, or at wjacobson@keysnews.com.