Have you ever wondered what it would be like to be in the shoes of a pro basketball player, arriving for a game through a special entrance below the arena, dressing in a spacious locker room and playing under the bright lights on the main court?

Male players from the Glendale Union High School District’s nine schools plus Prescott High will get to find out first-hand on Saturday (Jan. 8) when they participate in the first Hoopin’ It Up at the Arena.

Five games plus a boys’ and girls’ three-point shooting competition will be held at US Airways Center in downtown Phoenix, home of the NBA’s Phoenix Suns.

Action begins at 9:15 a.m., with Phoenix Moon Valley facing Glendale High. That game will be followed by Phoenix Washington vs. Phoenix Cortez at 11:30 a.m., Glendale Apollo vs. Glendale Independence at 1:45 p.m., the three-point shootout at 4 p.m., Phoenix Thunderbird vs. Phoenix Sunnyslope at 5 p.m. and Phoenix Greenway vs. Prescott at 7:30 p.m.

In addition, Greenway graduate Lauren Froderman, who won the most recent “So You Think You Can Dance?’’ competition, also will perform. School cheerleaders and bands also will participate.

Greenway athletic director Jeff Feldman, who headed the project, said the event came about when the Suns asked district schools if they were interested in helping to sell tickets to Suns games, and in exchange the team would open up the arena.

“All the schools sold their allotments in a number of different ways,’’ Feldman said. “Now everyone is going to get to enjoy the experience. It will be a long day, but a good day. This will give the players a chance to see what it feels like to play at the big arena.’’

The games will count toward the power-points system used to determine playoff seedings, Feldman said. Some teams were set to play their original schedule on Friday night (Jan. 7) but those games were moved ahead one day to Thursday (Jan. 6) to allow the teams to have one day in between those games and Saturday’s contests.

Tickets will go on sale on Saturday at 8:30 a.m. Prices are $6 for adults, $4 for students and children and $10 for an all-day pass. Children 3 and younger will have free admission.