SoCal High School & Prep Report

21st Annual Reebok Holiday Prep Classic
Set for 19th - 23rd of Dec.--(December 15, 1997)

We've reported on this one for the past few months and have had a tournament listing for this true "classic" among high school tournaments on our tourney directory for a while. But in case you missed it, here is some additional information.

Fortunately, SoCalHoops will have at least two correspondents there, including Jason Day, whose reports and observations are well written and insightful, and another (whose identity will remain a secret for the time being--our stealth reporter), so we'll be able to get the information and game reviews to you. They won't be as timely as we'd like, because our webmaster and html guru will not be in the U.S. during the 19th through the 27th, and he's being dragged off by his family on a mandatory vacation (think of the concept. . . a mandatory, enforced vacation. . . seems like an oxymoron, but then any time away from hoops at this time of year just had to be enforced )

But thanks to the miracles of modern telephony, e-mail, faxes and portable computers, we'll hopefully be able to get the stuff posted up to SoCalHoops fairly timely. . . at least within a couple of days of each game. This is maybe not as quick as you've become accustomed to seeing reports, and it's a whole lot slower than we'd like, but then there's a ton of basketball being played from the 19th -23rd of December, and we'll do our best to keep up with the SoCal teams playing out of state and at home in the many tournaments we're following.

Mt. Zion Christian Academy's boys basketball team is the defending champion, but the Warriors will have their hands full trying to defend their title in the 21st Reebok Holiday Prep Classic, the nation's largest in-season high school tournament.

Durango and Cimarron Memorial high schools host this year's classic, which is scheduled to run Dec. 19-23. The classic is being presented by Las Vegas Events. Six brackets divide the 52 teams from 16 states and Canada and a championship bracket will place the top nine teams. A total of 102 games will be played during the classic.

Mt. Zion, who won the classic behind MVP Tracy McGrady, defeating last year's State Division III Champions Harvard-Westlake (who will also be back this year) will be favored to repeat against a talented field that includes two other teams ranked in the top 15 in the nation and features six of the top preseason teams from California. The Warriors will bring two of the nation's top 25 prospects in 6-foot-5 Corey Hightower and 6-7 Travis Robinson. Mt. Zion enters the season as the No. 3 team in the nation according to Student Sports Magazine. The Warriors open the tournament on Dec. 19 at 6:15 p.m. against Baldwin High School of Pittsburgh in Durango's main gym. Harvard-Westlake will bring McDonald's All-American nominee 6'-0" point guard Victor Munoz, and new sophomore sensations Russell Lakey and Eric Geffner.

Rice High of New York City enters the tournament ranked No. 8 in the nation by Student Sports Magazine. The Raiders were 25-6 last year and will start the tourney against Henderson's Basic High on opening night at 7:50 p.m. in the Durango auxiliary gym. Basic is one of nine teams entered from Southern Nevada.

Leading the contingent from Las Vegas will be defending state champion Bishop Gorman and state finalist Durango. Bishop Gorman will open tourney action at 8 p.m. on Dec. 19 in the Cimarron-Memorial main gym against Pacific High of San Bernardino. Durango begins play at 4:50 p.m. on Dec. 19 in its home gym against Pennsylvania Upper St. Clair. Western opens classic play on Dec. 20 against the winner of the Dec. 19 game between Bartlett of Anchorage, Alaska and Peninsula High of Rolling Hills Estate, Calif.

Play begins at 2 p.m. on Dec. 19 and action on Dec. 20, 22 and 23 will start at 10 a.m. Play will finish the first three days at about 10:30 p.m. and 9:30 p.m. on the final day.

Championship bracket play will start at 5:25 p.m. on Dec. 22. Final games will all be played in Durango's main gym as follows:

ninth place at 2:15 p.m.;
seventh place at 3:40 p.m.;
fifth place at 5:05 p.m.;
third place at 6:30 p.m.; and
the championship game at 8 p.m.

All-tournament passes, priced at $35 each for adults and $18 for students, are available at the tournament office at Durango. Single-day tickets, good for all games at both tournament venues, are $10 each for adults and $5 for students and will be sold only at the door.

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