Boys’ basketball: Pepperdine coach surveys scene

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If anyone can provide a perspective on how big the Las Vegas summer basketball tournament scene has become, it’s Pepperdine Coach Tom Asbury, who has returned to the Waves after a 14-year absence from Malibu. He was last in Las Vegas for a tournament five years ago when he was an assistant at Alabama.

‘It’s absolutely exploded,’ Asbury said while sitting courtside at Rancho High. ‘The schools are newer and farther apart. I told my wife you’re spending more time in a car than in a gym.’

Asbury is bringing in eight new players this fall and is looking to add two players to his next recruiting class.

As for having nearly 900 teams in one city this week, Asbury said, ‘Like everything, it has its pluses and minuses.’

He pointed out that some kids who think they will be exposed to college coaches might not be seen because of the number of games being played at so many sites.

-- Eric Sondheimer