Local Tournaments Showcase Top Talent : Basketball: Slam-n-Jam and the Fairfax Summer Classic draw the finest high school players.

Basketball junkies:

If the college and NBA season didn’t sate your appetite for basketball, then the next week of games certainly will appeal to you.

After competing in the Nike All-American and Adidas/ABCD national camps, the Southland’s finest high school players return to California to compete in local camps and tournaments.

On Saturday, 48 teams from throughout the nation began play in the 12th annual Slam-n-Jam National Invitational Tournament at Cal State Long Beach.

Today, the finals of the Fairfax Summer Classic will be held at 3:30 p.m. while action continues at the Slam-N-Jam in Long Beach.

The Fairfax Summer Classic featured Artesia, St. John Bosco, Harvard-Westlake, Long Beach Poly and Muir.

The Slam-n-Jam title game will be Thursday in the Cal State Long Beach Pyramid.

Top-seeded New York Riverside Church returned to defend its Slam-n-Jam National Invitational Tournament beginning at Cal State Long Beach east and west gymnasiums.

Riverside Church features 6-foot-1 senior guard Kevin Morris and 6-9 senior forward Vassil Estimov, who were both selected to the top 20 team of the recently completed Nike All-American Camp.

The big question surrounding Riverside Church was whether or not Mater Dei transfer Schea Cotton would remain with the team. Cotton played with Riverside Church in a tournament in Kansas City, Mo., after leaving Values for Better America, a Southern California all-star team.

Cotton first gained notoriety when as a freshman-to-be he won the dunking contest at Slam-n-Jam in 1993.

Cotton, who is expected to transfer to St. John Bosco, is considered one of the top two junior-to-be prospects in the nation. The other is 6-10 center Chris Burgess of Woodbridge.

No. 2 seed The Hood consists mostly of Dominguez High players and is coached by Russell Otis. Junior point guard Kenny Brunner and 6-5 sophomore Jason Thomas who were considered two of the best underclassmen at the Nike Camp, star for The Hood.

Values for Better America combined with American Roundball Corp. to form a formidable Southern California All-Star team. The No. 3 seed features 6-5 point guard Olujimi Mann, Burgess of Woodbridge, 6-8 power forward Eddie Miller of Chatsworth, and Harvard-Westlake twins Jason and Jarron Collins. Jason Collins recently injured his left ankle and may be out for the summer.

Fontana’s Corey Benjamin, and Fremont point guard Dony Wilcher will play for fourth-seeded Team L.A., coached by Keith Young.

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Two years ago it was Rick Price of Serra. Last year it was Paul Pierce of Inglewood. Both excelled at ABCD camp.

This year’s summer phenom is Corey Benjamin.

Benjamin, a 6-6 senior from Fontana, was named the most valuable player at the Nike All-American Camp at the Hoosier Dome in Indianapolis. His performance helped California recruits earn rave reviews from Division I recruiters.

NCAA rules prohibit coaches from commenting on recruits in print, but one talent evaluator provided the gushing.

“If you had to single out one kid who had the best week, it was Corey Benjamin,” said Bob Gibbons, publisher for Lenoir, N.C.-based All Star Sports. “He was phenomenal. He hit three-pointers. He dunked over people. He played with an absolute fire that was something to behold. He went out to prove he was better than Schea Cotton and he was.”

Burgess, the junior from Woodbridge High, may have supplanted Cotton, his former teammate at Mater Dei, as the best junior in the nation. Cotton has been criticized lately for having an attitude problem.

Ever since UCLA-bound Tommy Prince graduated from Dominguez in June, the Dons have been searching for a new leader. Jason Thomas, a 6-5 sophomore forward, appears ready to be the new Prince. Thomas and 5-10 point guard Kenny Brunner helped Dominguez win the Watts Summer Games.

“The level of talent is better than most people expected,” Gibbons said. “It might be the best in the nation.”

Fremont’s Leon Jones, a 6-4 junior swingman, was the best area prospect in the Nike Camp. His team, the Southeast Storm, lost to Best of the West, 108-107, in the gold medal game.

Michael Bibby of Shadow Mountain High (Ariz.), son of former UCLA star Henry Bibby, starred for Best of the West along with Benjamin, Brunner and Burgess.

Bibby was considered the camp’s best point guard. Bibby said he will sign with Arizona in November.

Travis Reed, a 6-7 junior center from Manual Arts, backed up Chatsworth’s Eddie Miller at power forward on the Best of the West team, and played well. Fremont’s Wilcher played solidly for the East Coast Eagles, which finished fourth.

Nationally, Jason Collier from Springfield, Ohio, a 6-11 center, was the top big man in the Nike Camp.

Ronnie Fields, a 6-3 shooting guard from Farragut, Ill., impressed coaches with his jumping ability. Fields finished ahead of Benjamin for first place in the dunking contest.

“A miniature Michael Jordan on the court,” Gibbons said of Fields.

Said one West Coast college coach: “I haven’t seen too many players jump like Fields. These guys were really fun to watch. Unfortunately, I don’t think any of them will sign with my school.”

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Two dozen Southland players competed in Sonny Vaccaro’s Adidas/ABCD camp in Teaneck, N.J.

The most recognizable name was playmaker Jason Hart, formerly of Westchester. Hart, a 6-1 senior point guard, impressed coaches with his no-look passes and floor leadership.

Hart is being heavily recruited by defending NCAA champion UCLA. Coach Jim Harrick received an unwritten commitment from Santa Ana Valley’s Olujimi Mann, but Mann may have trouble qualifying academically.

Hart certainly has the individual skills, but demonstrated a lack of focus last season in key Coastal Conference games against Fairfax, Hamilton and Crenshaw in the City Section 4-A Division semifinals.

Hart plans to transfer to Inglewood in the fall, hoping the change of coaches will improve his game.

Artesia’s James Lee, a 6-5 power forward, has improved his stock after sterling performances at ABCD and the West Coast All Star Camp at Cal State Dominguez Hills.

But the camp’s best performer was 6-6 combo guard Kobe Bryant, the son of former NBA star Joe (Jellybean) Bryant.