Holiday Tournaments Wishing for Nation’s Best Players

As the number of holiday boys’ basketball invitationals continues to rise, competition to attract quality teams and fans has become fierce.

Some national invitationals offer schools free airline tickets and hotel accommodations, while other smaller-budget tournaments rely on marquee players to lure attention.

Starting today, about 35 high school boys’ basketball teams will play host to more than 400 schools in Southland tournaments. This year, the Nike National Prep Classic in San Diego--formerly called the Reebok/Above the Rim Tournament--and the Best of the West Tournament in Long Beach are the top tournaments in Southern California.

Two years ago, the Above the Rim Classic advertised the opportunity to see two potential NBA players in the making.

Stephon Marbury, then considered one of the premier high school players, put on a shooting clinic by making three consecutive three-point shots from beyond NBA range.

But he didn’t count on Santa Ana Mater Dei’s Schea Cotton putting on his own exhibition that day.

Marbury, now a member of the Minnesota Timberwolves, was playing for Lincoln High in Brooklyn, N.Y., when he faced Cotton, who made three of six three-point shots in the first half to lead Mater Dei to a 92-77 romp in the championship game.

“That was probably one of the most exciting basketball tournaments I’ve ever played in,” said Cotton, a sophomore in 1994 when he played against Marbury. “I have a lot of respect for Stephon. Look what he has done.”

While most local schools will play in Southern California, about a dozen teams will travel to tournaments outside California.

Mater Dei is one of the state’s most desirable teams for out-of state-tournaments. This year, the Monarchs will spend Christmas vacation in Rehobeth Beach, Del. Laguna Hills will be in Oregon, Newport Harbor will travel to Rhode Island, and La Quinta will travel to Hawaii to compete in the St. Louis tournament.

Two other tournaments will be played in Las Vegas.

“Christmas or holiday basketball tournaments are big business,” said Eddie Oliver, tournament director of the Beach Ball Classic in Myrtle Beach, S.C. “We used to get the state champions each year. Now we have to plan at least two or three years in advance.”

The Beach Ball Classic competes for the nation’s best teams and players with three other major invitationals--the King Cotton in Pine Bluff, Ark.; Kingdom USA in Ocala, Fla.; and the Slam Dunk to the Beach in Rehobeth Beach.

The Beach Ball, which is held in a resort town, offers free airline tickets to the high-profile schools. Hotel accommodations are also free for this year’s 24 teams. Jason Kidd, Rasheed Wallace, Felipe Lopez, Kevin Garnett and Kobe Bryant--the last five national players of the year--have competed in the tournament.

“It used to be dead during the winter, so it was easy to get hotel sponsors to donate rooms,” Oliver said. “Once teams get here, they receive the royal treatment.”

Oliver had early commitments from Bellflower St. John Bosco, where Cotton is attending school, and from Christ the King in Middle Village, N.Y., where Lamar Odom attended school last season. However, Odom, a 6-foot-9 swingman generally considered the nation’s top player, transferred to Redemption Academy in Troy, N.Y., and Cotton underwent two shoulder surgeries in the last four months and won’t play until January at the earliest.

The Beach Ball Classic dropped St. John Bosco from consideration when the school failed to submit its application, Oliver said.

California is especially deep in talent and Oliver was able to get commitments from Irvine Woodbridge, featuring 6-11 center Chris Burgess, and Santa Monica Crossroads, which is led by 6-2 point guard Baron Davis. Burgess has signed with Duke.

“We had planned for a first-round matchup between Odom and Burgess,” Oliver said.

Competing on a smaller budget, the 32-team Best of the West tournament at Long Beach City College showcases Compton Dominguez, formerly the nation’s top-ranked team, with senior point guard Kenny Brunner and junior forwards Tayshaun Prince and Jason Thomas, plus Harvard-Westlake of North Hollywood with 6-10 twins Jason and Jarron Collins, who have both signed with Stanford.

Dominguez is the two-time defending tournament champion, having defeated Inglewood, this year’s fifth-seeded team, in the finals the past two years.

“The great thing about Christmas tournaments is that you get to play teams and players you normally don’t get to see during the season,” said Ed Azzam, whose Westchester Comets are seeded sixth in the Best of the West. “Once in a while you get invited to a national tournament because you have a special player or two.”

Said Crenshaw Coach Willie West: “Magazines and newspapers put so much hype into who is the best basketball player in the nation that we lose sight of what tournaments are suppose to be about. I look at them as an opportunity to play against good competition and to prepare for league play.”

Crenshaw, the defending State Division I champion, heads the 31-team field for the seventh annual Nike National Prep Tournament, which will be held at Rancho Bernardo, San Dieguito and Torrey Pines highs. West got an opportunity to see Odom when the Cougars lost to Redemption Academy, 81-76, Friday night in the 20th Reebok Holiday Prep Classic in Las Vegas.

“Odom is a legitimate player, but he’s not ready for the NBA,” West said.

The 25th annual Birmingham Tournament in Van Nuys is the longest continuous tournament in the San Fernando Valley. This year’s field features eight teams mostly from the City Section.

“When we started in 1972, we wanted a local tournament for our team to play in because there weren’t too many tournaments,” said Lou Ramirez, Birmingham’s athletic director. “Now they are probably 10 to 15 times as many tournaments as there were when we got started.”

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Tournament Time

A look at the some of the top holiday basketball tournaments:

BOYS

* Best of the West Tournament: Today-Tuesday at Long Beach City College

* Daily Pilot Coast Classic: Today-Monday at Costa Mesa Estancia High

* Hart Holiday Classic: Today-Monday at Newhall Hart High

* Nike National Prep Classic: Today-Tuesday at Torrey Pines, San Dieguito and Rancho Bernardo highs

* San Marcos/Santa Barbara Tournament of Champions: Today-Saturday and Monday at San Marcos and Santa Barbara highs

GIRLS

* Burbank Bell-Jeff Tournament: Today-Saturday and Jan. 3-4, at Bell-Jeff High

* Gahr Tournament: Today-Monday at Cerritos Gahr High

* Marina Tournament: Today-Monday at Huntington Beach Marina High

* Press-Enterprise Riverside County Classic: Tuesday-Jan. 4 at UC Riverside

* Thousand Oaks Tournament: Saturday-Jan. 3, at Thousand Oaks High