N.C. team counting on LV title

Tim Graham

Friday, Dec. 20, 1996 | 11:59 a.m.

For Mount Zion Christian Academy, the entire season rests on the Reebok Holiday Prep Classic.

Winning Monday night's championship game is the only acceptable outcome.

"This is it," said Joel Hopkins, head coach of the Durham, N.C., prep school that is ranked third in the country by USA Today. "This is what we gotta have."

Considering the Warriors' loaded lineup, it's easy to understand the motivation of Hopkins, who delivered a half-hour sermon on determination after his team's 67-40 victory over Compton, Calif., Thursday.

The Warriors possess five players nationally ranked among the top 15 at their respective positions. But they are led by 6-foot-9 forward Tracy McGrady, an elite player who considers heading straight to the NBA from high school. He entered the tournament averaging 29.3 points, 8.1 rebounds, 4.2 assists and 3.1 steals a game.

Against Compton, McGrady nearly recorded a triple-double with 16 points, 11 rebounds and seven assists.

"We respect this tournament very much," McGrady said. "This is the national championship tournament. Being No. 1 (later in the season) doesn't mean anything if you don't win this tournament."

To do that, Mount Zion must outlast No. 1 Dominguez of Compton, Calif., and No. 5 Mater Dei of Santa Ana, Calif., as well as three other Top 20 programs.

"I feel anything less than the championship is unacceptable," McGrady said. "We should win the whole thing and the national championship."

Classical notes

* SEEN AT THE SCENE: Some of the most influential men in the world of basketball sat in the bleachers at Durango's main gym Thursday for the Prep Classic's opening day. Fourteen NBA teams were represented by the likes of Los Angeles Lakers general manager bf Mitch Kupchak , Denver Nuggets president and GM Bernie Bickerstaff, former Philadelphia 76ers head coach Gene Shue (the man responsible fro drafting Darryl Dawkins out of high school in 1975). Other notables included two former UNLV head coaches: Howie Landa is now an assistant to NBA director of scouting Marty Blake, and Ed Gregory is now the director of player personnel for the Golden State Warriors. ... Top colleges also were accounted for. Recruiters checked in from such high-profile programs as Connecticut, DePaul, Kansas, Louisville, Michigan, Purdue, Seton Hall, UCLA and Villanova. Former USC head coach and television analyst George Raveling also took in the action.

* RANKED AND FILED: One of USA Today's Top 25 teams got upset on opening day. No. 18 Memphis East was beaten by East Anchorage, 82-77. Despite hitting just 17 of 32 free throws, East Anchorage remained undefeated at 9-0 as five players scored in double figures. Memphis East fell to 9-2. ... All the rest of the ranked teams, however, were victorious. No. 1 Dominguez of Compton, Calif., crushed Jackson County, Ky., 86-60; No. 3 Mount Zion Christian of Durham, N.C., blasted Compton, Calif., 67-40; No. 5 Mater Dei of Santa Ana, Calif., stomped North Allegheny, Pa., 74-34; No. 15 West End of Birmingham Alabama won its 36th straight game by topping Pacific, Calif., 85-46; and No. 17 St. Frances of Baltimore held off A.B. Miller of Fontana, Calif., 65-57.

* CLASSIC RADIO: Tonight's game between Cimarron and Harvard-Westlake of North Hollywood, Calif., can be heard live on KLAV 1230-AM at 8 p.m. Harvard-Westlake features twin towers Jarron and Jason Collins, who average 6-foot-10. KLAV also will air the Prep Classic championship game Monday at 8:05 p.m. The championship also will be taped for a television replay Wednesday at 7 p.m. on Prime Cable Channels 1 and 48.