Reebok prep tourney tip off Friday with 22 games

Steve Cunningham

Thursday, Dec. 18, 1997 | 11:59 a.m.

That bountiful buffet of high school basketball -- the Reebok Holiday Prep Classic -- is set to open in less than 24 hours, with its usual impressive field sure to entertain hoops junkies over the course of five days.

Play begins at 2 p.m. at Durango High School as Bartlett (Alaska) takes on Peninsula (Calif.). In all, 22 games are scheduled for Friday and the remainder of the 52-team field gets into action Saturday.

A year ago, the Prep Classic boasted individual talents like Tracy McGrady and Lamar Odom; standout teams such as Mount Zion Christian Academy of North Carolina, Harvard-Westlake of California and Compton (Calif.) Dominguez -- who came into the event ranked No. 1 in the country by USA Today. Six of the top 18 teams in the nation came traveling to the land of glitter and gold.

This year's event may not be as star-studded as in the past, but expect plenty of action during the course of the tournament. Here are the teams and players that bear watching:

Teams to watch

Mount Zion won the championship a year ago, led by MVP McGrady, and has to be considered one of the favorites again. Coach Joel Hopkins has 6-foot-7 Travis Robinson and 6-6 Cory Hightower back for the defense and the Warriors open with Pittsburgh's Baldwin at 6:15 p.m. Friday.

Westchester from Los Angeles is ranked No. 6 by USA Today heading into the Classic. Tony Bland is the big gun, averaging 21.3 points, 4.3 assists and four steals per contest. He gets help inside from Chris Osborne, who averages just less than 10 rebounds per game. Westchester opens play against South Mountain of Phoenix.

Rice, from Manhattan, N.Y., takes on Basic at 7:50 p.m. The Raiders are No. 8 in the USA Today poll, with Dyree Wilson (17 points per game) and Anthony Glover (12 points, 11 rebounds per game) leading the way. Kenny Satterfield is also a threat.

Compton (Calif.), Mountain View (Ariz.) and Long Beach (Calif.) Poly also bear watching. In addition, three other top California schools -- Simi Valley, Carmichael Jesuit and Inglewood -- are entered. Long Branch (New Jersey), Denver Manual, Little Rock (Ark.) Central and local entries Bishop Gorman, the defending state champ, Western, Clark and Valley could make some noise.

Players to watch

Seventeen players in action this weekend signed national letters of intent in November with Division I schools.

Mount Zion's Robinson inked early with Missouri. Westchester's Bland will play at Syracuse and teammate David Blumenthal will attend Southern Cal.

Others signing early were Ricky Anderson (Arizona) of Long Beach Poly, Dan Bobik (Brigham Young) of Newbury Park, Calif., Mount View's Kenny Crandall (Arizona State), Compton's David Hamilton (Auburn) and Milton Riley (Washington State), and Bradley Jackson (Cal-State Northridge) of Inglewood, Calif.

Also, Washington Union's Chris Jeffries (Arkansas) signed early, as did Kyle Logan (Stanford), Michael Simmons (Miami, Fla.) and Ugonna Onyekwe (Long Beach State) of Mercersburg, Pa. Joe Mann of Poway (Calif.) will attend San Diego State, Bernard Owens (Georgia Southern) and Omar Vance (Louisiana State) of Lithonia, Ga., declared early, as did Western's Jimmy White (Wyoming).

Hoop scoops

All games will be played at Durango and Cimarron-Memorial high schools, in the main and auxiliary gyms. No games will be played on Sunday, and Saturday's, Monday's and Tuesday's play begins at 10 a.m.

Championship-bracket play will start at 5:25 p.m. Monday. Final-place games will be Tuesday at Durango's main gym, starting with the ninth-place contest at 2:15 p.m. The championship is set for 8 p.m.

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