Games to showcase top area players

Spencer Patterson

Thursday, March 22, 2001 | 9:45 a.m.

The high school basketball season may be behind us, but that doesn't mean it's too late to see the area's best out on the hardwood. Two upcoming events will give hoops junkies a chance to satisfy their basketball appetites during the month of April.

The first, the Diamonds in the Rough All-Star Shootout, will bring together many of Nevada's top girls players for a pair of all-star games on April 7 at UNLV's north gym. The underclass contest will kick things off at 1 p.m., followed by the senior game at 2:45 p.m.

From April 19-21, top boys players from Nevada and other western states will participate in the Las Vegas Basketball Invitational at Valley High and UNLV's south gym.

Both events are being organized by Chad Groth, a scout for the Harlem Globtrotters. For more information, contact Groth at 316-3880.

Twenty athletes from each of the area's 20 4A programs are expected to attend, with the event open to junior and sophomores, along with seniors who have not already committed to colleges. Participants who pay the $15 entry fee will be put through a series of drills to test their speed, flexibility, jumping ability and endurance. All results will be sent to a national organization which ranks high school prospects.

After the combine, athletes will get a chance to take part in a college football fair at Silverado, with representatives from programs of all sizes and from all college divisions expected to attend.

For more information, call Mike Gutowski at 799-0432 or Bruce Mastracchio at 399-0114.

After one season as an assistant at UC-Santa Barbara, former Reno High coach Pete Padgett has returned to coach the Huskies' boys basketball team. That also means sophomore David Padgett -- a 6-10 center who is considered one of Nevada's top college prospects -- will remain at the school. He had been expected to attend a Santa Barbara-area high school next season...

Rancho 125-pounder Bill Rosado, a two-time state champ, will represent Las Vegas at the National High School Seniors Wrestling Championships April 6-8 in Newark, Del.