Columnist Adam Candee: Holiday Classic endures changes

Adam Candee

Friday, Dec. 13, 2002 | 10:30 a.m.

Adam Candee covers high school sports for the Sun. Reach him at (702) 259-4085 or by e-mail at candee@lasvegassun.com.

On the surface, most everything about next week's 26th Annual Holiday Prep Classic basketball tournament will look just as it has in past years.

Look closer, however, and you might find a distinct difference -- in fact, you will find eight of them. That is the number of divisions, or essentially independent tournaments, in which the 96-team field will compete beginning Thursday at various high school gyms.

Why the seemingly cosmetic change? Tournament director Larry McKay said a ruling from the National Federation of High Schools, which sanctions the Holiday Prep, mandating equal treatment for all teams in a tournament, prompted the switch.

"Within each of the brackets, each of the teams is treated the same," McKay said.

The mandate would be most accurately termed The Oak Hill Rule for its attempt to prevent powerhouse high school programs from receiving preferential treatment. Oak Hill Academy of Virginia, widely regarded as one of the nation's best basketball factories, is the type of big-draw program that tournament directors around the country beg and plead to bring to their event.

"It's kind of like recruiting a high school player," McKay said.

Yeah, complete with all the twists and potential pitfalls of the recruiting process as well. That is why the NFHS became wary of what it takes to lure teams to tournaments.

In the case of teams such as Oak Hill, which will compete in the top-flight Bill Bobier Challenge II division along with local entry Cheyenne, most travel expenses are usually covered to attract the team to attend. McKay said that about 65 percent of the teams in the Holiday Prep will have at least some portion of their expenses covered by the tournament.

The new division system allows teams receiving equal financial help to be placed in equal divisions. It also makes for more even competition.

"We deeply appreciate the efforts of our soccer players and the contributions of our soccer donors," CCSN athletics director Tim Chambers said. "In the final analysis, there is just not enough money in our budget to add a needed fourth core sport and finance women's soccer, too."

The Scenic West Athletic Conference requires its members to carry at least four sports from a group including men's basketball, football, and baseball, as well as women's softball, volleyball, and basketball. Softball will fill the college's current need for a fourth core sport for the privately funded program.

That means 21 soccer players are out of a team, and a valuable local asset for funneling local soccer prospects to the Division I level is gone. Athletic scholarships for the women affected will be honored through the end of the academic year.

At the same time, local prep softball players will now have that same opportunity to hone their skills before trying to find a home at the D-I level. Soccer coach Ric Grenell will step in to take over the softball coaching duties. The softball team will play in 20 preseason scrimmages next fall before embarking on at least a 27-game schedule in spring 2004.

The soccer team went 5-13-4 in its final season.