Big Time goals

Spencer Patterson

Thursday, July 11, 2002 | 10:18 a.m.

From all of the baggy shorts, crossover dribbles and big-name college coaches in the gymnasium, a basketball fan who wandered over to Durango High School on Wednesday might have thought the adidas Big Time Tournament had begun two weeks early.

Instead, the high-quality basketball on display was of the girls variety, as the adidas Showtime National Championships concluded its first tour of Las Vegas with a fourth full day of games.

Tennessee coach Pat Summitt was in attendance for the championship, Connecticut's Geno Auriemma stopped by several times during the week and dozens of their peers traveled to Las Vegas for a 77-team event that could soon follow in the ever-growing footsteps of its 344-team boys counterpart.

"There aren't a lot of well-run girls events during the summer, so we decided to bring in an event so our adidas teams could get seen in a competitive atmosphere," tournament director Mike White said. "The coaches can come in here and watch the players in a relaxed atmosphere."

White, who has published his All-Star Girls Report recruiting newsletter since 1995, began running tournaments in 1998, most notably the spring-time Deep South Classic in North Carolina.

After seeing the continued success of its annual boys event in Southern Nevada, adidas gave White the go-ahead to organize a girls tournament which could serve as a lead-in to next week's invitation-only adidas Top 10 Camp in Atlanta.

Working with Chris Rivers, adidas' coordinator for grassroots basketball, and Larry McKay, Clark County Athletic Director and Big Time co-director, White did just that, watching his dream become a reality this week.

"With the facilities and staff here, the structure of the organization, top teams will continue to come to this event. I believe there will be as many as 300 teams by year five," White said.

Spread out over five area high schools -- Durango, Coronado, Sierra Vista, Foothill and Chaparral -- and scheduled to coincide with the NCAA's open summer recruiting period, the Showtime drew coaches from more than 250 colleges.

They turned out to watch a horde of prospective Division I stars, including San Diego High's Charde Houston and Lynwood (Calif.) High's Sa'de Wiley-Gatewood, who helped their West Coast All-Stars win the championship Wednesday with an 87-60 victory over Dallas' Ichiban Elite.

"Seeing everybody in one tournament like this saves us a lot of money, and it's good to compare kids from different parts of the country as they go head-to-head," Oklahoma assistant coach Bo Overton said. "For a school like us that recruits nationwide, it's a great tool.

"The players and their families like to come out here, and the coaches love to come out to Vegas for a couple of days."

Sounds a lot like the formula that has made the Big Time such a success. And the similarities don't stop there. The level of play, particularly among Wednesday's final eight teams, should have impressed any fan of high school basketball, be it boys or girls.

In the title game, Wiley-Gatewood, a 5-foot-9 point guard, demonstrated the all-around skills that have put her among the nation's elite since her freshman year, when she gave an extra-early verbal commitment to Summitt's Lady Vols.

Showing off her strength in the paint, Houston powered her way to a game-high 20 points, while sweet-shooting Erica Arriaran helped bury Ichiban with 13 early points, most from long range.

The game also featured a battle between two of the country's top senior centers, with Inglewood High's 6-3 Lauren Ervin (14 points for West Coast) and Lincoln High's 6-4 Tiffany Jackson (16 points for Ichiban) dueling to a virtual draw.

"This will be my fifth year in women's basketball, and it's changed a lot -- the athleticism, the skills. These players are getting better each year," said Overton, a former Sooners player and men's assistant coach. "I come across players all the time who have never seen a women's game, and when they see this level of play they fall in love with it."

White has set a target of 120-150 teams for next year, and considering the glowing praise heaped on the tournament, the sky could be the limit.

"I've been to tournaments around the nation for many years, but this is the best one I've ever been to," said Aly Lizza, head coach for the fourth-place Long Island Wave. "I've never seen a group of kids as talented in any one tournament. And the facilities, the people who ran it and the coordination, it was beautiful."