Rebels hope to pool their talent

Spencer Patterson and Victoria Sun

Tuesday, July 23, 2002 | 9:29 a.m.

With his team not guaranteed a spot in the adidas Big Time's open bracket this week, Las Vegas Rebels coach Shawn King recognizes the importance of winning early at the event.

Three victories in pool play will put the local all-star squad into the prestigious main draw, where it is far more likely to be seen by the bulk of college coaches in town for the 344-team basketball extravaganza.

"It's very important because of all the college coaches," King said. "They're going to be at Durango or Green Valley, so it's important to win the pool and get over to those games. That's what it's about -- getting these kids seen by as many people as possible."

The Rebels took a big step toward meeting their goal Monday, topping the Dallas Dirty Dozen White 63-62 and holding off Idaho Select I 51-47. A win over Southwest Nebraska Select today at 5 p.m. at Cimarron-Memorial will move the locals into the open bracket for the remainder of the tournament.

The Rebels barely escaped their opening contest, winning on Jason Petrimoulx's layup at the buzzer after squandering a double-digit second-half lead. Dirty Dozen guard Chase Brownlee nearly led his squad to a dramatic comeback win, knocking down four late 3-pointers, including a 25-foot heave with seven seconds remaining that gave Dallas its only lead.

"I saw we had seven seconds left and I thought we were still going to win," said Petrimoulx, a senior-to-be at Cimarron. "I left my man, and the lane was wide open, so I went up as fast as I could."

Petrimoulx finished with team-highs in points in both games Monday, scoring 15 in the first and 20 in the second.

James hasn't played since breaking his left wrist June 8 in Chicago, but has already journeyed to the Nike and ABCD camps.

Goffredo, a soon-to-be senior at Crescenta Valley High School in La Crescenta, Calif., scored 25 for the Rockfish. The 6-foot guard has a weighted 4.6 GPA and has scored 1320 on the SAT and 32 on the ACT.

"School comes first, basketball second," Goffredo said. "School and basketball, that's my life."

Their success and tournaments such as the Big Time have helped current Alaskans Buddy Bailey, Chris Devine and Ray Schaefer attract coaches who might have otherwise overlooked them.

"This is pretty much the extent of our exposure -- this, and the state tournament," said Bailey, who scored 16 in BWBA Team Alaska's 64-48 loss to No Excuses (Ind.). "After Trajan and Carlos, coaches now come to our state tournament."

Aside from summer tournaments, Alaskan players must showcase their skills at camps and send videos to coaches to get noticed.

"It's kind of a relief not having them around all the time watching," Bailey said.