Players receive an education during tourney

Spencer Patterson and Victoria Sun

Wednesday, July 24, 2002 | 9:50 a.m.

They came to Las Vegas to play basketball, but more than 4,000 players in this week's adidas Big Time Tournament also may leave with an education of sorts.

As part of the NCAA's new summer basketball guidelines, all 344 teams in the event must attend an educational session in order to participate. That means sitting down for a 17-minute instructional video produced by Durango High assistant coach Mike Brewster.

Tournament director Larry McKay said the sessions have been successful, drawing positive reviews from two NCAA representatives who watched the tape.

"The NCAA viewed it and thought it was a good product," McKay said. "We've had great attendance, the kids have been paying attention and we've even received a lot of positive feedback."

The video features Durango head coach Al LaRocque and former collegiate players Isaiah Epps (UNLV) and Che Jones (Ohio State-Newark) explaining NCAA recruiting regulations and passing along advice to prospective recruits.

On the tape, LaRocque encourages high school athletes to pare their college lists early in order to avoid a bombardment of recruiting phone calls. More than 300 teams already have watched the video, with the remainder slated to do so today.

Palo Verde joins the Las Vegas Rebels, who went 3-0 in pool play, and the Las Vegas Stars (1-2), who were seeded in one of the event's top 14 pools and were therefore guaranteed a spot in the main draw.

Southern Nevada's nine teams finished pool play 10-16, going 3-13 on Tuesday after opening 7-3 on Monday.

The Skyhawks, comprised of Silverado and Bishop Gorman players, won their first two games Monday but fell to Texas' Arlington Magic 74-55 Tuesday, placing second in their pool.

The (Coronado) Cougars split two games after joining the field as a replacement on Tuesday and the (Foothill) Falcons wound up 1-2. Bonanza, Sierra Vista and Basic finished 0-3.

The younger Bonner put up equally impressive numbers numbers as a sophomore at Trinity High School in Manchester, N.H. averaging 15 points and nine rebounds.

Gators coach Billy Donovan, Missouri's Quin Snyder and Arizona coach Lute Olsen were among those who watched him score 14 points against the Houston SS 3 Stripes Tuesday afternoon at Green Valley.