There’s something for everybody

Steve Guiremand

Tuesday, July 22, 2003 | 9:35 a.m.

The bleachers at this week's adidas Big Time Tournament will at times look like a Who's Who of college basketball coaching.

It won't be surprising to see Lute Olson sitting just yards away from Roy Williams or Mike Krzyzewski or Rick Pitino or Tubby Smith. All will be trying to keep tabs on nationally ranked recruits who have already verbally committed to their school or are seriously being considered for a scholarship.

But the Coach Ks and the Tom Izzos won't be the only ones doing their homework in the stands. Far from it.

With 400 teams and almost 5,000 players playing this week, the Big Time Tournament is also a recruiting bonanza for coaches from lower Division I-A programs as well as Division II and NAIA schools and even junior college programs, most of which have to pinch pennies when it comes to recruiting.

"It's scary to think of how many basketball coaches are in town this week," said Joe O'Brien, head coach at defending national juco champion Southeastern Community College of West Burlington, Iowa.

"As Sonny (Vaccaro, founder of the Big Time Tournament) once said, there is something for everybody at this tournament," UNLV coach Charlie Spoonhour said.

Even for a Division II school such as Cal Poly Pomona.

Broncos assistant Steve Wachs won't be in town to try to unearth the next LeBron James or Kobe Bryant. Instead, he will be looking for the next Lucas Lecour.

"He's the all-time leading scorer in Cal Poly history," Wachs said. "He went to Las Vegas High School and graduated in 2002. We've had very good luck in attending the Big Time Tournament. With 5,000 kids here, there are a lot of quality kids here who won't get recruited by Division I schools or who could slip through the cracks. That's where we come in."

Cal Poly Pomona, which is coming off the best finish in school history after advancing to the Elite Eight in Division II basketball, came away with 6-foot-6, 250-pound center Kaelen Daniels of Artesia, Calif., High School after scouting last year's tournament.

"We usually concentrate on the kids from California, Nevada and Arizona," Wachs said. "Kaelen decided to play for his high school team here which I think was an advantage for us. Most of the coaches from bigger programs were off watching the traveling teams from his area. We just jumped right on him, offered him (a scholarship) in November and he signed with us. We were very happy to get a player of his quality here."

Wachs would love nothing better than to come away with another Las Vegas area product like Lecour.

"I think Las Vegas kids kind of get overlooked a little bit," he said. "There are only two Division I programs in the state, so they might not the kind of national attention that other kids might get."

There also will be a number of junior college coaches on hand this week. The NJCAA coaches not-so-coincidentally are holding a clinic and convention at the Boardwalk Casino today and Wednesday which will feature Division I coaches as speakers.

"It gives us a chance to window shop a little bit," O'Brien said.

"Typically kids heading into their senior years aren't really thinking about junior college right now. But in January that can kind of change. We get a scouting service that kind of identifies potential junior college prospects (because of their questionable academics). If a kid from Iowa or the Midwest that we might be interested in is in town playing, we might go out and watch him play."

"I think it is definitely worth it for coaches from every level to come here for this tournament," Spoonhour said. "You have a chance to see a lot of kids in one area without spending a lot of money. Plus you also have the attraction of Las Vegas. I don't think you'd have nearly this many coaches if say they held this in Sioux Falls."