Coaches, talent are spread thin

Nick Christensen

Monday, July 26, 2004 | 9:17 a.m.

Saturday night at the Foothill High School gym, Reebok Big Time media director Dominic Clark sounded relieved.

"We only have 72 games tomorrow," Clark said, not trying to be ironic.

The total of 72 games, held at four high schools on the southeast side of town, pales in comparison to the 250-plus games on Thursday and Friday, scattered at sites ranging from Foothill in the southeast to Palo Verde in the west to Mojave in the far north -- a 73-mile round trip, if a coach scouting high school hoopsters wanted to visit all three sites without making any stops at the other nine gyms involved. That doesn't count, either, the Nike or adidas tournaments that have their own aspiring college hoopsters hoping Mike Krzyzewski or Lute Olsen will come out to watch.

With so many games at so many sites across Las Vegas at once, some say the week of hoops is becoming too big for its britches. Even with an entire coaching staff in town scouting and most teams playing at least three games, it's tough to get all the necessary scouting done. Plus, with more than 4,000 athletes in town this week, not every team features a future Kobe Bryant or Lebron James.

"There's no question the talent is watered down," North Carolina coach Roy Williams said. "Vegas is home to three tournaments. It's a wonderful place to have games. I've been coming here for 16 or 18 years, and I always thought it was great. We'll have all our coaches on the road, but it's hard for those first two days."

It also means that some teams were playing in front of meager audiences and were lucky to have an NAIA coach in the stands. A trip Saturday to three tournament sites turned up very few coaches, and the three sites combined had fewer coaches and scouts than were at the first round of games, at the Doolittle Community Center at 12:01 a.m. on Thursday.

Clark said the NCAA did have two or three known representatives watching the tournaments, ensuring that coaches didn't talk to players, which is against NCAA rules at this time of the year.

With so many sites, the NCAA would either have to rely on coaches policing themselves or bring in undercover people to watch the proceedings.

In the end, though, it's about the shoe companies that run the tournaments, which is why so many people have been brought in for the three tournaments.

"The general consensus is ... it's more diluted," New Mexico coach Ritchie McKay said. "There are three shoe companies jockeying for players, but we're still coming to Las Vegas regardless. We still have to drive to see the players we're evaluating. I don't know if it's inconvenient. I like recruiting, and I think when you coach competitively, there's a time when inconvenience is for a greater program."

Some also pointed out that the larger talent pool gives more players a chance to be surprise standouts and levels the playing field for smaller schools to find diamonds in the rough.

One person who's seen the evolution of the shoe company tournaments in Southern Nevada firsthand is Utah State assistant coach Dave Rice. A former UNLV basketball player and assistant coach, Rice has seen the tournaments from the perspective of a large program and now a smaller school.

"I prefer to look at it the other way," Rice said. "The more teams that are here, the more chance to see more good players."