Jumping through hoops

Nick Christensen

Friday, July 22, 2005 | 9:56 a.m.

And so it begins.

At the stroke of midnight, the doors of the Tarkanian Basketball Academy opened to the hordes of college coaches out to get a head start on this weekend's high school meat market.

The weekend officially kicked off with Pangos Midnight Madness, with games on the four courts at the academy tipping off just minutes into Friday and into the NCAA's second July "live period," when coaches can again watch prospective athletes.

About 700 people, including around 100 coaches, packed into the sweltering warehouse-like structure on Rancho, with 16 games attracting the attention of coaches ranging from North Carolina's Roy Williams to Indiana's Mike Davis to representatives from smaller schools like Albany and Yavapai College.

It's the only chance coaches will get to watch so many teams play at one place without worrying about missing something else. Between the Reebok Big Time, Nike Main Event and Adidas Super 64 tournaments, up to 70 top-tier teams can be playing simultaneously at 15 different sites.

Coaches can't talk to players, nor can they really hope to get a good picture of an athlete's skills in a graveyard shift basketball game. But they were all out, watching the 32 participating teams play 25-minute contests.

Stanford coach Trent Johnson said he was out more for pleasure than for work.

"For me, I just like watching basketball," he said. "The kids get an opportunity to play and it's one more opportunity to evaluate. But I just like being in the gym and watching the kids play."

UNLV coach Lon Kruger was less enthusiastic about the early morning action.

"It's ridiculous that we're out here at midnight," he said. "It's bad for the kids who've got to get up and play."

Kruger himself left around 1:45 a.m., and said he was planning on watching games starting at 9 this morning.

Brian Marks was to have already been up two hours by then. Marks, playing for Nevada Elite in a game that began at 1:56 a.m., had to be at his alma mater Palo Verde to help set up for Saturday's Big Time games at 7:30 this morning.

After his game ended near 2:30 a.m., he said he still felt fresh.

Marks was originally slated to go to Cal State Fullerton but did not qualify academically. He's now trying to showcase himself for a prep school or junior college.

"It helps me get more exposure," he said.

Nearby, Silverado junior Heiden Ratner sat on the bench, his sweat refusing to evaporate in the muggy gym. He said he wore himself out earlier Thursday, playing in a game in the afternoon.

"I shouldn't have," he said.

But he didn't think playing in the late games was that bad of a drain on his fellow hoopsters.

"I don't mind it too much," he said. "I think we're all ready to play. It's alright."