Top high school girls basketball teams head for 2014 Nike TOC in Arizona

Two teams that have been No. 1 in the MaxPreps Xcellent 25 National Girls Basketball Rankings presented by the Army National Guard, plus several more that would love to get to that top spot, highlight this year's Nike TOC in Arizona.

And in a return to a previous format, 80 teams will be playing four games in five days, starting Thursday (with Sunday off), instead of three as in recent years.

The elite Joe Smith Division features last year's national champion and this year's preseason No. 1, Blackman (Murfreesboro, Tenn.), along with Riverdale Baptist (Upper Marlboro, Md.), which replaced Blackman in the first Xcellent 25 update. Since then, both have dropped, but winning the Nike TOC is a very good way to push a team back into the conversation about being the best in the nation.

Still, it's far from a two-team race, as perennial participant St. Mary's (Stockton, Calif.) is fresh off a win in the competitive Iolani Tournament in Hawaii, and Long Beach Poly (Calif.), the top team in Southern California, has knocked off one-time No. 3 Chaminade (West Hills, Calif.). It would also be unwise to overlook Mater Dei (Santa Ana, Calif.) and super-sniper Katie Lou Samuelson, who is considered a prime candidate for National Player of the Year.

Of course, there are plenty of other outstanding players who will go on to star in college and play in the WNBA, which is one reason why the Nike TOC is a major stop on the recruiting circuit for college coaches. Skyline (Dallas), for example, already has five Division I signees on its roster, while teams such as Bishop O'Dowd (Oakland, Calif.) are loaded with young talent.

The other four divisions – plus one group of four – also have strong teams and outstanding players, so expect to find college coaches at all three sites: Hamilton High School in Chandler, Perry High School in Gilbert and the Kroc Center in Phoenix. The top division, for the most part, and all the championship games Monday will be at Hamilton, and this year Hamilton (Chandler, Ariz.) itself is playing in the top bracket for the first time.

Two other Arizona teams are also in the Joe Smith Division (named for a long-time women's basketball writer), and both Desert Vista (Phoenix) and Millennium (Goodyear, Ariz.) have designs on a state title and a spot in the Xcellent 25.

Two Canadian teams – St. Mary's Catholic and Brookswood Secondary -- are in the Mike Desper Division, along with traditional powers such as La Jolla Country Day (La Jolla, Calif.) and Highlands Ranch (Colo.).

Windward (Los Angeles), which was one of the top teams in the country last year but suffered serious graduation losses, is in the James Anderson Division. Long-time power Brea Olinda (Brea, Calif.), Central Catholic (Portland, Ore.) and Sacramento (Calif.) also have plenty of quality.

Lutheran (Parker, Colo.), Morgan (Utah) and Centennial (Las Vegas) look to be strong in the Gray Division, and Quest Preparatory (Las Vegas) and Mount Miguel (Spring Valley, Calif.) have a good chance to emerge in the Black Division.

The four teams that will play only three games (Friday, Saturday and Monday) include Bishop Gorman (Las Vegas), a preseason favorite in the Silver State, Vanden (Fairfield, Calif.), a very strong Northern California team, and Archbishop Wood (Warminster, Pa.), a perennial contender in Philadelphia.

The focus, though, will be on the Joe Smith Division, and over the years players like Tina Charles, Maya Moore, Chamique Holdsclaw, Sue Bird and a host of other stars have played in the semifinals (Saturday at 4:40 and 6 p.m.) and the finals (Monday at 5 p.m., all at Hamilton). Though Blackman, led by Crystal Dangerfield, is considered the favorite, it's really just guesswork until the teams sort it all out on the court – and that process is what has made the Nike TOC the best tournament in the country over the years.