Hawaii in December: warm breezes, luaus, sandy beaches – in short, paradise.
But eight girls' basketball teams did more than see the sights. They played in the 'Iolani Classic, which is rapidly becoming one of the top girls' tournaments in the country. Local favorite
Konawaena (Kealakekua, Hawaii) was 26-2 last year, and considered the best the Islands had to offer, but no one was really sure just how good the Wildcats really were. They wound up proving they were one of the best in the country, knocking off No. 23
Incarnate Word Academy (St. Louis, Mo.) before losing the No. 1
Brea Olinda (Brea, Calif.) of Southern California in the finals.
There was also an international flavor at the 'Iolani Classic in early December, which usually means that some non-American team gets the privilege of getting waxed every time the players step on the floor – but not this time. Tsinghua of China not only beat
'Iolani (Honolulu) 45-39, but came within 18 of Incarnate Word, which has lost only to Konawaena, the No. 16 team in the
MaxPreps girls basketball Xcellent 25.
Memphis Central (Tenn.) got the opportunity (that's one way to look at it) to meet Brea in the finals by slipping past
Archbishop Mitty (San Jose, Calif.), but the Lady Warriors then crashed and burned in the elite Joe Smith Division of the Nike TOC in Phoenix, going 1-3 and losing by 26 to
St. Mary's (Stockton, Calif.) in the seventh place game. Of course, the Lady (Road) Warriors had been traveling since Dec. 8, so getting thumped on Dec. 22 wasn't really that much of a surprise.
Midwest City (Okla.) wasn't a surprise to anyone at the Fort Smith (Ark.) Tournament of Champions Dec. 16-18, as the Bombers were the favorites going in, and rolled to the title of the most prestigious tournament in the midwest. Twin towers Marisha Wallace, who missed last year with a torn ACL, and Kaylon Williams combined for 35 points and 20 rebounds in the 63-51 win over
DeSoto (Texas) in the finals.
So how tough was this TOC? New Albany, the best team in Mississippi, hadn't lost a game until it got to Arkansas – and promptly went 1-2.
The Crescent Bank Classic in South Carolina (Dec. 18-23) is the south's toughest tournament, but the most noise there came from a California team,
Troy (Fullerton, Calif.). Yes, another Southern California team is making a statement, as this appears to be one of those years when all that talent in all those schools finally puts it all together.
Troy, relatively unheralded, knocked off No. 25
Goose Creek (S.C.), preseason No. 14 Fayette County of Georgia and previous No. 5
Norcross (Ga.) before falling to now-No. 5
Spring Valley (Columbia, S.C.) in the finals. Spring Valley wasn't ranked, but only because the Vikings had lost twice to Goose Creek last year (by a total of two points), and so they really couldn't be placed above the team that beat them – until now.
Back on the other side of the country, there was more going on in the Nike TOC than just the Joe Smith Division championship game between Brea and
Long Beach Poly (Calif.).
Christ the King (Middle Village, N.Y.) wound up winning the consolation bracket, but only after getting surprised by St. Mary's of California's multiple presses in the first round. St. Mary's, though, couldn't handle Brea and lost to
Riverdale Baptist (Upper Marlboro, Md.) by two – but then, Riverdale Baptist went 3-1 in Phoenix, losing only to No. 4 Bolingbrook.
Edison (Huntington Beach, Calif.) of Southern California (yes, that area again) was the surprise winner of the John Anderson Division, outlasting Southern California teams in the semis and finals. In fact, all four semifinalists were from Southern California, as were the winners of the Blue Division (
Villa Park) and the Red Division (
Huntington Beach). The only non-SoCal bracket champion was
Clackamas (Ore.), which is making a case for inclusion in the Xcellent 25, as the Cavaliers have lost only to No. 10 Potter's House Christian of Florida.
But there's still more heavyweight action after Christmas before teams return to their home states to chase a championship. The West Coast Jamboree in California will feature No. 2 Long Beach Poly,
Georgetown (Texas) and a host of strong Northern California teams, and the Ronald Curry-Boo Williams Classic in Virginia will bring
Bishop McNamara (Forestville, Md.) and Riverdale Baptist of Maryland in to challenge Virginia's top two teams: No. 7
Princess Anne (Virginia Beach, Va.) and No. 13
Lake Taylor (Norfolk, Va.).
There will be a lot of good basketball in Virginia, but it will still be a few sandy beaches and warm breezes short of Hawaii – and there won't be any teams from China.
