8 days until the MaxPreps Holiday Classic: 8 states represented in Open Division

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PALM SPRINGS, Calif. — It's eight days until the MaxPreps Holiday Classic and today we celebrate the eight states playing in the 16-team Open Division bracket.

That's right folks. Half the bracket is coming from out of state to the 13th-annual event Dec. 26-30 in beautiful Palm Springs, Calif.

Nine teams are from the home Golden State, but the teams from out of state are (from west to east):

Seattle Prep

Bishop Gorman (Las Vegas)

Prestonwood Christian (Plano, Texas)

Bentonville (Ark.)

King (Milwaukee)

Jonesboro (Ga.)

St. Petersburg (Fla.)

From Northern California, Capital Christian (Sacramento), De La Salle (Concord), Folsom and Moreau Catholic (Hayward) will make the trek.

Closer to the tournament, Southern California squads Alemany (Mission Hills), Chino Hills, Redondo Union (Redondo Beach), Santa Margarita (Rancho Santa Margarita) and Windward (Los Angeles) will battle for the top prize.

Right now, Chino Hills is currently the favorite. The Huskies are No. 3 in the MaxPreps Xcellent 25 National Boys Basketball Rankings presented by the Army National Guard.

Brothers Lonzo Ball and LiAngelo Ball are two of the nation's top top guard prospects and both have delivered verbal commitments to UCLA. Lonzo was a state player of the year finalist as a junior after averaging an astounding 24.3 points, 11.3 rebounds and 9.1 assists per game.

The only other nationally ranked squad is No. 21 Moreau Catholic, though many others are on the cusp.

Defending state champions from Georgia, Nevada, Texas and Utah — along with nine of California's top programs — will be part of the field for the 2015 MaxPreps Holiday Classic, scheduled for Dec. 26-30.

Rancho Mirage High School will serve as the primary host, but games will be played in seven venues around the Coachella Valley.

"The MaxPreps Holiday Classic has become the talk of the town," tournament co-director Wayne Merino said of the event, now in its 13th year. "It's a hot ticket, without a doubt among the most desirable high school basketball tournaments for teams and coaches to attend in the country."

Bishop Gorman was recently named one of the Top 10 high school basketball program of the last five years by MaxPreps. Under head coach Grant Rice, the Gaels have captured eight state titles since 2002.

Jonesboro is Georgia's back-to-back Class AAAA state champ and finished last season ranked No. 9 nationally. The Cardinals will be be led by reigning MaxPreps National Sophomore of the Year M.J. Walker.

Prestonwood Christian — the high school home of Los Angeles Laker Julius Randle — won its fourth Texas private school title in the last six seasons in 2014-15. The Lions feature 6-foot-11 center Schnider Herard, a native of Haiti regarded as a Top 100 prospect by 247Sports.