Senior writer/columnist Mitch Stephens will be in San Diego for in-depth coverage throughout the four-day tournament. Look for his coverage and analysis, updated scores, schedules, pictures, video and more by clicking here.
By Mitch Stephens
MaxPreps.com
SAN DIEGO, Calif. - After 18 years the host may just be the most in the MaxPreps Holiday Classic boys basketball tournament at Torrey Pines High School.
In a wide-open National Division, the Falcons are one of a number of teams co-favored to claim the top prize in the 56-team, four division tournament that features teams from 11 states, all but 10 from California.
The four-day tourney opens Wednesday (Dec. 26) at four San Diego high schools: National Division (Torrey Pines), American Division (La Costa Canyon), Governor's Division (Rancho Bernardo) and Mayor's Division (Francis Parker).
Torrey Pines (8-1), which started the season ranked 13th in California by MaxPreps but dropped 25 spots following a 59-55 loss to nearby Bishops (La Jolla) in the finals of the Kiwanis Tournament last week, features five starters between 6-foot-3 and 6-7 including returning All-State guard James Rahon.
The 6-4 shooting and point guard was the state's top scoring underclassmen averaging 28.2 points per game last year.
Signed to Santa Clara University, Rahon's scoring average has dipped by about five points per game this season but that's largely because the Falcons average margin of victory is more than 25 points.
Torrey Pines has reached the National Division finals only twice the last 17 years, losing both times.
The tournament has traditionally featured national heavyweights such as Oak Hill Academy (Va.), Dunbar (Baltimore, Maryland), De La Salle (Concord, Calif.) and Mater Dei (Santa Ana, Calif.). Current NBA players Stephon Marbury, Lamar Odom, Luke Walton and Speedy Claxton are but a few bright lights who have starred in the Torrey Pines Classic.
This year's tourney doesn't boast the national team lineup but will showcase up to 30 Division I type players, including Rahon, Compton 6-6 guard Demar DeRozan (29.5 ppg, 7.5 rpg) and Campbell Hall (North Hollywood, Calif.) 6-4 forward Jrue Holiday (26.3 ppg, 9.9 rpg), the latter two ranked among the top six senior players in the country according to CSTV.
Dominguez (Compton, Calif.) 6-7 forward Jordan Hamilton is considered one of the top 10 juniors in the country.
"Each tournament takes on its own identity and this year I think that identity lies simply with the players we have coming in," Torrey Pines coach and tournament director John Olive said.
As far as where the Falcons fit into the 16-team national division Olive isn't sure. The team also features 6-6 junior post Colin Porter, 6-3 junior guard Trevor Newquist and 6-6 senior forward Connor Johnson.
"It's hard to say," Olive said. "We'll learn a lot after our first game and see exactly how we compete against top caliber talent."
Campbell Hall (7-3), the defending California Division IV champion and ranked 19th in the state, had played a rigorous national schedule and figures to be a top contender along with No. 6 Dominguez (4-1), No. 27 Compton (8-3) and Washington state's No. 1 ranked team Franklin-Seattle (5-0), which features 6-1 junior point guard Peyton Siva (21.8 ppg, 6.6 assists per game and 3.6 assists).
Siva, a 6-1 junior guard, had 45 points in one of the nation's top games of the year thus far, a 95-90 win over Rainier Beach, Washington's second-ranked team. Silva (21.8 ppg), Chris Holmes (6-2 junior), Sterling Carter (6-0 junior) and Freddy Wilson (6-3 junior) are all double-digit scorers for Franklin, which averages 78 points per game.
A pair of Arizona's top teams, third-ranked Desert Vista-Phoenix (8-2) and No. 8 Santa Rita-Tucson (9-0) are also in the National Division mix.
Desert Vista has a balanced attack but is led by 6-8 center Michael Proctor (13.3 ppg, 8.2 rpg) while Santa Rita is an up-tempo team that averages 73 points and has been involved in just one game closer than a 13-point margin, a 63-61 win over Rocky Mountain (Fort Collins, Colo.).
Other strong California teams Newark Memorial (8-1), Bishop O'Dowd-Oakland (5-2), the defending Northern California D-III champs and Long Beach Jordan (6-3) are among other top contenders in the National Division.
The top game of the first day figures to be Compton versus Santa Rita at 7:30 p.m. Other Wednesday National Division contests are Campolindo-Arroyo Valley (10 a.m.), Torrey Pines-Simi Valley (11:35 a.m.), Franklin-Pasadena (1:10 p.m.), Desert Vita-Gahr (2:45), Newark Memorial-Long Beach Jordan (4:20), Dominguez-Bishop O'Dowd (5:55) and Metairie Country Day-Campbell Hall (9:05).
TOURNAMENT NOTES: For the first time, every first-round and winners-bracket game in the National Division will be broadcast live at www.kbcsports.com. . Other out-of-state teams include Louisiana's Metairie Country Day (National Division), Texas' Clear Brook in the American Division, Nevada's Coronado, South Carolina's Lexington, Virginia's Langley and Canada's Handsworth, all in the Governor's Division, and New York's Frontier in the Mayor's Division. . Bishops (8-2), which moved up 46 spots to No. 31 in California, is one of the favorites in the American Division along with No. 33 Eisenhower-Rialto (9-2) and No. 47 Mission Hills-San Marcos (6-2). . No. 35 Monte Vista-Danville (7-2) is one of the favorites in the Governor's Division along with No. 54 and undefeated Ponderosa-Shingle Springs (9-0), No. 56 James Logan-Union City (7-3), South Carolina's No. 50 Lexington (10-2) and Nevada's No. 28 Coronado.
E-mail Mitch Stephens at mstephens@maxpreps.com.
