Hundreds of travel basketball teams converge on Las Vegas each July for one of the nation's largest gatherings of high school hoopsters.
In past years, elite clubs were spread out over as many as four different tournaments and dozens of gyms across Sin City and neighboring Henderson.
"The sheer amount of teams in Las Vegas mushroomed out of control with so many teams trying to get limited opportunities," West Coast coach and organizer Dinos Trigonis told MaxPreps in early July. "Thousands and thousands of players want to be in front of the coaches, but not everybody is good enough, nor is there time for the coaches to see everybody."
Mac Irvin Fire's Mike Shaw, Wayne Blackshear and Samuel Thompson.
Photo by Nicholas Koza
A sleeker – and perhaps more fan-friendly – version of the annual extravaganza begins Thursday.
Out are the Reebok Summer Championships, Main Event and GBOA Challenge of Champions (which may return in 2011).
In is the very-promising Fab 48 put together by Trigonis. The event is NCAA certified and will feature one of the summer's most impressive collections of major college prospects.
The other primary attraction will be the adidas Super 64, narrowing it down to just two power-packed tournaments for fans and college coaches to pick from.
While both offer multiple brackets and divisions, the Fab 48's Invitational Division and Super 64's under-17 bracket will garner the bulk of the attention.
Much to the chagrin of Super 64 organizers, the past two champions at that event – Memphis Magic (2009) and Grassroots Canada (2008) – will be participating in the upstart Fab 48. The adidas tilt still features plenty of talent, however. The Atlanta Celtics, D-One Sports DC Assault, Indiana Elite and New Heights bring rosters lined with future Division I players.
Read on for dates, times and sites for each.
Fab 48 Invitational Division, July 22-25
Helpful links: Venues / Pools and Schedule / Fan Info
Players to watch: Wayne Blackshear (Mac Irvin Fire), Jabari Brown (Drew Gooden Soldiers), DeAndre Daniels (Belmont Shore), Ricardo Gathers (New Orleans D-1 Ambassadors), Myck Kabongo (Grassroots Canada), LeBryan Nash (Dallas Mustangs), Michael Shaw (Mac Irvin Fire), Adonis Thomas (Memphis Magic), Tony Wroten Jr. (Seattle Rotary)
adidas Super 64, July 22-26
Helpful links: Pools / Schedules / Brackets / Scores / Venues
