Staff Report
MaxPreps.com
The city of Pasadena will host 80 of the top boys and girls basketball teams from Texas and Louisiana Nov. 20-22 for the sixth annual McDonald’s Texas Invitational.
The event is the primary fundraiser for the Pasadena ISD Education Foundation and has attracted as many as 30,000 fans in past years.
“We wanted to establish a world-class basketball tournament, and I believe we have,” tournament director Ben Meador said. “In a few short years, this tournament has grown in stature to become one of the premier invitational basketball tournaments in Texas and is gaining a national reputation for excellence – not just because of the quality of basketball played, but because of the support and enthusiasm of hundreds of community volunteers and sponsors who have made this event special for everyone involved.”
The boys field is loaded with highly-regarded programs, including defending 5A state champion North Crowley. Duncanville, a popular pick as the nation’s No. 1 team behind star senior wing Shawn Williams, is also headed to Pasadena.
San Antonio Madison – a back-to-back 5A final four participant – along with Fort Bend Hightower, DeSoto, The Woodlands College Park, Houston Chavez and Kingwood are among other headliners on the boys’ side.
“There is a lot of pride taken in this tournament as it is a first-class tournament all the way from the organization, through the commitment to having the best teams from around the state participating,” North Crowley head coach Tommy Brakel said. “It’s a tournament that the school district, the community and the organizers should all be very proud of hosting.”
Last year, the tournament served as a springboard for Brakel’s program en route to a state championship. The Panthers, whose only loss last season came against Fort Bend Hightower at the Invitational, took home the consolation trophy before winning 35 consecutive games to close the season on top.
The girls field features eight of the Texas Association of Basketball Coaches preseason top 20 5A teams. Cypress Fairbanks, The Woodlands College Park, Mansfield Summit, Bellaire, San Antonio Madison, Pflugerville, North Shore and Cinco Ranch comprise that talent-rich list.
Girls teams are divided into two 16-team brackets and begin play Thursday at noon. Boys teams will be separate into 24-team divisions.
The Invitational is played at all Pasadena ISD high school gymnasiums, Phillips Field House, Pearland High School and Pearland Dawson High School.
Organizers are billing the McDonald’s Invitational as a “Monumental Event” – referring to the nearby San Jacinto Monument and battlefield, a landmark in the community that symbolizes Texas’ independence from Mexico in 1836.
Boys Participants
Alief Elsik, Alief Taylor, Alvin, Atascocita, Channelview, College Park, Conroe, Corpus Christi Carroll, Dallas Hillcrest, DeSoto, Dickinson, Duncanville, Fort Bend Bush, Fort Bend Hightower, Fort Bend Marshall, Galena Park, Houston Chavez, Houston Westside, Humble, Huntington (La.), Jersey Village, Katy Cinco Ranch, Katy Seven Lakes, Kempner, Kingwood, Kingwood Park, Klein Collins, La Porte, Mansfield Summit, McAllen, North Crowley, North Forest, Pasadena, Pasadena Dobie, Pasadena Memorial, Pasadena Sam Rayburn, Pasadena South Houston, Pearland, Pearland Dawson, Richardson Berkner, Richardson Pearce, San Antonio Madison, San Antonio Taft, San Antonio Warren, Smithson Valley, Spring, Spring Dekaney, West Monroe (La.)
Girls Participants
Angleton, Bellaire, Channelview, Clear Brook, Clear Creek, Clear Springs, College Park, Corpus Christi Ray, Cypress Creek, Cypress Fairbanks, Dickinson, El Paso Eastwood, Hardin, Katy Cinco Ranch, Klein Collins, La Porte, Magnolia, Mansfield Summit, McAllen, North Crowley, North Shore, Pasadena, Pasadena Dobie, Pasadena Memorial, Pasadena Sam Rayburn, Pasadena South Houston, Pflugerville, Richardson Pearce, San Antonio Madison, San Antonio Taft, San Antonio Warren, Tomball
McDonald’s Texas Invitational Home
