SoCalHoops Recruiting News

9th adidas Las Vegas Big Time:
How Big Is Really, Really Big?--(July 21, 2003)

400 Teams.

More than 5,000 athletes.

Every Division I, and most D-II, D-III, NAIA, JUCO and probably just about every pro GM.

When adidas, Sonny Vaccaro, Larry McKay, David and Dana Pump, Chris Rivers, and the entire contingent of people responsible for the adidas Las Vegas Big Time say they want the biggest tournament ever, they are not fooling around. .   They wanted big, they're going do it BIG.     Last year was big, with more than 334 teams, and this year is the biggest ever.

This year, the adidas Big Time guys, including Larry McKay who runs the event, the guys (whoever they are now) who run the official website for the Big Time, and Domanic Clark, who leads their media relations group, will be doing it again starting tomorrow in Las Vegas.

We don't have time to post up all of the stuff that you can find at the official wesite, but we will pass along a press release that we received from the Big Time last Friday:

Field for 9th adidas BIG TIME hoop tourney includes
400 teams from 43 States, D.C., Virgin Islands, Canada

Nation's Largest Boy's Tournament features 996 Games
on 30 Courts at 15 High Schools during five-day hoopfest.

Updated tournament results/schedules at www.adidasbigtime.com-

LAS VEGAS-Most of the top boy's high school players in the nation converge on Las Vegas next week as a record 400 teams participate in next week's 9th Annual adidas Big Time tournament. Because of increased demand, the adidas Big Time has added 56 teams to the tournament to be held next Wednesday through Saturday on 30 courts at 15 area high schools in Southern Nevada. This year's massive hoopfest, featuring a total 400 teams from 43 U.S. States, Washington, D.C., the U.S. Virgin Islands and Canada, will provide serious summer hardwood heat when 996 total games are played on 30 courts at 15 high school gyms in the Southern Nevada area. After three 'pool play' games for each team in two days, four single-elimination tournaments will be held with nearly 400 college coaches expected on site.

With 13 teams from the host State of Nevada, this year's adidas Big Time prep hoop extravanganza, being held under the sanction and guidelines and as a model of new policies of the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA), includes a record 14 states with 10 or more teams entered. Amazingly, despite adding 56 more teams than the 344 that participated the last two years, a waiting list of over 20 teams exists for this massive  400-team hoopfest. The adidas Big Time will have over 5,500 athletes participating during the five-day festival.

In eight years, The Big Time has grown rapidly into the summertime event to watch and the tournament at which to be watched. Green Valley High School, located in suburban Henderson, will be the official Tournament headquarters and along with Durango HS, the only sites where the majority of the featured Open division games will be played. Daily General Admission tickets, priced at $10 each and good for admission to all games at all sites, will be available at the door. Games will start at 9 a.m. daily. Green Valley and Durango will be the only venues in action during the tournament's final day and the championship games in all four Division will be held at Green Valley next Saturday (July 26). The tournament-ending Open championship game is set for 6:20 p.m. Besides Green Valley the other tournament sites in Henderson will be Basic HS, Coronado HS and Foothill HS while the site in N. Las Vegas will be Mojave HS.

The Las Vegas area high schools hosting The adidas Big Time will be: Bonanza, Chaparral, Cimarron-Memorial, Desert Pines, Durango, Las Vegas, Palo Verde, Silverado, Valley and Western. With the latest tournament expansion, Bonanza and Western were the two sites added. Each of the tournament site features a main gymnasium and an auxiliary gym which will be utilized by the tournament. The Big Time also uses top game officials from throughout the West and National High School Federation rules are followed with a few exceptions, the major one of which is that the games are played in two 16-minute halves instead of four 8-minute quarters.

By individual state, the top three (all with record numbers) are California, with 88 teams entered, Texas with 49 and Colorado with 22. Fourth this year is Washington State with 21, followed by Wisconsin with 15, Arizona, Connecticut, and Nevada with 13 each, New York State and Ohio with 12 each, Pennsylvania with 11, and Indiana, Michigan and Utah with 10 teams each. Canada is sending a record six teams to this year's tournament and the U.S. Virgin Islands is sending its first-ever entry.

Reading like a current who's who of young basketball superstars, alumni of The adidas Big Time include Los Angeles Laker Kobe Bryant, Tracy McGrady of the Orlando Magic and Lamar Odom of the LA Clippers. The teams with the best records from the first 72 non-seeded four team pools will advance along with the 56 top-seeded teams (seeded pre tournament) to comprise the 128-team Open Division. The three additional A,B and C Divisions will also hold tournaments.

The A Division tournament will include all the second place teams from the first 72 non-seeded four-team pools along with all teams from the last 14 non-seed pools in another 128-team tournament. All the third and all the fourth place teams from the first 72 non-seeded pools will compete in their own respective B and C Division 72-team single elimination tournaments.A total of 29 states and Canada are represented among the 56 teams pre-seeded into the Open tournament. Playing against each other in 14, 4-team groups during pool play next Tuesday and Wednesday, California leads the way with 10 seeded teams followed by New York with seven and Michigan, New Jersey and Texas with three teams each. Nevada's lone seeded team in the group is the Las Vegas Rebels.

Previous Open Division champions in The Big Time are: Team New Orleans (1995), Illinois Warriors I (1996), DC Assault I of Maryland (1997), Michigan Mustangs (1998), New Orleans Jazz (1999), Atlanta Celtics I (2000), Long Island Panthers of New York (2001) and New York Ravens (2002). All will field teams again this year.  

Past A Division champs are: Illinois Warriors II (1995), Bronx Ravens (1996), Dakota Schoolers of South Dakota (1997), LA Rockfish Orcas (1998),   Valentino's Bison Red of Nebraska (1999), Friends of Hoop Black of Washington State (2000), Portland Elite Legends of Oregon (2001) and Stop Six of Texas (2002).

Starting in 1997, B Division winners have been: Emerald City of  Washington State (1997), Wisconsin Shooters (1998), Northern Stars of South Dakota  (1999), Derek Smith All Stars Black of Kentucky (2000), Arizona Stars (2001) and SSA-Sacramento Platinum (2002).

The C Division began in 1999 and winning titles have been: Packers Blue of Washington State (1999), Tru-Playaz of Colorado (2000), The Firm of Texas (2001) and Seattle Friends of Hoop-Green (2002).

For more information, contact the tournament headquarters at 702.256.9832 or visit the official website of The adidas Big Time at www.adidasbigtime.com

See you there....

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