mats middle school tourney

What: 5th Annual adidas EBO-EA Sports "Mats' Madness" Memorial Day Tournament
Where: Fresno, CA
When: May 26, 27 & 28
Who: 64 Top West Coast Travel Teams

Along with the high school-level tournament this weekend, Mats also has a tournament for middle school teams. We have no idea who will be playing, and know absolutely nothing about these teams, but if you want to make the trek to Fresno to see some of the up-and-coming younger players who will be the stars in a few years, this ought to be a good opportunity to see a few of them.

It's an 8 team tournament, two pools of four teams and all the games will be played at one venue, Central HS, which is located at 3535 Cornelia Ave., in Fresno (click the link for a Yahoo! map).

Saturday, May 26, 2001
10:30 a.m.	LA Slam N Jam v. Wildcats
12:00 p.m.	Oakland Soldiers v. Mustangs
1:30 p.m.	805 v. Lemoore Renegades
3:00 p.m.	EBO/EA Sports v. Pates
4:30 p.m.	Mustangs v. LA Slam N Jam Jrs.
6:00 p.m.	Wildcats v. Oakland Soliders
7:30 p.m.	Pates v. 805
9:00 p.m.	Lemoore Renegades v. EBO/EA Sports
Sunday, May 27, 2001
9:00 a.m.	Wildcats v.Mustangs
10:30 a.m.	Oakland Soldiers v. LA Slam N Jam Jrs.
12:00 p.m.	EBO/EA Sports v. 805
1:30 p.m.	Lemoore Renegades v. Pates
3:00 p.m.	Slam Dunk Contest @ Sunnyside HS
4:30 p.m.	Pool A 4th v. Pool B 4th (7th Place)
6:00 p.m.	Pool A 3rd v. Pool B 3rd (5th Place)
7:30 p.m.	Pool A 2nd v. Pool B 2nd (3rd Place)
9:00 p.m.	Pool A 1st v. Pool B 1st (Championship)

Directions to Sunnyside From Los Angeles:

Since this is SoCalHoops, we're assuming that everyone is coming from this general direction. Hey, the NorCal Preps guys can give you maps from the Bay Area or other points north.

Take the 405 Freeway north (headed to Sacramento). Eventually, after you leave the San Fernando Valley, the 405 turns into the 5 Freeway. Proceed on the 5 North towards Bakersfield, and when the I-5 splits just past the Grapevine in the Central Valley, take Highway 99 North through Bakersfield and then to Fresno (You'll continue on the 99 North for about another 131.6 miles, not to put too fine a pencil to it). When you reach the California Hwy 41 turnoff, take the 41 North towards Yosemite. Take the VAN NESS AVE exit towards CIVIC CENTER and proceed for about .2 miles, and then you'll merge onto San Benito Street. Turn left at "O" Street and then turn right onto "P" Street. You'll then want to proceed East on CA-180 for another three miles until you reach Peach. Turn right and you'll see the campus at 1019 S. Peach Avenue.

Plan on spending at least 4 hours for the drive (less if you can really hammer. . .), but four hours is about right, especially if you have a van full of players and you stop to eat. . .

And since the tournament headquarters is at Sunnyside HS, and everyone has to check in there first, (at least that's the customary thing to do at tournaments like this) we've provided links to maps for each site below, and driving directions to each site from Sunnyside HS. Hey, if you get lost, don't
blame us. . .

You'll have to go to Sunnyside before going to any of the other venues (to check in and get your coach's packet, etc), and there will be maps showing driving directions from Sunnyside to all of the venues, and vice versa.

Pool A	Pool B
Oakland Soliders LA Slam N Jam Jrs. Wildcats Mustangs	EBO/EA Sports 805 Lemoore Renegades Pates