SoCalHoops Tournament News

2001 Palm Spring Summer HS
Tournament Series--(June 5, 2001)

We just got off the phone with Sy Lenes, a longtime hoop nut and an assistant basketball coach at Cathedral City HS out in the desert.  For years Sy has been largely responsible for organizing and staging the Palm Springs Summer HS Tournament Series (along with Randy Small for the past few years, the head coach at Palm Springs HS).  This year, Sy and Randy are at it again, and the tournament will feature some really good high school summer teams only (no club teams).  The nice thing about this event is that it's pretty low key (i.e., it's not NCAA Certified, and that's intentional if you ask Sy), and they also offer some incentives for teams to win the thing (i.e., the winning team gets $500 to defray entry costs and hotel and travel. . . and yes that's legal under CIF rules;  other finishers get lesser amounts, but it still helps to finish "in the money" particularly since most summer HS teams aren't funded at all by the schools).

All the games are played at Palm Springs HS, and there's a four-game guarantee.  Some of the events are "pool play" followed by brackets, and some are just bracket play with a winner's and loser's bracket. . . The gyms are air-conditioned, and we really want to recommend (this is mostly for parents who might be attending also) that you don't stay at the Ramada. . . it's a long story that we don't want to get into, and while it may be a fine place for some of the teams, well, we just can't recommend it. . .

Anyway, here's the schedule for the series of boys tournaments at Palm Springs HS this summer, along with some info on who is coming to each of the separate tournaments:

June 22-24:  One of the more competitive weekends, given the presence of some really good players--if everyone shows. . .(like Shaun Davis, some of the guys from Lynwood--and we've been hearing about some big-time transfers, so you never know; Manual Arts which always has really athletic guys,  Dos Pueblos which has Steve Graybill, Ryan Meiulleur from Artesia, David Gale from Buckley).   eally the first in the series for the boys.  All games will be played at Palm Springs HS (the gym has two courts).  Teams scheduled are: Palm Springs, Estancia, Yucaipa, La Habra, Calvary Chapel Santa Ana, Colony (Alaska), S. Torrance, Lincoln (San Diego), Banning, Rancho Cucamonga, Lynwood, Buckley,  Dos Pueblos, Perris, Desert Hot Springs, Artesia, Manual Arts, Righetti, Paloma Valley, Central Union, Birmingham, Highland. 

July 6-8:  This weekend will feature two tournaments in one, a boys' tournament with 12 teams and a girls' team tournament.   We have no idea who is coming in the girls' bracket, but the boys' tournament will feature Palm Springs, Riverside MLK, Torrey Pines, San Gorgonio, Banning (Banning), Coachella, North Bend HS (Bend, OR), AB Miller, Buena Park, Juneau Douglas HS (Juneau, Alaska), Norwalk and Diamond Bar.

July 13-15:  Perhaps as competitive as the first boys' only tournament, this one will feature Palm Springs, Montebello, Harvard-Westlake, Cathedral City (Thomas Shewmake may be there, but maybe not since he'll probably be at the adidas "Three Stripes" tournament in New Jersey with his Rockfish team), Burroughs Ridgecrest (sans Levi Steinmetz and Rory O'Neil who graduate this year), Valley View, Cajon, Blair, Agoura, Brentwood, Rancho Verde (alas no JS Nash who graduates), Westlake, Charter Oak, Foothill, Hesperia, Canyon, Victor Valley, and El Centro.

July 20-22:   Another very competitive tournament with a good mix of large and small schools, this one will feature Palm Springs, Antelope Valley Christian, La Canada, Campbell Hall,  Alta Loma, Brethren Christian, Torrance, Hemet, Narbonne, Nordhoff, Gig Harbor (WA), Camarillo, Upland Christian, Carlsbad, Schurr, Pasadena, Bellflower and Newport Harbor

July 27-29:  The last in the series of summer tournaments at Palm Springs, this one will also have some very good teams with a nice mix of schools, including Palm Springs, Bassett, Loyola (Los Angeles)--probably without their best players given that this is also scheduled during the same time as the adidas Big Time in Vegas-- Kennedy (OC), Serra (Gardena), Buena Park, Indio, Barstow, Cathedral HS (LA), Chadwick, and Highland.

There are also two other tournaments slated for the series, both of them strictly girls, which will run from June 15-17 and then from June 29-July 1.   We have heard they will be competitive, but really have no idea who is actually coming to the girls' events (Sy had the list, but we didn't have the time to get them. . .sorry).

If you want further information about any of these tournaments, give either Randy Small or Sy Lenes a call.  Sy can be reached at 760-323-2849 while Randy  can be reached at 760-320-4737.

See you there.

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