SoCalHoops High School News

50th Annual Pacific Shores Tournament:
Field Announced--(Nov. 13, 2001)

	What:	50th Annual Pacific Shores Tournament
	When:	November 26--December 1, 2001
	Where:	Redondo Union HS
	Who:	16 Top SoCal Teams

We don't have the brackets yet for the 50th Annual Pacific Shores Tournament, but we just received the next best thing, which is some detailed information about the field and the dates of the event, which this year is going to feature some of the region's top teams, including Fairfax, Redondo Union, Bishop Montgomery, St. Monica, Leuzinger, Morningside, and others, 16 teams in all. Here's the announcement:

50th Anniversary of Pacific Shores Basketball Tournament Features Some of the Top Teams in Southern California

Field of Play Features Three Defending CIF Champions in Redondo Union, Crossroads and Bishop Montgomery High Schools

REDONDO BEACH, Calif. – November 13, 2001 – It was a year when a gallon of gas was just
20 cents, when a 20-year-old outfielder named Willie Mays broke in the Major Leagues with the New York Giants, J.D. Salinger debuted his famous novel Catcher in the Rye and the first Jack-in-the-Box restaurant opened in San Diego. The Cold War was still looming large in the minds of Americans, but in 1951 the first Pacific Shores Basketball Tournament was staged, featuring some of the top basketball programs in Southern California.

Fifty years later that tradition continues as the 50th Anniversary of the Pacific Shores Basketball Tournament announces today a field of play that includes three defending CIF Champions in Redondo Union, Crossroads and Bishop Montgomery High School. Bishop Montgomery lost by two to Westchester in last year’s championship. The 16-team tournament will run from November 26th through December 1st and will be played at Redondo Union High School. Also featured in the tournament are city powerhouses Fairfax and Palisades High, as well as such recent up-and-coming programs as St. Monica and San Diego Horizon Christian.

The prestigious tournament will also be highlighted by the play of pre-season All-Americans Adam Zahn and Wendell White of Redondo High and Fairfax High’s Evan Burns - regarded by many as the top recruit in the nation, and a recent verbal commitment to UCLA. Zahn’s brother, Andrew, was the Most Valuable Player in the tournament two years ago and today is a center/forward for an Arizona team that recently upset then No. 2 Maryland. Top college basketball recruits featured in the game include Fred Washington and Gavin Lee of Bishop Montgomery; Paul Meynen and Keith Ellison of Redondo; Fernando Sampson, Alex Bausley and Kevin Bell of Fairfax; Derrick Clark, Leuzinger; Hampton Nunley of St. Monica.

“Recognizing the incredible history and tradition of the tournament, I know a lot of players are especially eager to make their mark during its 50th Anniversary,” said  Tournament Director Don Turner. “I mean we’re talking about a basketball contest that got its start about the same time that Elvis did. There are countless numbers of past players that have advanced to the collegiate and professional level, and its longevity speaks volumes on the quality of the tournament itself and the athletes that are consistently featured in it.”

Pacific Shores Tournament game times Monday through Friday are 3 p.m., 4:30 p.m.,  6 p.m. and 7:30 p.m. The semi-finals are on Friday, November 30th at 6 p.m. and 7:30 p.m. Games on Saturday, December 1st start at 10:30 a.m. and run through the day with the consolation finals at 4:30 p.m., the third place game is at 6 p.m., and the championship game is scheduled to start at 7:30 p.m.  

“I would recommend that parents and fans arrive at least 45 minutes early to the games, especially the semi-finals and championship game, because the tournament has traditionally proved to be a strong draw. But when you’re talking about the finals of the 50th Anniversary game, in a tournament that has so much rich history already, we believe it’s probably going to be a standing-room only type of situation,” added Tournament Director Don Turner. 

The following teams round out the high schools competing this year:

Redondo Union HS, Redondo Beach CA
Crossroads HS, Santa Monica CA
Bishop Montgomery HS, Torrance CA
Fairfax HS, Los Angeles CA
Valencia HS, Valencia CA
Narbonne HS, Harbor City CA
Horizon Christian HS, San Diego CA
Morningside HS, Inglewood CA
Locke HS, Los Angeles CA
LB Jordan HS, Long Beach CA
Leuzinger HS, Lawndale CA
Hawthorne HS, Hawthorne CA
St. Monica HS, Santa Monica CA
Jefferson HS, Los Angeles CA
Palisades HS, Pacific Palisades CA
Gardena HS, Gardena CA

The following players are past Pacific Shores Tournament alumni who have done well at the collegiate and profession levels of sports:  

Name	High School	College	Pro Team	Notes
Tony Gwynn	Long Beach Poly	San Diego State	MLB SD Padres	Future Hall of Famer
Paul Westphal	Aviation	USC	NBA Phoenix & Seattle	New Head Coach at Pepperdine Univ.
Gig Simms	Redondo Union	UCLA
Byron Scott	Morningside	Arizona State	NBA Lakers	Coach NBA Nets
Elden Campbell	Morningside	Clemson	NBA Lakers & Hornets
Eric Leckner	Mira Costa	Wyoming	NBA Jazz & 76ers
Paul Pierce	Inglewood	Kansas Boston Celtics	Former 2 time MVP of Pacific Shores
Harold Minor	Inglewood	USC	NBA Cavaliers	Former NBA Slam Dunk Champion

And some additional recent additions to the college ranks:

Name	High   School	College	Notes
Dijon Thompson	Redondo Union	UCLA	2-time all tournament
Chad Bell	Westchester	New Mexico	2000 Champion
Devaughn Peace	Bishop Montgomery	UC Irvine	2 time runner-up
Andrew Zahn	Redondo Union	Arizona	1999 MVP Champion
Errick & Derrick Craven	Bishop Montgomery	USC	2 time runner-up
Joe Shipp	Fairfax	Cal Berkeley	1998 MVP

Zahn, a 6-foot-8 208-pound power forward for host Redondo Union, said leading his team to a strong showing during the tournament was especially important to him because of playing in front of the home crowd on his home court. “It’s no secret that the tournament is going to feature some big names in Southern California high school basketball, but they’re still playing in my house,” Zahn said. “I know from talking with my teammates that we’re all very focused on doing well. When people review the long history of this contest, the first thing they’re going to want to know is which school won the 50th Anniversary game. It means a lot to us to do well because of the pride involved, so when all these teams come to our gymnasium and the whistle blows, we’re going to be ready.”

The tournament features dual opening nights with host Redondo Union playing it’s first round game on Monday, November 26, at 7:30 p.m. and top seeded Fairfax on Tuesday, November 27,  also at 7:30 p.m.

See you there. 

©Copyright SoCalHoops 1997-2001
Questions? Comments? Need Information?
Contact: jegesq@SoCalHoops.com