336 teams set for Sonny Vaccaro's 10th Reebok Big Time tourney

Led by top teams like Spiece Indy Heat, the Michigan Hurricanes and the New York Panthers, over 4,000 talented prep basketball players are heading to the entertainment capital of the world this week to enhance their national reputations at Sonny Vaccaro's 10th Reebok Big Time tournament, the nation's largest and most prestigious boy's prep summer tournament.

An impressive total of 336 teams have gathered to showcase their talents in 835 games on 24 courts at 12 high schools in Southern Nevada Thursday through Monday. Games run daily from 9 a.m. until near midnight every night except next Monday's final day.

Teams from 41 U.S. States, Washington, D.C., and Canada, have entered the massive hoopfest, which will be headquartered for the first time at Foothill High School in suburban Henderson, Nevada.

The Reebok Big Time will create its own neon glare in the suburbs of Las Vegas to challenge the legendary glitter of the Las Vegas 'Strip.' Helping create the special summertime glow will be prep stars like Spiece Indy Heat teammates 7-0, 240-pound junior Greg Oden and 6-10 senior Josh McRoberts along with 6-5 sophomore O.J. Mayo of Cincinnati's D1 Greyhounds. This trio is considered by most to be the top players in the nation in their respective classes, and that just starts the talent list of this year's impressive field.

"It doesn't get any bigger or better than this and we can't wait for that first jump ball at 9 a.m. Thursday," said the gregarious Vaccaro, the Big Time founder and executive director who is also Reebok's Director of Grassroots Basketball based in Los Angeles. "We are completing our first decade with this event and this year's Reebok Big Time promises to add another colorful chapter to the legacy of this phenomenal event."

On top of that, more than 400 college coaches and pro scouts will be on hand to participate in their own annual summer talent search.

Veteran talent scout Bob Gibbons of North Carolina's All Star Sports, says emphatically, "Not only does this year's Reebok Big Time once again have the largest tournament in America, in McRoberts, Oden and Mayo, are the three top senior, junior and sophomore players at this time and no tournament can boast that. I've never missed this great event and I'd have to be in the hospital to miss it this year. The Reebok Big Time is an incredible experience for everyone involved, not just the players and their coaches, but all the rest of us who live and breathe basketball."

Spiece Indy Heat, coached by three-time U.S. Olympian Michael Conley, started its summer season by winning May's Reebok/Bob Gibbons Tournament of Champions. Oden of North Lawrence HS in Indianapolis, was MVP of the tournament, and McRoberts, Carmel (Indiana) HS was also selected to the all-tournament team. Oden was also one of the stars in the recent Reebok ABCD Camp in Teaneck, N.J.

A third Spiece player, 6-5 junior Daequon Cook, Dunbar HS in Dayton, Ohio, was picked the MVP for the East in the underclassman all-star game of the recent Reebok ABCD Camp.

One of the clear favorites to win the Reebok Big Time Open division title, Spiece's roster also includes the head coach's son, Mike Conley Jr., a 6-1 junior who also plays for Indy's North Lawrence HS, made the all-tourney team in May's Tournament of Champions. His father won the Gold medal in the 1992 Olympics in Barcelona and the Silver in 1984 in Los Angeles in the triple jump.

The Michigan Hurricanes, coached by William Smith, are led by 6-4 Eric Devendorf, considered one of the top 12 seniors nationally who plays for Oak Hill Academy. The Hurricanes won last week's inaugural Reebok Summer Classic East tournament in New Jersey.

Perennial summertime powerhouse New York Panthers, coached by Gary Charles, have a talented lineup that includes 6-5 senior Danny Green, St. Mary's HS in Babylon, N.Y., and 6-9, 285-pound junior Derrick Caracter, St. Patrick's HS in Sanwood, N.J. At this month's Reebok ABCD Camp, Green was selected the seniors co-MVP and Caracter was honored as the underclassman MVP.

For the So. California All-Stars, coached by Pat Barrett, three players who have drawn significant attention from scouts include 6-6 senior Marcus Johnson, Westchester HS in Los Angeles, 6-6 sophomore Taylor King, Mater Dei HS in Santa Ana, Calif., who is considered the no. 3 sophomore nationally, and Bryan Harvey, a 6-5 senior from Dominguez HS in Compton, Calif. Johnson was selected as seniors co-MVP with Danny Green.

"In reviewing the lineups for this year's Reebok Big Time tournament, we have many of the top players in all classes in the country, but we also have some genuine diamonds in the rough that will leave Las Vegas with their names on a lot of recruiting lists," said Reebok's Grassroots Field Director Chris Rivers, who helps coordinate all of Reebok's involvement with Sonny Vaccaro's events. "With our new high school division to compliment our other four divisions, this year's event should be a fitting climax to the celebration of the tournament's first decade.

While the champions of this year's Reebok Big Time will inevitably include some surprises, the field is filled with some tremendous individual talent.

In addition to those who are on the rosters of some of the tourney's top teams, among the other players capable of playing their teams into title contention are 6-4 senior Monta Ellis, Magnolia Stars of Jackson, Miss., 6-7 senior Gerald Green of Houston Elite, 6-6 senior Brandon Rush, Rocktown of Kansas City, Mo., and 6-5 sophomore Bill Walker, D1 Greyhounds of Cincinnati.

Ellis, Murrah HS, is considered a top senior and the top wing guard in the country, while Gerald Green, Gulf Shores Academy, was selected co-MVP for the West in the Seniors all-star game of the Reebok ABCD Camp.

Rush, who is from Kansas City but plays for Mt. Zion in North Carolina, was honored at the Reebok ABCD Camp as the East co-MVP in the Seniors all-star game.

Considered by many as the no. 2 sophomore-to-be in the nation, Walker was West co-MVP with his D1 Greyhounds and North College Hill HS (Cincinnati) teammate O.J. Mayo in the Underclassman all-star game at the Reebok ABCD Camp.

The 2004 Reebok Big Time will crown 'Champions of the Summer' in five different divisions: Open, A, B, C, and a new High School category.

This year's marquee Open tournament will feature 112 teams, including 56 top pre-seeded teams while the A, B, C and High School tournaments will each have 56-team tournaments following three games of pool play during the first two days in the tournament.

The 56 top pre-seeded teams will be in the Open Division and they will be joined by the first place teams from 56 four-team pools. The A Division will have the second place teams from the 56 pools while the B Division will have the third place teams and the C Division will be comprised of the fourth place pool teams. The High School Division will be the 56 teams entered in that division who will be placed in the tournament bracket based on their results in pool play.

The event staff of nearly 300 is being directed again by Larry McKay and Jim Allen, who have co-directed the tournament since it began in 1995.

In addition to being the tournament headquarters site, Foothill will also host the championship games in all five divisions on Monday, July 26. The marquee Open championship game is set for 6:20 p.m.

Besides Foothill, the other Henderson schools that will host games involving Open teams will be Basic High School and Coronado High School.

Mojave HS is the only site in North Las Vegas this year and the eight schools that will host the Reebok Big Time in Las Vegas are: Chaparral HS, Cimarron-Memorial HS, Las Vegas HS, Liberty HS, Palo Verde HS, Spring Valley HS, Valley HS and Western HS. This will be the first time both Liberty and Spring Valley will be part of the host school lineup. Chaparral HS will also be the fourth site for the first day of Open division tournament play on Saturday, July 24.

Daily General Admission tickets, available at the door for $10 each, are good for admission to all games at all sites on the date of purchase.

For complete details, visit the official web site of the tournament at Big Time tournament.