reviewjournal.com -- Sports: Prep tourney boosted by change in format

As the D-1 Greyhounds prepared to meet the Spiece Indy Heat in the championship game of the Reebok Big Time Tournament at Foothill High School on Tuesday, executive director Sonny Vaccaro already felt like a winner.

Vaccaro said the event, which featured 304 summer high school basketball teams in five divisions, was the most successful of the 11 he has staged in Las Vegas since he began the Big Time in 1995, thanks in part to the top two teams playing in the finals.

His decision to match the top eight teams against each other in pool play created an instant buzz. And when three of the eight made it to the semifinals, the reward was worth the risk, Vaccaro said.

The Heat, led by 7-foot star center Greg Oden, survived pool play and rolled through the Open Division bracket, going 10-0 and becoming the first team to repeat as tournament champion with a 73-67 victory over the Greyhounds.

"The best part was everyone wanted to do it," Vaccaro said of the new format. "It was competitive and positive for everyone. The kids loved playing against each other. The college coaches loved it because the games were close."

Vaccaro said he might reduce the Big Time field more for 2006 but will keep the Elite Eight format of having the top eight seeded teams facing each other in pool play.

"I thought about making it 16, but I like eight," he said. "That's a good number. You really define it when there's only eight teams."

The Big Time did not compete in Tuesday's inaugural Las Vegas Prep Basketball Showcase at Cox Pavilion. Vaccaro met twice with Las Vegas Events president Pat Christenson to discuss the possibility of the Big Time being included in next year's Showcase, and they will meet again in September.

"I want to do it," Vaccaro said of participating with the adidas Super 64 and VisionSports Main Event in the winner-take-all matchup. "But not if it's going to risk the identity of the Big Time. My first commitment is to our kids and coaches and sponsors. If it doesn't impact what we do in a negative way, fine. But I don't want to hurt the quality of our tournament."

Super 64 director Ron Montoya said even though his champion EBO/EA Sports of Fresno, Calif., played five games in a 31-hour span in winning his tournament and the Showcase, he likes the format.

"The EBO kids held up well because we started at 10:20 in the morning and we were finished by 8 p.m. every day," he said. "What I'd like to do is end by 6:30 next year. That means getting another site and starting bracket play Saturday instead of Sunday. But I thought the Showcase was a great event. All the support from the community and all the exposure we got from Fox (Sports Net) was great."

Christenson said Tuesday's results exceeded his expectations.

"We did everything we wanted to do," he said. "But if this is going to be a true championship, we have to bring Reebok in, and I think they're going to come in. Sonny sees it's important for summer basketball."

Christenson said he wants to see the Big Time, Main Event and Super 64 play their elite pool games in Cox Pavilion or the Thomas & Mack Center.

"Why wait until the last day?" he said. "I saw where they turned away people at Foothill the first day of the Big Time when Greg Oden played O.J. Mayo (Greyhounds). We could have that game in the Thomas & Mack on national TV next year."

Preps Central