NBA stars coaching in local prep tournaments
Basketball never stops.
The slogan, which has been emblazoned on countless T-shirts, including one for the Las Vegas Classic summer high school basketball tournament, certainly rings true for Kevin Durant and Carmelo Anthony.
When the two NBA stars finished practice for the U.S. Olympic team at UNLV on Wednesday, they headed to Spring Valley High School to coach AAU squads in The 8 Bracket of the Las Vegas Classic.
In fact, NBA players coached each of the eight teams in the bracket, with Anthony guiding Team Melo and Durant directing MOKAN Elite, fresh off winning the title of the Nike Peach Jam, considered by many to be the most prestigious tournament on the AAU circuit.
The other players coaching here are Michael Kidd-Gilchrist (Team Final), Victor Oladipo (Team Takeover), Jabari Parker (Mac Irvin Fire), Chris Paul (Team CP3), Elfrid Payton (EP Elite) and D’Angelo Russell (E1T1).
Paul, the Los Angeles Clippers’ All-Star point guard, came up with the idea for The 8, in its fourth season in Las Vegas.
“I’ve been involved in AAU since I was little. I thought it’d be cool to have other NBA players that were involved with their teams and make it that they have to be here to coach,” Paul said. “We’ve had a lot of fun with it. A lot of people ask me about being an NBA coach when I’m done, but I like this.
“These kids, they listen. They’re very impressionable, and we sort of nurture them, like a family. I’ve been through a lot of things these guys go through and will go through, and I’m able to be a sounding board for them.”
ESPNU will televise The 8’s semifinal games Thursday at 4 p.m. and 5:30 p.m. and the championship game at 1:30 p.m. Friday.
■ TOP PROSPECTS — The vast majority of the nation’s top 100 high school basketball recruits, as ranked by ESPN, are slated to play in one of the four AAU tournaments taking place here through Sunday: Las Vegas Classic, Fab 48, adidas Summer Championships and The Final Chapter.
DeAndre Ayton, the 7-foot-1-inch No. 1-rated prep player in the country, is playing in the LVC for Cal Supreme EYBL, which also features the nation’s No. 6-ranked player in fellow 7-footer Brandon McCoy. Cal Supreme is scheduled to play at 9 p.m. Thursday at Spring Valley.
Other top recruits expected to play here include No. 2 Wendell Carter (Team CP3, LVC), No. 5 Trevon Duval (We-RI, Fab 48), No. 7 Kevin Knox (E1T1, Fab 48), No. 8 Nick Richards (Expressions Elite, Fab 48), No. 9 Gary Trent Jr. (Howard Pulley Panthers, LVC) and No. 10 Brian Bowen (MeanStreets, LVC).
■ VEGAS BABIES — Bishop Gorman’s Charles O’Bannon Jr., the nation’s No. 23-ranked recruit, and Centennial’s Troy Brown Jr. (No. 28) are playing for the Las Vegas Prospects in The Final Chapter, a new tournament taking place at Durango, Eldorado and Tech.
■ IN THE STANDS — College coaches John Calipari (Kentucky), Jim Boeheim (Syracuse), Jay Wright (Villanova), Bob Huggins (West Virginia), Lorenzo Romar (Washington), Josh Pastner (Georgia Tech), Mike Brey (Notre Dame) and Reggie Theus (Cal State Northridge) all were in attendance Wednesday at Spring Valley. Orlando Magic forward Aaron Gordon and Sacramento Kings center DeMarcus Cousins also made a cameo.
