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MEMORIAL DAY = MAJOR AAU HOOPS

By Rob Harrington
robharrington@prepstars.com
May 24, 2002

Memorial Day Weekend is one of the busiest times of the year for travel. For many Americans, it's the first time of the year that they pack up their cars and head for the mountains, ocean, or some other recreational hotspot.

But Memorial Day weekend also is one of the biggest for AAU basketball, with two super tournaments featuring a who's who of the national elite. An obscene number of top players will spend their weekends in either North Carolina or Indiana.

Chapel Hill, N.C., hosts the Gibbons Tournament of Champions, which has been the premier Memorial Day event the past several years. The TOC is headquartered at the Dean Smith Center on the UNC campus, but also takes place at Duke's hallowed Cameron Indoor Stadium and former N.C. State stomping ground Reynolds Coliseum, in addition to a few area high schools and other gyms.

Over in Bloomington, Ind., the Nike Memorial Day Classic tips off on Saturday. Predictably, a marquee Nike event such as this will attract most of the top Nike traveling teams; this year being no exception. The event's center is the Bloomington Sportsplex, with games also held at IU's Assembly Hall.

Here's a rundown of what to look for at each tournament, beginning with the TOC:

TOC Overview: The action begins on Friday evening at 5:00 and continues throughout Saturday and into Sunday evening. There's a National tournament and Select tournament, with the national bracket featuring most of the top teams, though both divisions should be very strong. The strength of this year's TOC is in the number of top big men who will be in attendance. Among those expected to play are Jackie Butler, Darryl Watkins, Major Wingate, Charlie Villanueva, Travis Outlaw, Chris Taft, Shagari Alleyne, Brian Butch and Brandon Bass.

Marquee Matchup: Southeast Pump N' Run vs. Tim Thomas Playaz Gold -- Pump N' Run will have Jackie Butler and sophomore stud Mike Williams manning the post, as well as BF Marlon Pompay. They'll square off against Darryl Watkins, Will Sheridan and Terrance Roberts in the Playaz' frontcourt. Sean Banks will bring some perimeter firepower to the TTP lineup.

Favorites: In the national division, both Pump N' Run and Playaz Gold appear to be very strong on paper. Other contenders figure to be the battle-tested Michigan Hurricanes, Belmont Shore, So. Cal All-Stars, Long Island Panthers, Ft. Sooy No Limit and Worldwide Renegades ... but you can count on several upsets and at least one surprise quarterfinalist on Sunday.

MDC Overview: The Nike event begins on Saturday and finishes on Monday, and it's a one-division format. Though perhaps not quite as deep as the TOC, Bloomington won't lack for top talent. The loaded Houston Hoops, featuring Tack Minor, Ndudi Ebi and Daniel Gibson, will be on hand and coming off a rousing run to the championship at the recent Kingwood Classic, and Shannon Brown's Illinois Warriors also will be in attendance. Upstart wing Von Waffer will try to prove that his play at the Kingwood was no fluke, and Al Jefferson ... well, Al Jefferson will just have to be Al Jefferson.

Marquee Matchup: How 'bout those Hoops and Jefferson's Jackson Tigers. The squad from Houston will have more overall talent, but the Tigers will counter with size and -- more importantly -- muscle. Plus they have a go-to guy in Jefferson who could give the waifish Ebi fits with his strength, but the Tigers are very young.

Favorites: In addition to the Hoops, the Boo Williams All-Stars, The Family and Illinois Warriors will vie for the title.