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PASTNER EVENTS READY TO ROCK

By Jeff Goodman
JGood67213@aol.com
April 8, 2003

The AAU season really starts to get underway this weekend with the Boo Williams Invitational, but Vision Sports' Hal Pastner is the key figure for a pair of tournaments later this month.

Pastner has taken charge of the Las Vegas Easter Classic, which runs from April 16-20 and is "live" on the 19th and 20th for college coaches. However, the biggest tournament in the early portion of the AAU season may be his Kingwood Classic in Houston from April 25-27, with the final two days sanctioned for college coaches to attend.

``It’ll be the biggest AAU event put on in the U.S.," Pastner told PrepStars.com. "It’s beyond belief."

Some of the big-time teams scheduled to appear include the D.C. Blue Devils, YOMCA, Ft. Sooy No Limit, Albany City Rocks, N.J. All-Stars, Nike Team Florida, S.C. Ravens, Portland Elite Legends, S.C. All-Stars, Riverside Church, Illinois Wolves, St. Louis Eagles, Team Texas, the Worldwide Renegades and the Houston Hoops.

The tournament gets underway Friday and concludes by 5 p.m. on Sunday.

``This will be the best 48-hour event ever put on in the country," Pastner added. "The entire event will take place within 48 hours. This is the premiere viewing event in the country this time of year.

``For kids to be able to be seen, this is the place to be."

That was certainly the case a year ago when unknown Von Wafer made his splash on the AAU circuit. It was also the place where Daniel Gibson showed that he was as good as any guard in the Class of 2004.

The D.C. Blue Devils are arguably the top AAU team in the entire country and have at least nine high-major Division I players.

Some of the top rising seniors expected to be in attendance include Shaun Livingston, Brian Johnson, Rob Kurz, Jason Rich, ReSean Dickey, A.J. Price, Shaun Pruitt, Ollie Bailey, Kalen Grimes and Jason Horton.

Some promising underclassmen to watch will include Eric Price, Greg Paulus, Tiki Mayben, Keith Brumbaugh and Derrick Caracter.

The headquarters for the Easter Classic will be at the McDermott Center on the UNLV campus while the headquarters for the Kingwood Classic has been changed to Westfield High.

If you need any further information concerning either tournament, visit www.visionsports.com.