Woodbridge High School is one of the host sites for this weekend’s tournament. (Photo: Tim Burt, OC Sports Zone).
A number of Orange County high school boys basketball teams are among the 163 squads that will compete in this weekend’s California Live tournament which is being run by the Southern California Interscholastic Basketball Coaches Association.
Games will begin on Friday, June 16 and continue on Saturday June, 17 with the finals for all 10 divisions at Irvine High School Sunday, June 18 beginning at 9 a.m. according to Chris Nordstrom, tournament director and basketball coach at St. Margaret’s High School.
Both Irvine gymnasiums will be utilized during the tournament.
The tournament is being held during the live period allowing scouts and college coaches to come out and look at some of the top prospects.
“Section 7 out in Arizona was one of the first ones to go and they’re still going,” Nordstrom said Wednesday. “That’s where any teams from SoCal had gone the last few years. This summer, after a lot of work with CIF and with the National High School Basketball Coaches Association, amongst others, they allowed us to do one in California.
“The boys are down here and the girls are in Northern California this same weekend. The whole big picture is the opportunity to provide a platform for high school teams to be in front of college basketball coaches instead of just that club format.”
High school sites including Irvine, Tustin, Crean Lutheran, Beckman, Woodbridge, San Juan Hills, Mission Viejo, Estancia and Laguna Hills will be used.
Teams are divided into divisions. Irvine, St. Margaret’s, Mission Viejo and Woodbridge will compete in the Destination Irvine Division.
Championships will be held for each division, Nordstrom said.
“That was a big deal for us, so we’re not just scheduling games,” Nordstrom said. “You are playing to win. Each bracket is a true bracket, you win your game and you move on.”
Teams who lose move into the consolation bracket.
Every team will play two games on Saturday, Nordstrom said.
Most regular CIF rules will be used, but there will be 16-minute halves, Nordstrom said.
Foothill Coach Yousof Etemadi will lead his team into Friday’s opener vs. Jesuit at 7:45 p.m. at Irvine’s court two.
“We are in the Chevy Silverado Bracket which is loaded with good teams from all over California,” he said.
Foothill has 11 returners from last year’s squad, “led by all-county player Isaiah Bernard, leading scorer Travis Paleo and a much improved 6-10 Danny Kennard,” Etemadi said.
Nordstrom said there has been great cooperation among all the host sites “in particular Irvine and Tustin (districts),” Nordstrom said.
“For year one, we’re hopeful and optimistic we can continue to grow and I think it’s going to be a lot of fun for the kids,” Nordstrom said. “There are going to be some great games. If you go through the top 100 teams in California, we’re probably missing one or two that aren’t going to be there. We pretty much have every best teams and every best player.”
FRIDAY OPENERS INCLUDE:
Crean Lutheran vs. Harvard Westlake, court one at Irvine at 5 p.m.
Santa Margarita vs. Taft, court one at Irvine, 7:30 p.m.
Foothill vs. Jesuit, court two at Irvine, 7:45 p.m.
JSerra vs. Carlsbad, Tustin High, 3:45 p.m.
Pacifica Christian vs. Edison (San Jose) at Mission Viejo court one, noon
Orange Lutheran vs. King Drew, Mission Viejo court one, 5 p.m.
Canyon vs. Palisades, Mission Viejo court one, 7:30 p.m.
Villa Park vs. Beverly Hills, Laguna Hills court two, 4 p.m.
Servite vs. Alemany, Estancia High, noon
Edison (OC) vs. Valley Christian, Tustin court two, 1:30 p.m.
San Juan Hills vs. Palm Springs, Friday, Woodbridge, 5 p.m.
Capo Valley Christian vs. LACES, Estancia court two, 5:15 p.m.
Woodbridge vs. Scripps Ranch, Beckman, 5:15 p.m.
St. Margaret’s vs. Irvine, Irvine court one, 8:45 p.m.
Mission Viejo vs. Steele Canyon, Mission Viejo, 2:30 p.m.
Admission is $10 and tickets can be purchased on the GoFan.com app. Some of the programs, including Irvine, will be charging $10 for parking, which will go toward the individual basketball programs, Nordstrom said.
For brackets of the 10 divisions, click here:
RELATED
More Stories
PHOTOS: Estancia athletes make commitments to continue careers in college
North leads from the start and defeats South in all-star boys basketball game
PHOTOS: Exciting second game of Santa Ana Prep Classic decided by late 3-pointer