Houston Schools Ready To Hoop Up With The Nations Best!!

[KFDM COOP]

Basketball stars align for tourney

Madison faces nation's No. 1 team in TV showdown

HOUSTON VS. THE NATION

• When: Today through Saturday.

• Where: Aldine ISD's Campbell Center.

• Tickets: $10 for a day pass.

What is being billed as "the best tournament in the country" begins tonight as the inaugural Houston vs. The Nation tips off a three-day, 21-game tournament that will feature three of the top five boys basketball teams in the nation along with the top prep player in the United States.

The tournament — formerly the Academy National Invitational — also will make history on Saturday night, as ESPNU will broadcast two high school basketball games at the same complex for the first time when Yates plays St. Patrick (N.J.) at 8 p.m., followed by Madison taking on Oak Hill (Va.), ESPN's No. 1 ranked team, at 10 p.m.

"This is, without question, the premier boys high school basketball tournament in the nation," said tournament producer and director Hal Pastner. "This will give the nation a chance to see just how good Texas high school basketball has become. This tournament puts an exclamation point on the face that Houston is now the hotbed for high school basketball."

St. Patrick, ranked No. 2 in ESPN's poll, also will be joined by No. 5 Monteverde Academy (Fla.), Albany (N.Y.) and DeLaSalle, which has won three Minnesota state titles and earned a trio of national top-25 finishes in the last 14 years.

Among the area teams taking part will be Cypress Springs, Homeschool Christian Youth Assocation, Klein Collins, St. Pius, St. Thomas and Wheatley.

There will be a Texas Division, with Aldine, Bellaire, Hastings, Kingwood, Seven Lakes and Smiley each playing for the right to advance to the Texas Championship game, which will be played at 3 p.m. Saturday.

In a weekend filled with five-star showdowns, the Madison-Oak Hill clash is the one receiving top billing. The matchup will pit two of the country's top guards, as Marlins junior Tommy Mason-Griffin (who has committed to LSU) faces the Warriors' Brandon Jennings, the Arizona recruit who is rated by ESPN.com as the top senior player in the United States. He's ranked third in Rivals.com's national rankings.

"He's a great player. I've played him before and I'm looking forward to playing him Saturday," Mason-Griffin said of Jennings.

Jennings comes into the weekend averaging over 40 points and 15 assists per game and has been compared to current Denver Nuggets All-Star Allen Iverson. He is the latest in a storied line of elite players to play for Oak Hill, including Carmelo Anthony, Jerry Stackhouse, Kevin Durant and Michael Beasley.

"He's special," Pastner said of Jennings. "If the NBA still allowed high school players to enter the draft, Brandon would probably be the No. 1 pick."

Jennings will get a chance to take one another of the city's top guards when Oak Hill plays Brandon Peters and Yates at 9 p.m. Friday.

The amount of marquee talent has drawn the attention of numerous colleges. Texas, North Carolina, UCLA and Arizona are just four of the schools that will have scouts in attendance over the weekend.

Daily passes are $10.