LAS VEGAS – The first day of the Tarkanian Classic, at Bishop Gorman High, ended with more than just a bit of optimism for the UCLA coaching staff and the Bruins’ followers.
Six-foot-five Daishen Nix, who signed a National Letter of Intent last month to enroll at Westwood in the summer, put all of his highly refined skill on display Tuesday night while scoring 39 points in Las Vegas Trinity International’s 71-57 victory over San Antonio-based Cornerstone Christian in a first-round game of the Pangos Elite 8 “prep school” team tournament.
With one of his future assistant coaches at UCLA (Darren Savino) looking on, Nix (pictured) dictated things at both ends of the floor and (unofficially) added 10 assists and five steals while pretty much putting the ball wherever he wanted it to go on offense.
The win pushed Nix & Co. into a Wednesday championship semifinal against Southern California-based Veritas Prep (at 12:30 in the afternoon in Bishop Gorman’s auxiliary gymnasium).
Coach George Zedan’s team got a go-ahead follow shot (from about 14 feet away) from Deiman Reyes with seven seconds to go and then a victory-securing block by sophomore Lewis Duarte on a driving shot attempt from Glendale (AZ) Dream City Christian’s MarJon Beauchamp just before the buzzer.
In the other first-round games played Tuesday night, TSF (The Skill Factory; get it?) of Atlanta breezed against South Orange County (Irvine)-based Center for International Basketball Academy, 69-37.
The event is considered an NBA “showcase”, of sorts, for several June draft-eligible players, notably 7-footer, Makur Maker of CIBA – a senior at Orange Lutheran last season.
Scouting personnel from multiple NBA franchises were on hand Tuesday night.
It was far from a sterling performance from Maker, who missed 14 of 17 shots from the floor (I had him going one of seven on 3s), with seven rebounds, six turnovers and no blocked shots while often pitted against other 7-footers in TSF’s Jordan Wilmore and Kai Sotto – the latter particularly impressive and intriguing as a prospect.
TSP will face Chandler (AZ) Compass Prep in Wednesday’s other championship semifinal (also in the Gaels’ auxiliary gym, at 1:50 in the afternoon.
Compass Prep, which has a couple of terrific former Las Vegas high school players in point guard Frankie Collins and forward Maxwell Lewis, cruised against Geneva (OH) Spire Academy, 73-40.
Wednesday marks the start of Tarkanian Classic “real high school” competition, notably in the 16-team Platinum Bracket that includes the likes of Western power programs in Bishop Gorman and Santa Ana (CA) Mater Dei.
That action gets underway at 12:30 in the afternoon, on the Gaels’ main gymnasium floor, when Corona (CA) Centennial faces Philadelphia Neumann Goretti and wraps Wednesday when defending L.A. City Open Division champion Fairfax tips off against Brooklyn’s Thomas Jefferson at 9:50.
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