LAS VEGAS – Five unbeaten teams, three of those from Southern California, are among the 16 squads set to tip off Monday morning (10 PT) at the Orleans Hotel Arena in the first day of the Platinum bracket in the high school division of the 11th Tarkanian Classic.
It’s most compelling “true high school teams”-event of its kind, nationally, prior to Christmas.
The event is hosted by Bishop Gorman High, where the Platinum games will be played the remainder of the week concluding with the Thursday evening title game set to tip at 6 o’clock.
Two of those five Platinum unbeatens, 9-0 Playa del Rey (CA) St. Bernard and 13-0 Dallas Oak Cliff Faith Family, are scheduled to hook up at 1 p.m. is part of the lower portion of the bracket.
St. Bernard is led by one of the best unsigned guards in the national Class of 2023 in Tyler Rolison, who was the CIF Southern Section’s Division I Player of the Year after leading the Vikings that division’s championship.
They also have one of California’s two-best freshmen in 6-foot-6 Tajh Ariza, the son of 18-year NBA veteran Trevor Ariza.
The other SoCal unbeatens in the division are 8-0 Valencia West Ranch, which plays 3-1 Seattle Rainier Beach at 4 o’clock, and San Diego’s top team, 7-0 St. Augustine, set to take on 7-1 Oak Ridge of Orlando (FL) in the finale of the evening at 8:30.
The Saints are led by 6-5 Jurian Dixon, San Diego’s Player of the Year last season. Oak Ridge’s only loss came in Texas against unbeaten Duncanville (78-76) on Dec. 10.
The fifth unbeaten team in the field is 8-0 Marietta (GA) Kell, which plays defending Nevada State champion Liberty (2-3) and its elite Class of 2024 point guard Dedan Thomas Jr. at 2:30.
The rest of Monday’s OHA schedule: 10 a.m., 3-1 Arlington (VA) O’Connell vs. 3-3 Ft. Lauderdale (FL) Calvary Christian; 11:30, 5-1 Santa Ana (CA) Mater Dei vs. 4-1 Las Vegas Durango; 5:30, 3-1 Bishop Gorman vs. 3-1 Oklahoma City Putnam City West; 7 p.m., 2-3 Henderson (NV) Coronado vs. 4-2 Cleveland St. Ignatius.
Each of the week’s Platinum games, as well as those played in the other eight varsity brackets, are scheduled to be live-streamed and archived by BallerTV.
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