Burlison on Basketball

Frank Burlison | High School Basketball | College Basketball

Hoops’ powerhouses in Sunday Showdown

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LAS VEGAS — Championships in seven of the events nine divisions — and showcase games in the other two — are on tap for Sunday’s final day of The Border League at Bishop Gorman and other sites within an 18-or so-mile radius of the campus.

Of course, all the games since Friday’s action began have been showcases:

No. 1,  for the teams’ coaches, to give them an idea of what they need to improve upon and polish as the real season rapidly approaches.

No. 2, for a lot of college coaches to evaluate the players involved and — often — to be seen by a lot of those players as a remainder to the kids that they think enough of them to how much those coaches’ programs want to sign them to letters of intent next month, and finally:

No. 3, for a multitude of scouting- and media-types (including yours truly) to see hundreds of players and their teams, from the west and beyond, in a three days without having to bounce from gym to gym too frequently.

The most high profile of those Sunday matchups will pit a couple of teams likely to be consensus No. 1s in the respective preseason rankings for “traditional” high school (Columbus of Miami) and “prep school” programs (Montverde Academy, also located in Florida) in the “Top Flight” division.

That 6 p.m. (PT) showdown was set up Saturday evening as brothers Cameron and Caden Boozer led Columbus to an 83-61 beatdown of Prolific Prep, the Northern California-based (Napa) program led by dynamic players in 6-foot-6 senior Derrion Reid, 6-7 junior A.J. Dybansta and 6-7 sophomore Tyran Stokes; Cooper Flagg-led Montverde smacking Chandler (AZ) Compass Prep, 85-53.

Some of the other divisional finals include:

*San Francisco Riordan vs. Paraclete (Lancaster in Southern California, 9:45 a.m., at Coronado High in Henderson.

*St. George (Utah) Dixie vs. BFL Prep Academy (based in Washington), 11 a.m., also at Coronado.

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