Frank Burlison

LAS VEGAS – A potential head-up matchup of the most two heavily touted 7-footers in high school basketball – delayed by three days – could take place, after all, Saturday afternoon at Bishop Gorman High.

New York-based New Heights and the Big Red – made up of players from the Santa Ana, CA, Mater Dei program – are set to play, on Court 3, at 12:40 p.m. in a first-round game of the Fab 48 17-Under Invitational playoff bracket.

It’s a rematch of a Fab 48 Challenge game – in essence, one of 15 “showcase” games (glorified exhibitions, I’d suggest) Wednesday night at Bishop Gorman, with the New Yorkers cruising, 62-43.

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LAS VEGAS – The team that captures the adidas 17-Under title Sunday afternoon in the Cashman Center will get to celebrate a whole lot longer.

But, after just a day or so into the adidas Uprising Summer Championships, the Compton Magic Elite squad earned its right to pause and gather some props Thursday afternoon.

The Southern California-based club edged the Massachusetts-based New England Playaz late Thursday afternoon, 55-53, by way of two Jules Bernard free throws with 5.3 seconds to go, to capture the eight-team “Creators’ Cup” title.

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LAS VEGAS – There wasn’t anything on hand approaching the Big Ballers Frenzy that took over the Cashman Center and the adidas-fronted event way up on the northern side of town late Wednesday night.

All the Fab 48 Tip-Off Challenge, held at Bishop Gorman High down the southern region of the city from 5 to 11 p.m. or so, were 15 games featuring teams fronted by all the major sports apparel companies (Nike, Under Armour and adidas) and a whole lot of the very best high school basketball players in the country.

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WESTMINSTER, Ca. – A helping heaping of some of the very best high school guards from the Class of 2018 was on hand Wednesday – with a whole lot of coaches looking on – during the Baller.TV/Pangos Premier Showcase 80 at Westminster High.

The first day of the NCAA’s first week (out of three) of its July evaluation period was the reason coaches from all of the major conferences in the west – and all of those players who wanted to be seen by them, up close – showed up.

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CULVER CITY, Ca. – Los Angeles Westchester rallied from a 10-point deficit at intermission Sunday afternoon at Culver City High to knock off Bellflower St. John Bosco, 66-61, in the championship game of the first-ever Summer Take Flight Challenge.

The Braves took their 35-25 advantage at the via sizzling play of sophomore-to-be point guard Josh Camper (who scored 10 of his 15 points before intermission) and 6-foot-4, senior-to-be Alpha Okoli who scored eight points.

The strong post play of seniors-to-be Kaelin Allen and Maurice Tutt kept the Comets reasonably close to the Braves in the first half and helped them chip into their deficit after intermission while combining for 34 points for the game.

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