Frank Burlison

SPRINGFIELD, Mass. – If you were inside Blake Arena on the campus of Springfield College Monday for the better part of 10 hours, you got a nifty on-court primer for future McDonald’s All-American teams – 2015 and beyond.

The final day of the High School Invitational of the Spalding HoopHall Invitational featured five games – and at least twice that many players likely to be chosen McDonald’s AAs before they graduate.

And several of those, no doubt, will see their names and faces on their television monitors when the 2015 squad is unveiled on ESPN on Jan.

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SPRINGFIELD, Ma. – The Sunday action – eight games’ worth – took about 13 ½ hours to complete during the “prep school” competition of the Spalding HoopHall Classic in Blake Arena at Springfield College.

Not that I was counting the minutes down the stretch at all, or anything like it (wink) . . .

And things weren’t a wrap until sophomore Malik Pouncy’s jump shot was just off the rim at the buzzer enabling the MacDuffie School to hold off Commonwealth Academy, 66-65.

Pouncy and his teammates had trailed most of the way until before going ahead by a point on a steal and layup by another sophomore, Derrick Ellis, with 34 seconds to go.

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SPRINGFIELD, Ma. – The best – at least in terms of a noisy crowd and down-to-the-wire result – was saved for last Saturday during the Spalding HoopHall Classic in Blake Arena on the Springfield College campus.

In the finale of a seven-game schedule (that tipped at 11 a.m.), local program Putnam Vocational Technical Academy came oh-so-close to stunning nationally ranked Tempe (AZ) Corona del Sol.

But sophomore guard Alex Barcello patiently probed and then penetrated the Beavers’ zone defense, fired a pass to teammate Tyrell Henderson and the junior rose and snapped in a 3-pointer that drew nothing but net and air.

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SPRINGFIELD, Ma. – A 20-game schedule over three days is on tap for the Spalding HoopHall Classic this weekend at Springfield College.

There is impressive representation from every region of the country, including the west (Bishop Gorman and Findlay Prep from Las Vegas; O’Dowd from Oakland CA; and Corona del Sol from Tempe, AZ), mid-west (Simeon and Stevenson from Illinois and Chaminade from St. Louis); south (Oak Hill in Virginia; Kinston in North Carolina; Montverde in Florida and Wheeler in Georgia) and, of course, the east.

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LAGUNA NIGUEL, Ca. – Some terrific “one-day events” are on tap in Southern California during Martin Luther King birthday holiday weekend.

Saturday six games are on tap at Cerritos College for the Ron Massey Memorial/Public vs. Private Showcase, beginning at 1 o’clock with its one “public vs. public” contest, L.A. Dorsey vs. Norco.

A couple of interesting matchups are Tyler Dorsey-led Maranatha vs. Sedrick Barefield-led Corona Centennial at 5:30 p.m., and Redondo against El Cajon Foothills Christian at 7.

Foothills Christian is led by 6-foot-9 junior T.J.

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