Frank Burlison

LONG BEACH, Ca. – The “Invitational” division of the Pangos Summer Sweet 16 Tournament got underway Friday night over the three quarts in the main gymnasium on the campus of Cabrillo High in the LBC.

Those eight games set the stage for what should be some, uh, “sweet” second-day showdown at the same location.

Take this as your “invitation” to Cabrillo High (2001 Santa Fe Ave, by way of a southward trek on the 710, and west-bound exit on Willow and south-bound turn on Santa Fe).

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ANAHEIM, Ca. – NCAA men’s basketball coaches were free to sit, watch and evaluate high school hoopsters, beginning at 5 o’clock Wednesday evening.

And that’s exact what dozens of them did, once the first “evaluation period” of July, running from Wednesday at 5 until Sunday at 5 p.m., tipped off with action in the Double Pump Summer Tip-Off Tournament at the American Sports Center.

There were some competitive and entertaining games – including the San Diego All-Stars Pump-N-Run and Oregon Ambassadors, won by the Trey Kell-led San Diego squad, 63-61, in a contest that wasn’t on the books until about five minutes before 11 p.m.

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LAS VEGAS – The 2013 LeBron James Skills Academy was a wrap Monday night at the Cashman Center in the northern part of this sun-baked city.

But – unfortunately — for a couple of reasons, the camp ended with a bit more chill than sizzle.

A plethora of pre-camp and in-camp injuries of various degrees robbed the event of what promised to be some very deep and gifted team rosters, and some terrific individual matchups.

By the time “Florida”, led by point guards Lourawls Nairn and Quentin Snider, had held off Duke (and Chris McCullough and outstanding underclassmen Ivan Rabb and Isaiah Briscoe), 59-53, for the championship, Monday night, the numbers of those watching and those playing had dwindled considerably.

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LAS VEGAS – It might not have been audible to the human ear.

However, in at least figurative fashion, there was a collective sign of disappointment in the building Sunday afternoon as the camp squads Syracuse and Connecticut warmed up on Court 2 for the start of games’ action during the 2013 LeBron James Skills Academy.

Why? Because what promised to be one of the more intriguing individual matchups of July – much less the camp – was short-circuited before the opening tip.

Six-foot-10 Myles Turner (Euless, TX, Trinity), who had gone from relative “unknown”, at least nationally, until climbing tear the top of the ratings in the national Class of 2014 post prospects during the spring and early summer, is on the Connecticut roster.

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LAS VEGAS – Day I, highlighted by drills, practices and some limiting scrimmaging, got underway Saturday morning during the LeBron James Skills Academy.

For those who are asking . . . yes, the best player in the world – sure, let’s expand that territory to the universe – was among those in the building, watching 90 or so of the better prep hoopsters in the US of A, and about 25 college players get in on the action.

Workouts for the college players resume Sunday morning at 8:30 with their college counterparts getting the 9:45 staggered start and going to about 11.

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