Frank Burlison

CORONA, CA – The second Basketball Hall Of Fame Championship Series/California got under way early Saturday morning.

And the first day’s festivities weren’t a wrap until more than 12 hours later.

But, all in all, it was time well worth spending in the Players’ Edge Gymnasium.

Some of the western region’s top prep underclass basketball talent was on display and impressed, indeed, while setting the stage for what should be some pretty cool individual and team matchups on Sunday.

Three championship (Gold) quarterfinals in the event’s top tip off at 9:10 Sunday morning, with the Compton Magic Elite getting a bye to the semifinals (11:30 Sunday morning) after rolling to three pool-play victories Saturday.

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SAN DIEGO – The best of the best within the 619 and 858 area codes will be on display tonight (April 13) during the San Diego County Basketball Coaches Association Senior Boys and Girls North-South All-Star games.

The girls’ and boys’ contests will be held at Horizon High (5331 Mt. Alifan, San Diego), with respective schedule tip-off times at 5:30 and 8 o’clock, respectively.

Admission is $10 for adults and $8 for students.

At least seven boys’ who signed letters of intent in November with NCAA Division I-affiliated programs are expected to play.

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PORTLAND, Ore. – The USA team battled back from an 18-point deficit at intermission Saturday night to take its first lead via a five-foot flip shot by UCLA-bound Kyle Anderson with 3:21 to go at the Rose Garden.

That was quite the comeback, eh, for some of the best young U.S. men’s hoopsters during the 15^th Nike Hoops Summit?

It was – briefly, that is.

The World squad regained the lead with 1:21 remaining on a short jumper by Dario Saric of Croatia and pulled away for an 84-75 victory in front of 10,666 for only the fourth win by the World in the series.

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PORTLAND, OR – The 15^th Nike Hoop Summit is on tap for tonight  (7 o’clock PT) in the Rose Garden,

And a healthy portion of the best teen-aged male hoopsters on the planet will be on display.

Shabazz Muhammad (6-5/Bishop Gorman in Las Vegas), Kyle Anderson (6-8/St. Anthony in Jersey City) and Nerlens Noel (6-10/The Tilton School in Tilton, NH), considered by most talent evaluators to be the top three players in the Class of 2012, are part of the 10-member Team USA roster.

Ironically, two of the most high profile players on the World team are Toronto imports who play in the United States, Anthony Bennett (a 6-7, 240-pound senior at Findlay Prep in Henderson, NV) and Andrew Wiggins (a 6-7, 205-pound sophomore at Huntington Prep in Huntington, WV).

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NEW ORLEANS – Ultimately, all the University of Kentucky Wildcats did during the 21 days of the NCAA Tournament – and especially Monday night in the Mercedes-Benz Superdome – was confirm what anyone who follows the sports with a balanced perspective figured for the better part of 2012:

John Calipari was coaching far and away the best collection of players in college hoops this season.

Uh, let me rephrase that:

He was coaching the best team – in every best sense of the word – in the country.

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