Nike’s Girls’ Basketball Event May Be Greatest Ever Tournament of Champions’ Field Is Best In 18 Year History
PHOENIX – For 18 years Nike’s iconic Tournament of Champions for girls’ basketball has stood alone as the most prestigious and competitive event the sport has ever seen.
Considered without peer and the de facto national championship for American girls’ basketball conventional wisdom would hold that there is little the tournament could do to surpass its own prestige and historical dominance. Perhaps until now.
The 19th annual field announced today may ultimately be regarded as the greatest in the tournament’s storied history – a history that includes the production of 15 consensus National Champions and more than 170 State Champions since 1997.
The 2015 lineup includes 96 teams from 21 different states and every region of the country, including the majority of the most powerful squads in the nation.
Among the participants are defending California Open Division State Champion and consensus national preseason #1 St. Mary’s of Stockton, California. The talent laden Rams return almost an entire roster from a 34-1 campaign and are the odds on favorite to win both the Tournament of Champions and the mythical National Championship. St. Mary’s has thus far lived up to its billing, cruising to a 5-0 start as of December 10 and crushing its opponents by an average of 47 points per game.
But the Rams’ path is far from certain. Other teams headed to Phoenix include California State Open Division Runner-Up Mater Dei (Santa Ana, 31-3); defending CIF Southern Section Open Division Champion Chaminade(West Hills, 27-4); defending Florida Class 5A State Champion Dillard (Ft. Lauderdale, 31-2); defending Florida Class 3A State Champion Miami Country Day (Miami, 32-2); defending Georgia Class AA State Champion
Wesleyan (Norcross, 27-5); defending Idaho Class 5A State Champion Mountain View (Meridian, 26 -1); defending Maryland Private Schools Champion Bishop McNamara (Forestville, 36-4); defending New Jersey State Champion Eastside (Paterson, 29-3); defending Nevada Division I State Champion Centennial (Las Vegas, 31-2); defending Oregon Class 5A State Champion La Salle (Milwaukie, 27-1); defending Pennsylvania Class AAA State Champion Archbishop Wood Warminster, 26-6); and defending Tennessee Division II – AA State Champion Brentwood Academy (Brentwood, 30-1).
Joining the aforementioned are top ranked teams from Arizona, Colorado, Hawaii, Illinois, Kentucky, Massachusetts, Nebraska, Texas, Utah, and Washington.
In all, more than 1,100 student athletes including dozens of preseason All-Americans and hundreds of collegiate basketball prospects will compete in 192 games over 4 days and for six divisional tournament titles. Unusually for an in season high school event, the tournament will attract up to 200 NCAA Division I coaches for the purpose of evaluating potential scholarship athletes.
The Tournament has a long tradition of hosting the finest high school players in the country who have become some of the greatest impact players in the women’s game, including 8 Olympians and dozens of WNBA All-Stars. Remarkably, five former Tournament of Champions MVP’s went on to become the #1 overall pick in their respective WNBA drafts.
The Tournament begins at 1:00 P.M. on Friday, December 18 and runs all day on December 19, 21, and 22.
Sites include Highland, Mesquite, and Campo Verde High Schools, as well as the multi hardwood court facility at the Salvation Army Kroc Center.
Tickets are $10 per day for adults and $5 per day for children and seniors. There is no competition on Sunday, December 20 when all athletes and coaches have been invited to attend the NBA game between the Phoenix Suns and Milwaukee Bucks at Talking Stick (formerly US Airways) Arena.
For more information visit www.niketournamentofchampions.com.
PHOENIX – For 18 years Nike’s iconic Tournament of Champions for girls’ basketball has stood alone as the most prestigious and competitive event the sport has ever seen.
Considered without peer and the de facto national championship for American girls’ basketball conventional wisdom would hold that there is little the tournament could do to surpass its own prestige and historical dominance. Perhaps until now.
The 19th annual field announced today may ultimately be regarded as the greatest in the tournament’s storied history – a history that includes the production of 15 consensus National Champions and more than 170 State Champions since 1997.
The 2015 lineup includes 96 teams from 21 different states and every region of the country, including the majority of the most powerful squads in the nation.
Among the participants are defending California Open Division State Champion and consensus national preseason #1 St. Mary’s of Stockton, California. The talent laden Rams return almost an entire roster from a 34-1 campaign and are the odds on favorite to win both the Tournament of Champions and the mythical National Championship. St. Mary’s has thus far lived up to its billing, cruising to a 5-0 start as of December 10 and crushing its opponents by an average of 47 points per game.
But the Rams’ path is far from certain. Other teams headed to Phoenix include California State Open Division Runner-Up Mater Dei (Santa Ana, 31-3); defending CIF Southern Section Open Division Champion Chaminade(West Hills, 27-4); defending Florida Class 5A State Champion Dillard (Ft. Lauderdale, 31-2); defending Florida Class 3A State Champion Miami Country Day (Miami, 32-2); defending Georgia Class AA State Champion
Wesleyan (Norcross, 27-5); defending Idaho Class 5A State Champion Mountain View (Meridian, 26 -1); defending Maryland Private Schools Champion Bishop McNamara (Forestville, 36-4); defending New Jersey State Champion Eastside (Paterson, 29-3); defending Nevada Division I State Champion Centennial (Las Vegas, 31-2); defending Oregon Class 5A State Champion La Salle (Milwaukie, 27-1); defending Pennsylvania Class AAA State Champion Archbishop Wood Warminster, 26-6); and defending Tennessee Division II – AA State Champion Brentwood Academy (Brentwood, 30-1).
Joining the aforementioned are top ranked teams from Arizona, Colorado, Hawaii, Illinois, Kentucky, Massachusetts, Nebraska, Texas, Utah, and Washington.
In all, more than 1,100 student athletes including dozens of preseason All-Americans and hundreds of collegiate basketball prospects will compete in 192 games over 4 days and for six divisional tournament titles. Unusually for an in season high school event, the tournament will attract up to 200 NCAA Division I coaches for the purpose of evaluating potential scholarship athletes.
The Tournament has a long tradition of hosting the finest high school players in the country who have become some of the greatest impact players in the women’s game, including 8 Olympians and dozens of WNBA All-Stars. Remarkably, five former Tournament of Champions MVP’s went on to become the #1 overall pick in their respective WNBA drafts.
The Tournament begins at 1:00 P.M. on Friday, December 18 and runs all day on December 19, 21, and 22.
Sites include Highland, Mesquite, and Campo Verde High Schools, as well as the multi hardwood court facility at the Salvation Army Kroc Center.
Tickets are $10 per day for adults and $5 per day for children and seniors. There is no competition on Sunday, December 20 when all athletes and coaches have been invited to attend the NBA game between the Phoenix Suns and Milwaukee Bucks at Talking Stick (formerly US Airways) Arena.
For more information visit www.niketournamentofchampions.com.
