Desert Holiday Classic high school basketball tournament back in full swing
After a couple of rough years for the high school basketball tournament due to the pandemic, being shut down in 2020 and being watered down in 2021, the Desert Holiday Classic will return in full swing on Tuesday.
The tournament, hosted by Rancho Mirage High School, will take place from Dec. 27 to Dec. 30 and be held at Rancho Mirage, Indio, Cathedral City and Palm Springs high schools. This is different, and an upgrade, from last year where the event was split up into three separate tournaments in the valley.
After the difficulties of trying to navigate this tournament through COVID-19 the past two years, Rancho Mirage head basketball coach Rob Hanmer is excited to bring it back in a big way this year.
"Obviously COVID made everything really, really hard," Hanmer said. "So it was canceled in 2020 for obvious reasons. Then last season we tried to put it together, but it ended up splitting apart because some schools were willing to host while ours wasn't. We ended up having three different pieces last year, there was an Indio tournament, there was a Xavier tournament, and then we ended up having a 10-team showcase. We ended up losing almost half the field to COVID, so it was an absolute disaster."
"This year the original goal was to get around 50 to 64 teams, and now we're at 96 because people are more comfortable, are looking to travel, and are looking forward to traveling. We're back, and we're hoping it runs smoothly," he said.
The nationally sanctioned event will feature many of the top-ranked high school basketball teams and players in the United States.
The Top 5 players to watch
Miles Heide, 6-foot-9, 225-pound senior forward from Mount Si High School (Washington): Heide may be the best player in the event. He is currently averaging 17.7 points and 13.3 rebounds. Heide is an elite athlete for his size, making him a tough stop in the paint. To go along with his offensive prowess, he is an elite defender that flies up and down the floor. Heide is currently ranked as the third-best player in the state of Washington. He is committed to San Diego State, choosing the Aztecs over schools such as Iowa, Fresno State and BYU.
Joe Sterling, 6-foot-3, 175-pound freshman point guard from Crespi High: Sterling is making his presence known in his first season with Crespi. One of the most exciting freshmen this season. Sterling is a do-it-all guard with sharpshooter ability which he has flashed in multiple 20-plus point performances this season, with his best game being a 36-point effort against Simi Valley.
Zack Davidson, 6-foot-8, 205-pound senior power forward from Mater Dei High: Davidson does most of his work in the paint but has a good mid-range game as well. He is Mater Dei's leading scorer where he is averaging 19.1 along with being their top rebounder at 7.9 rebounds per game. He is the best player on an 8-2 Mater Dei squad that is ranked No. 28 in California by MaxPreps. Davidson is verbally committed to the University of Montana.
Kellen Hampton, 6-foot-7, 180-pound sophomore wing from Moreau Catholic High School: Hampton, only a sophomore, is the Mariners leading scorer putting up 20.3 points per game, along with being second on the team in rebounds with 9.1 rebounds per game and third in steals with 1.6 steals per game. He's uber-athletic, making impressive dunks look routine. He is one of the most exciting sophomores in California and is getting college interest from San Jose State and Washington State.
Ashton Reese, 6-foot-6, senior guard from Pinnacle High School (Arizona): Reese is the leader of a young, but very talented group of players at Pinnacle that are ranked at No. 19 in Arizona. You rarely find guards as athletic as him at his size. He can shoot from anywhere on the floor and also has the athleticism to finish strong at the rim over defenders. He is Pinnacle's top scorer, averaging 20.5 points per game while shooting an impressive 44% percent from three.
Tournament details
There will be 96 teams in attendance consisting of boys varsity, girls varsity, and boys JV. The boys' varsity will have eight divisions with each division holding eight teams, the only exception being that the Gear To The Max Division will have 10 teams in it. The girls' varsity will play in one division with 12 teams in it, while the boys' JV will be split into two divisions.
Games take place all day each day of the tournament starting around 11 a.m with the last game starting at 9 p.m.
Coach Hanmer named a few teams and divisions that you should keep an eye out for.
"The open division, the SBLive Division, all of those teams are really, really good." said Hanmer "However, what's probably my favorite division is the Raising Canes Division, it has a lot of exciting teams like Davis, who won state in Utah last year, Mercer from Washington is always a good squad, and Crespi has a freshman and sophomore who are just tearing it up."
The team he said has a chance to make the most noise is Mount Si High School from Washington. They were the champions of the tournament back in 2019, and this is their first time back in the desert since. They have debatably the best player at the tournament in Miles Heide, as well as a point guard Trevor Hennig, who barely missed the top 5 list.
Along with the tournament itself, a dunk contest will be held on Thursday along with a girls' varsity three-point contest that will take place over a two-day period.
Many of the local teams will be competing in this tournament will be competing in this event. Coach Hanmer says that this provides a great opportunity for teams in the valley.
"The biggest thing for the local teams is that they get to play four games against really good competition, and then they get to go home and sleep in their beds," said Hanmer, "Which is very nice this time of year if you're trying to get some games in and not spend a fortune traveling with your team. The most important thing this tournament does for desert basketball is we bring in some really talented teams and I think it really raises the expectations for what good basketball looks like."
Local teams in the tournament
Rancho Mirage High School boys and girls varsity/boys JV
Indio High School boys and girls varsity/boys JV
Cathedral City boys and girls varsity/boys JV
Xavier Prep boys and girls varsity/boys frosh
La Quinta High School boys varsity/JV
Coachella Valley High School girls varsity
Desert Hot Springs High School boys varsity/JV
Desert Christian Academy boys and girls varsity
Yucca Valley High School boys varsity/JV
For the schedule, times, dates, and events, all the information can be found at desertholidayclassic.com
This article originally appeared on Palm Springs Desert Sun: Desert Holiday Classic high school basketball tournament back in full swing
