Stephen R. Sylvanie / Special to the Sun
Clark High’s Trey Woodbury dribbles against Bishop Gorman forward Saxton Howard during a game at Clark High School, Tuesday, Jan. 3, 2017.
Thursday, Oct. 26, 2017 | 2 a.m.
Halloween Hoops at Coronado High School started as a 12-team basketball tournament in 2010. Friday, the preseason event begins its eighth season with 24 Las Vegas-area boys teams and 14 girls programs.
“It’s a chance to look at your own kids and see them against good competition,” Coronado coach Jeff Kaufman said.
The event doesn’t count in the standings. In fact, it’s hosted one week before tryouts, meaning programs enter as clubs and won’t wear team uniforms.
The tournament, which runs through Sunday, is broken into Ghost and Vampire divisions for boys, and the Pumpkin Division for girls. Each club is guaranteed three games, with 22-minute halves of a running clock.
“We try to make it competitive so nobody is paired in a mismatch,” Kaufman said.
Halloween Hoops is highlighted by an all-star game at 7 p.m. Saturday featuring many of the area’s top players. UNLV commit Trey Woodbury from Clark, Jamal Bey (Washington) of Bishop Gorman, Sierra Vista’s Maka Ellis (Columbia), Liberty standout sophomore Julian Strawther and others are committed to participate.
The teams will be coached by Sun sports editors Ray Brewer and Case Keefer, who selected players during a pre-event draft last week.
“We’re honored that Coronado allows us to participate in an event that has turned into a hallmark of the local basketball schedule,” Keefer said. “It’s rewarding to interact with some of the most talented and brightest high school athletes in the valley. I’m looking forward to the warm sense of community and leading my team in the all-star game to a victory.”
Admission is $10 daily.
