Columnist Steve Carp: The Big Time isn't just for big-time guys

FOR SOMEONE WHO is entrusted with staging a week-long basketball tournament with 224 teams, Larry McKay was a picture of calm and solitude.

Of course, it doesn't hurt to have 23 years of experience under your belt. That can soothe a lot of nerves. But with The Big Time prep basketball tournament kicking off Wednesday with a record field at six Las Vegas-area high schools, McKay will tell you that this is the easy part -- easy being a relative term, of course.

"People don't understand it takes an awful lot of work to get to this day," he said while sitting in what used to be his old office at Durango High. "I'm sure some things will come up during the next week. They always do. But we'll just deal with them."

McKay, who now oversees athletics for the Clark County School District, uses The Big Time, as well as the Reebok Holiday Prep Classic in December, to stay close to the game. He admits that when you come right down to it, he's a fan like anyone else and he wants to give as many kids an opportunity to show what they can do on the basketball court.

"This has always been about the kids," he said. "From the very beginning, this was about giving our local players a chance to get some exposure."

Four years ago, Sonny Vaccaro brought 60 teams to town to enhance what the Las Vegas Invitational had been doing for years. Today, there's 224 and McKay said he could have gone as high as 240. From one local team has sprung seven.

"We actually had a schedule for 240, so there's still room to grow," he said.

The only way this thing slows down is if the NCAA pulls the plug on summer recruiting. There are factions within the National Association of Basketball Coaches who want to put a stop to tournaments like The Big Time, claiming recruiting has gotten out of hand. If they get their wish, there may not be a need for the tourney. After all, why play if no one's going to see you?

And that's why this tournament needs to stay in existence. Kids need to be seen.

The Big Time isn't about "big time" players. The blue chippers have their own by-invitation-only showcase events -- the ABCD Camp in New Jersey and the Nike camp in Indianapolis. Everyone knows who DerMarr Johnson, Keith Bogans and Carlos Boozer are.

But for those players who aren't in the elite class, this is their chance to be seen and maybe pick up a coveted scholarship. Remember, Duke, North Carolina, UCLA and Kentucky can only take 13 players each. And there are a couple thousand players in town this week. Marist, San Diego, Hofstra and South Florida need guys too.

And don't blame McKay and Jim Allen for the problems with recruiting. They have nothing to do with that.

"I try to steer clear of all the politics (with the NCAA)," McKay said. "I think what we're doing is honorable. Basically, we're just trying to run a good tournament."

And give a kid a chance to possibly enhance his life by playing college ball on scholarship. And since when was that a bad thing?

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