Las Vegas Sun

March 28, 2024

Columnist Adam Candee: Close friends, coaches stick by McKay

Adam Candee covers high school sports for the Sun. Reach him at (702) 259-4085 or by e-mail at [email protected].

Some are shocked. Most just can't believe how far it has gone.

The fallout is just beginning from Wednesday's reports that the Holiday Prep Classic -- and namely, tournament director and former Clark County School District athletics director Larry McKay -- is under major financial investigation for allegations of mismanagement.

McKay's close friends are predictably by his side. Durango basketball coach Al LaRocque helped McKay get the initial incarnation of the Holiday Prep Classic off the ground in the late 1970s, and it is no secret that the two remain close.

"There is absolutely no way Larry McKay embezzled money or stole from the school district," LaRocque said.

LaRocque said he is shocked "not at what's happened, but at how it's happened" with the school district audit.

"An audit's like a trip to the dentist," LaRocque said. "You never come out with a completely clean bill of health."

Others in the prep community are not as surprised at the audit, reportedly started by a local secondary principal's request to superintendent Carlos Garcia. That is not to say they all believe McKay is guilty of wrongdoing, but it is to say that a groundswell of discontent existed in some circles.

Bishop Gorman basketball coach Grant Rice, who was quick to point out the McKay "was always fair" in dealing with him, heard the rumors of potential trouble for quite a while. Some local coaches have groused in the past about perceived high tournament entry fees and gym use issues for both the Holiday Prep Classic and adidas Big Time, both of which McKay manages.

"I wasn't surprised that they were looking into this," Rice said. "We heard rumblings the last few years from certain coaches. Obviously, we didn't know that it was to this magnitude."

Many are still grasping the magnitude, and as such, declined to comment on the situation. Others pointed out that McKay's positions of authority at the helm of both CCSD athletics and the prep basketball tournaments are natural targets for resentment, warranted or not.

The Durango Fall Classic, hosted by the Blazers, will feature six of the top 20 high school teams in the nation, as rated by prepvolleyball.com. Included in that group are No. 2 St. Francis (Calif.), No. 6 Mater Dei (Calif.), No. 7 Gilbert (Ariz.), and No. 11 Los Alamitos (Calif.).

The field is being expanded to 32 teams, Durango coach Bob Kelly said, including more solid teams from the southern California area.

"The field is generally pretty strong, but I expanded the field to 32 teams and that brings in more talented teams," Kelly said. "I think we have the toughest field (in the country) this year."

Along with the Blazers, Green Valley, Sierra Vista, Las Vegas, Coronado, Silverado and Bishop Gorman will represent the Valley.

"For all the local teams, there will not be an easy match," Kelly said.

Pool play runs through Friday and the championship bracket begins Saturday. The title game will be Saturday at 6 p.m. at Durango.

Now we're asking for your assistance to help make a good thing even better. While we keep an extensive database of names from which to draw, we'd love to hear your suggestions for athletes to feature in "Catching Up."

Please limit your suggestions to athletes competing at the Division I college or minor-league professional level. The athletes should have competed within southern Nevada for some or all of their prep years. As a guideline, we feature athletes during the time of year in which they compete in college.

Please use the contact information listed below to get in touch. We look forward to hearing from you.

archive