Basketball Tourney Has Deep Roots

For many South Bay high school boys basketball players, the Pacific Shores Tournament is a rite of passage. The tournament has featured some of the best high school basketball players in Southern California for 60 years.

The list of players who have competed in the tournament is jaw-dropping (see list at end of article).

"This has been the premier high school basketball tournament in the South Bay since it started," said coach Tom Maier, who has coached in the tournament for 38 straight years and now runs the Redondo Pacific Shores Tournament. "It has evolved over the years from primarily just a local tournament into one of the most competitive tournaments in all of Southern California."

Redondo basketball coach Dean Sempert and basketball coach Ted Gossard founded the Pacific Shores competition in 1951 because of the lack of tournaments in the South Bay.

The tournament is the oldest high school boys basketball tournament in the South Bay, and the second-oldest tournament in Southern California. The Beverly Hills Tournament is the oldest.

"The South Bay was kind of isolated from Los Angeles at the time, and there were no tournaments in this area for the local schools," said Bob Brigham, who was hired in 1952 at Mira Costa as a PE teacher and coached a variety of sports at the school until he retired in 1981.

At 84, Brigham is a fountain of Mustang knowledge, having coached every sport at the school except for basketball.

"There has always been a friendly rivalry between Mira Costa and Redondo, and at that time the coaches in the area all knew each other. Gossard and Sempert felt like Costa and Redondo could put on a very successful tournament that showcased teams from around the South Bay," Brigham said.

When Aviation High School opened in 1957, the three schools combined to host the tournament.

"At that time, the first couple of rounds were at all three schools," Brigham said. "But the finals and semifinals were always held at Redondo because of the bigger venue that Redondo offered."

In 1988, Mira Costa coach Glen Marx lobbied then-Redondo coach Steve Shaw to let Mira Costa and Redondo alternate hosting the final game. Shaw agreed, and the arrangement lasted until 1999.

That year, Redondo coach Jim Nielsen wanted the tournament to return to its original format and have Redondo host the final each year.

"When I was the coach at Mira Costa, the final was never held at Costa because of the size of Costa's gym," explained Nielsen, who worked at both Mira Costa and Redondo during his more than 35 years of coaching. "In 1997 or '98, Costa had a really good football team and had a home playoff football game the same day as the tournament, which greatly impacted our gate and was a nightmare for fans trying to get to the game. I asked Glen if we could change back to the original format, and he was unwilling, so we went out on our own."

That year, the tournament split into two, creating the Redondo Pacific Shores Tournament and the Mira Costa Pacific Shores tournament.

The Redondo Pacific Shores Tournament is considered one of the premiere tournaments all of Southern California, drawing some of the best high school teams throughout the Los Angeles area.

This season, the tournament boasts a field of six Los Angeles Times Top-25 teams in Southern California, including nationally ranked Loyola, Fairfax, Harvard/Westlake, Westchester, Pacific Hills, Pacific Palisades, Santa Monica, Dominguez, Torrance, Hawthorne, Long Beach Poly, Bishop Montgomery, Mayfair, Compton, Bakersfield and Redondo.

"We continually try to get the best teams to play in our tournament," Maier said. "I think that we do a really good job of running the tournament and we take good care of the teams that play here and that's why I think teams continue to come back."

Redondo is set to play Loyola on Friday at 7:15 p.m. in the semifinals. The Sea Hawks are 2-0 this season and have been led by the hot shooting of junior guard Derek Biale. Biale scored 27 points in the Sea Hawks' first-round win against Bakersfield and added another 29 points Thursday evening in Redondo's 55-50 upset over Pacific Palisades.

"I'm really proud of these kids," Maier said of the effort his team has given the past couple of games. "They refuse to quit; they keep playing hard; and they don't back down from anyone."

The Mira Costa Pacific Shores Tournament has fewer teams—only eight entered this year—but has tried to remain a local event; however, teams from the South Bay now have more choices in tournaments.

"It's hard to get local teams to play because they want to compete against teams that they have never seen," Mira Costa coach Jeff Amaral said. "I would love to have the tournament return to what it once was but with the success of the Redondo Tournament and the fact that local teams don't want to play each other, it just doesn't seem possible at this time."

Mira Costa, Pacifica Christian, Carson, Brentwood, Palos Verdes, Lawndale, Culver City and Banning are all competing in this year's Costa Pac-Shores Tournament.

Costa will play in the third-place game Saturday at 6 p.m. against Culver City at at Fisher Gymnasium. The Mustangs are 2-1 on the season. In addition to senior forward Karl Acres, junior guard Cole Feaster has led the team, scoring in double digits in all three games this season.

The Mustangs won their first two games before losing 55-54 on Thursday night to Brentwood. Lawndale will play Brentwood in the final at 7:30 p.m. Friday.

"I thought we played really well last night," Amaral said. "We just couldn't close the deal, but I am very happy with the effort we have shown to start the season."

The Pacific Shores Tournament has included names like Tony Gwynn Sr. (Long Beach Poly), Paul Westphal (Aviation), Gig Sims (Redondo), Byron Scott (Morningside), Elden Campbell (Morningside), Stais Boseman (Morningside), Eric Leckner (Mira Costa), Paul Pierce (Inglewood), Reggie Theus (Inglewood), Harold Minor (Inglewood), Errick and Derrick Craven (Bishop Montgomery), Andrew and Adam Zahn (Redondo), Dijon Thompson (Redondo), Hollis Thompson (Loyola), Omar Wilkes (Loyola), Renardo Sidney (Fairfax), Trevor Ariza (Westchester), Bill Laimbeer (Palos Verdes), Mark Acres (Palos Verdes), Eldridge Hudson (Carson), Bart Johnson (Torrance), Stan Love (Morningside), Jay Bilas (Rolling Hills), Dan Anderson (North Torrance), Jim Spilane (Palos Verdes), Jason Kapono (Artesia), Charles O'Bannon (Artesia), Ed Stokes (St. Bernards), and Joe and Josh Shipp (Fairfax).