TOC: Will CTK be Dethroned?

Christ the King is the two-time defending champions, but Jasmine Dixon and Long Beach Poly are the favorites in this year's Nike Tournament of Champions.

PHOTOS BY GLENN NELSON

The last one standing has something to be proud of.

The national title has, more often than not, been decided during four December days in Phoenix when the elite of girl's high school basketball go head-to-head. And "elite" isn't just hyperbole: The top eight teams in the Full Court Press poll will be there this year, plus two more in the top 25, which means this year's field might just be the best ever.

The discussion really has to begin with Christ the King, which has won the last two TOCs, and not coincidentally that last two national titles, even though the Royals lost Tina Charles to graduation and a game earlier this year. Christ the King isn't the favorite this time out, but with guards Lorin Dixon and Sky Lindsay, plus years of experience at the Nike TOC, the Royals are still a team no one wants to see on the other side of the scorer's table.

The favorite, however, is No. 1 Long Beach Poly, a deep and talented team that will harass opponents with its vicious press and can call on elite talent Jasmine Dixon to make big plays down the stretch. The Jackrabbits have a lot more than Dixon, though, as Brittany Brumfield and Taja Edwards are both back from injuries and will join Dixon and Candice Nichols - plus a plethora of other talented players.

Lorin Dixon

But plenty of teams ranked No. 1 in preseason polls have stumbled at the TOC, and it’s possible, maybe even likely, that Poly will suffer the same fate. After all, Collins Hill and the marvelous Maya Moore, the consensus top player in the Class of 2007, are ranked second, and finished second in Phoenix last year in one of the most riveting, exciting and controversial championship games in the illustrious history of the TOC. Moore and sharpshooter Jordan Jones lead a veteran, talented team intent on erasing the memories of last year’s frustating overtime loss to Christ the King by winning it all this time around.

Also in the mix is Providence Day of North Carolina, which lost just once last season - to Collins Hill - but the Chargers are making their first trip to Phoenix, and it’s a tough adjustment. Unlike most high school and summer tournaments, in which the first game or two are against lesser competition, the Nike TOC starts tough and gets tougher. Any letdown, no matter how brief, on any of the four nights, will come against elite opposition, and could result in a quick and painful defeat. Providence Day, though, has a key ingredient in senior point guard Epiphany Woodson, who will need to find a way to get the ball to twins Whitny and Britny Edwards often enough to keep the Chargers on track.

Another newcomer is The First Academy out of Florida, which is led by 6-4 center Krystal Thomas and 5-10 shooting guard Alex DeLuzio. Notre Dame Academy will also come to Arizona for the first time, and with only one senior (point guard Ebonie Williams), the Dragons are eager to make a statement this year, as well as stake a claim for the 007-08 season.

Delaware’s Ursuline Academy and Elena DelleDonne are returners, but the question remains whether the superb DelleDonne can score enough to carry the Raiders to the hampionship against this kind of competition. But new coach Fran Burbridge promises that fans will see a new and improved Delle Donne - which is a frightening thought.

Northern California’s best team, Archbishop Mitty, relies on quick and fast guard Danielle Robinson, and Washington’s best, Chief Sealth, features 6-4 twin towers Regina Rogers and Christina Nzweke. Towson Catholic, another of the strong teams from the Maryland/D.C./Virginia area this year, has Marah Strickland and three other starters back from a 22-5 team. Bishop McNamara and St. John’s give the region four entries into this year’s top bracket, and a chance to prove just how good girls’ basketball is in that area.

Elena DelleDonne

The local angle is Red Mountain, led by Stanford signee Kayla Pedersen. The Lions start five seniors, so this is the season that Pedersen, Ronnie Barbee and Jaycie Birt have been pointing toward. Tennessee will be represented by Cleveland, which returns four starters from a 28-8 team, including Kerri Simpson.

Lynwood, a two-time national champ, will make the trip from Southern California, led by Reyena Colson and 6-4 Lenita Sanford. Redondo Union, another SoCal entrant with a solid tradtiion, rounds out the bracket.

The Blue Division may not have the highly touted, nationally ranked, teams, but there’s plenty of quality available. Those who have followed girl's prep basketball over the years are very familiar with programs like Narbonne of California, Oregon City, Campbell County of Wyoming, Thunder Ridge of Colorado, Centennial of Las Vegas and Piedmont of California. They alone would make this 16-team bracket a competitive delight, but when teams such as California’s Ventura (with 6-4 Kali Bennett), La Jolla Country Day (alma mater of Candice Wiggins), Utah power Timpanogos, Northern California's Berkeley (this is longtime coach Gene Nakamura's last year) and Southern California’s Mt. Miguel, and it turns into a war zone. Chandler will carry the Arizona flag in this bracket, and has five starters back from a 24-6 team and a homecourt advantage, but generally, Arizona teams have not fared well in their home-state tournament.

Two other Northern California teams with strong regional reputations, Miramonte and Branson, are also in this bracket, as is Harpeth Hall from Tennessee.

The Gray Division, too, has some traditional powers. Mountain View of Utah and Brea-Olinda of California may be the best known, but Marlborough and Mater Dei from Southern Calfiornia, and Mullen and Horizon from Colorado are always more than representative. Also watch out for Arizona’s Basha which, like Chandler, will be right at home all week.

The Nike TOC’s second session (Dec. 27-30) may not quite have the national luster of the first, but the eight-team White Division has some national-level firepower. Nevada’s best team, Bishop Gorman, is led by 6-4 junior Ashley Gayle, and guards Kaila Goff and Darriel Gaynor. St. Mary’s of Phoenix lost a lot to graduation, but is expected to continue to be one of Arizona’s top teams. St. Mary’s of Stockton reloaded with a trio of talented freshmen after losing Jacki Gemelos to graduation. and Central Arkansas Christian features Whitney Zachariason, one of the top players in that, or any, region of the country.

Mountain View of Utah, no longer coached by Dave Houle, who was let go during last season, and Southern California power Santa Margarita are also in the bracket.

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Clay Kallam is the publisher of Full Court Press (www.Fullcourt.com), an online magazine devoted to women’s basketball. The author of the book “Girls Basketball: Building a Winning Program (Wish Publishing, 2002), Kallam has written about the women’s game for several national publications and is a voter for the McDonald’s All-American team, the Parade All-American team, the All-WNBA team and the Wooden Award. He is the coach of The Bentley School girls’ varsity basketball team and formerly wrote for the Contra Costa Times newspaper chain.