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1998 Slam Dunk Draws
39 Teams, 85 H.S. All-Americans
By DAVID MAULL, Cafe Locale
Beginning the day after Christmas, the basketball junkie's dream offers an almost around-the-clock serving of high-flying hoops, screaming fans, live Rock 'n Roll music and the unmistakable aroma of fresh-baked pizza.
The Ninth Annual Slam Dunk to the Beach Holiday Invitational returns to Cape Henlopen High School in Lewes from Dec. 26-30, 1998. This year's event features 39 teams from 13 states playing a total of 44 games in five days.
As the Christmas holiday approached, organizers were making final preparations for what has become perhaps the top high school tournament in the nation.
"All the logistics are done. We're squared away," Slam Dunk Executive Director Bob Jacobs said. "I'm looking forward very much to seeing it come to fruition."
This year's tournament, the largest in its nine-year history, is expected to attract more than 50,000 fans. Eleven teams from Delaware will participate along with eight from New Jersey, six from Maryland, four from Pennsylvania, two from Ohio and one each from Utah, California, Texas, Rhode Island, Mississippi, South Carolina, New York and the District of Columbia.
Three teams Lower Richland (Columbia, S.C.), Good Counsel (Wheaton, Md.) and Rice Manhattan (New York, N.Y.) were recently ranked among the nation's top 25 high school teams by USA Today. Two others Southern (Baltimore, Md.) and Brighton (Salt Lake City, Utah) were ranked among the top 10 in their respective regions.
The tournament will also feature more than 85 high school All-American players.
"I think the individual talent this year exceeds the team talent," Jacobs said.
The 39 teams will compete in seven different divisions. (See accompanying schedule and team listing).
Grotto Pizza is one of the tournament's top sponsors and the Delaware River and Bay Authority will sponsor this year's nine-game Sunday Shootout. The raucous atmosphere inside Cape's gym features a mini-blimp buzzing the crowd between games, a rock band belting out tunes during breaks in the action and T-shirts being tossed into the crowd after every successful 3-point shot.
Local teams participating in the event include Cape Henlopen, Indian River and Sussex Central. Cape is in the four-team Mayor's Cup bracket and will face Cardinal Gibbons of Baltimore, Md. in the tournament's opening game Dec. 26 at 8 a.m.
"That's the problem with Slam Dunk, we don't get a chance to see these teams and we really have a hard time preparing for it," Cape coach Ed Waples said.
Last year, the Vikings won the Governor's Trophy division with victories over Milford and Loyola. They thrilled the home crowd by rallying from a 14-point deficit to defeat Loyola in the title game.
"The biggest pressure we have is playing that first game at eight o'clock in the morning," Waples joked. "But it's so exicting for the kids and the coaches that we kind of overlook it."
Sussex Central will also compete for the Mayor's Cup, facing St. John Neumann in its opener Dec. 28 at 8 a.m.
"I'm basically just looking to be competitive," Central coach Tim Slade said. "Hopefully, it will be a learning experience. It's going to be tough."
Slade's team has struggled early in the season but maintained a positive attitude and work ethic and should be a tough team to beat once it develops some on-court chemistry.
"You never know," Slade said when asked if his team is capable of an upset. "We have the possibility. Right now, we're still in a tough position. I'm still looking forward to it."
The Mayor's Cup consolation game is Dec. 29 at 8 a.m. The championship game is slated for Dec. 30 at 9 a.m.
Indian River will compete in the four-team Governor's Trophy division along with three other Delaware schools Dover, William Penn and Lake Forest.
The Indians face Dover in their opening game Dec. 26 at 9:45 a.m.
"It's always nice for the kids to be in that atmosphere," IR coach Pat Kelly said of the tournament. "They deserve it."
Kelly will bring to Lewes a raw team with two senior starters who did not play basketball last year. "I think it's probably the most inexperienced team I've ever coached," Kelly said. "Basically, we're starting from scratch."
But the Indians have a history of Slam Dunk upsets. Last year, they defeated William Penn, which two months later reached the state finals, and in 1993 stunned Glasgow, which was the top-ranked team in the state.
"We've had a good experience before," Kelly said.
IR will play either the winner or loser of the other Governor's Trophy semifinal between William Penn and Lake Forest.
The Governor's Trophy consolation is scheduled for Dec. 29 at 9:45 a.m. and the championship game for Dec. 30 at 12:30 p.m.
Tickets are $55 for the entire tournament and $20 for each daily session.
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