GILBERT, Ariz.—The landscape of sports seldom offers respected icons that maintain their status across the span of time. Whether you’re talking individuals, teams, or events, few have stood the test of time like the Nike Tournament of Champions. In its 20th year, the TOC has been and remains the gold standard of scholastic basketball tournaments. Once again the Valley of the Sun and metropolitan Phoenix are serving as host for the annual event that features 84 teams across five divisions of play for 2016. Showcasing teams from 18 different states, the field also includes representatives from the District of Columbia and the great white north of Canada. As the media sponsor, Blue Star Media is out in force once again with a staff of six taking on coverage, evaluations, insight and social media content.
While we may have referenced the TOC as the “gold standard” in high school tournaments above, there was some action during Monday’s opening round of games that may have tarnished that reputation to a degree. The revered Joe Smith Division saw upsets in the first two games of the day and an exhibition contest challenged the attention span of even the most diligent fan, recruiter or evaluator. For complete results and bracket pairings follow the link below.
http://basketball.exposureevents.com/81784/nike-tournament-of-champions/divisions
Each night we’ll take a quick look at a few standout performances from the day as well as provide daily coverage from veteran journalists Tony Bleill and Fred Kroner. Check back with Blue Star Media throughout the 2016 Nike Tournament of Champions for updates on all the action in Arizona.
Follow the link below for Tony and Fred’s look at Monday’s action from Gilbert.
http://www.bluestarmedia.org/nike-tournament-champions-day-one/
