Les Schwab Invitational

The Les Schwab Invitational (LSI) is Oregon's premier pre-season high school invitational basketball tournament.^[1] Prior to its founding in 1996, Oregon's high school teams had to travel out of state for quality pre-season play, denying fans connection to local teams prior to the regular season. In 1994 South Salem High School coach Barry Adams and Beaverton High School coach Nick Robertson, along with the Oregon Athletic Coaches Association, proposed a pre-season tournament to showcase the upcoming season's top teams. After two years of phone calls, lobbying and meetings the Oregon State Activities Association approved the proposition and the Oregon Holiday Invitational (renamed in 2000 The Les Schwab Invitational) was born! The tournament, since its creation, has hosted nationally ranked teams from many states including Virginia, New York, Nevada, Louisiana, Texas, Maryland and numerous top teams from California.

Facts

• Played in the month of December, usually between the dates of December 26 and January 1.
• Is a 5 day, 32 game and 16 team tournament.
• Tournament awards include: "The Mr.Hustle Award","Tournament MVP" and "The Shawn Zinsli Team Sportsmanship Award"
• Participating teams raise money for their basketball programs through ticket sales and sponsor donations
• Oak Hill Academy, from Mouth of Wilson, Virginia has won five LSI championships ('97, '01, '04,'06, '11)
• More than 22 Les Schwab Invitational participants have gone on to play in the NBA
• Kevin Durant, the 2008 NBA Rookie of the Year was a player in the 2004 LSI while at Oak Hill Academy
• Kevin Love is the only freshman to ever be named LSI Most Valuable Player as he did in 2003 while at Lake Oswego High School

Venues

Year-Venue(s)

• 1996 -Westview High School-Portland, OR.; South Salem High School, Salem, OR.; The University of Portland, Portland, OR.; Beaverton High School, Beaverton, OR.
• 1997-Lewis and Clark College, Portland, OR.
• 1998-Lewis and Clark College, Portland, OR.
• 1999-Lewis and Clark College, Portland, OR.
• 2000-Memorial Coliseum, Portland, OR.
• 2001-Memorial Coliseum, Portland, OR.
• 2002-The University of Portland, Portland, OR.
• 2003-The University of Portland, Portland, OR.
• 2004 - Present-Liberty High School, Hillsboro, OR.

Teams invited

• Oregon State classification 6A and 5A basketball teams as well as the top teams from southwest Washington are invited based on selections made by a committee that meets each January.
• 3-4 nationally ranked Nike sponsored teams are also brought in from around the country.

Past champions

Year School

• 1996 Beaverton High School Beavers
• 1997 Oak Hill Academy Warriors
• 1998 Crenshaw High School Cougars
• 1999 Jefferson High School Democrats
• 2000 Dominguez High School Dons
• 2001 Oak Hill Academy Warriors
• 2002 Bishop O’Connell High School Knights
• 2003 Jesuit High School Crusaders
• 2004 Oak Hill Academy Warriors
• 2005 Reserve Christian Eagles
• 2006 Oak Hill Academy Warriors
• 2007 Archbishop Mitty High School Monarchs
• 2008 Dominguez High School Dons
• 2009 Westchester High School Comets
• 2010 DeMatha Catholic Stags
• 2011 Oak Hill Academy Warriors
• 2012 Lake Oswego High School Lakers

LSI participants named McDonald's All Americans

• Carmelo Anthony| Oak Hill Academy, Mouth of Wilson, VA 2001
• Andre Barrett| Rice High School, New York, NY 1999
• Evan Burns| Fairfax High School, Los Angeles, CA 2000
• Tweety Carter| Reserve Christian, Laplace, LA 2005
• Tyson Chandler | Dominguez High School, Compton, CA 2000
• Eric Devendorf| Oak Hill Academy, Mouth of Wilson, VA 2004
• Mike Dunleavy Jr.| Jesuit High School, Portland, OR 1998
• Kevin Durant| Oak Hill Academy, Mouth of Wilson, VA 2004
• Ndudi Ebi | Westbury Christian, Houston, TX 2002
• Donte Greene| Towson Catholic, Towson, MD 2005
• JJ Hickson | Wheeler High School, Marietta, GA 2006
• Brandon Jennings| Oak Hill Academy, Mouth of Wilson, VA 2006
• Terrence Jones| Jefferson High School, Portland, OR 2007-2009
• Doron Lamb | Oak Hill Academy, Mouth of Wilson, VA 2009
• Tywon Lawson| Oak Hill Academy, Mouth of Wilson, VA 2004
• Kevin Love | Lake Oswego High School, Lake Oswego, OR 2003, 2005-2006
• Kyle Wiltjer | Jesuit High School, Beaverton, OR 2008-2010

Former Les Schwab Invitational NBA players

• Carmelo Anthony – Oak Hill Academy / New York Knicks
• Tyson Chandler – Dominguez H.S. / Dallas Mavericks
• Mike Dunleavy, Jr. – Jesuit H.S. / Indiana Pacers
• Kevin Durant – Oak Hill Academy / Oklahoma City Thunder
• Donte Greene – Towson Catholic / Sacramento Kings
• JJ Hickson – Wheeler H.S. /Sacramento Kings
• Roy Hibbert – Georgetown Prep / Indiana Pacers
• Brandon Jennings – Oak Hill Academy / Milwaukee Bucks
• Tywon Lawson – Oak Hill Academy / Denver Nuggets
• Kevin Love – Lake Oswego H.S. / Minnesota Timberwolves
• Greg Monroe – Helen Cox H.S. / Detroit Pistons
• Kyle Singler – South Medford H.S. / Detroit Pistons
• Craig Smith – Fairfax H.S. / Los Angeles Clippers
• Nolan Smith – Oak Hill Academy / Portland Trail Blazers
• Trey Thompkins – Oak Hill Academy / Los Angeles Clippers
• Kemba Walker – Rice H.S. / Charlotte Bobcats
• DJ White – Hillcrest H.S. / Oklahoma City Thunder
• Greivis Vasquez – Montrose Christian H.S. / Memphis Grizzlies

Sponsors

The current 2011 presenting sponsor is Express Employment Professionals. The tournament's key sponsors are Les Schwab Tires and Nike, both Oregon based companies.

References

1. Brown, Tim (December 23, 2011). "High school boys basketball: Players to watch at the Les Schwab Invitational". OregonLive.com. Retrieved December 24, 2011.