Most people head to Florida this time of year as an escape from wintry weather, and Bentonville's boys basketball team will have its moments in the sun the next few days.
It's not just a fun trip for the Tigers, though. There's also business to take care of as Bentonville participates in the 42nd annual Culligan City of Palms Classic in Fort Myers, a tournament that has had 100 of its players go on to play in the NBA since 1989.
At A Glance
42nd Annual Culligan City Of Palms Classic
When: through Tuesday
Where: Bishop Verot High School, Fort Myers, Fla.
Teams Participating: Bentonville, Philadelphia (Pa.) Archbishop Carroll, Florida Air Academy, Santa Ana (Calif.) Mater Dei, Montverde (Fla.) Academy, North Port, Fla., Orlando (Fla.) Oak Ridge, Fairfax (Va.) Paul VI, Reserve (La.) Riverside Academy, Chatsworth (Calif.) Sierra Canyon, Alpharetta (Ga.) St. Francis, Louisville (Ky.) Trinity, Huber Heights (Ohio) Wayne, Webster Groves, Mo., High Point (N.C.) Wesleyan Christian, Marietta (Ga.) Wheeler, Chicago (Ill.) Whitney Young.
"It's definitely an honor to be invited to one of the most prestigious high school tournaments in the country," Bentonville coach Jason McMahan said. "I'm glad for our kids to get this opportunity to go to Florida and play this kind of competition."
Bentonville (4-1), which received a late invitation to the tournament, becomes only the second team from Arkansas to play there -- the other being a Little Rock Central team in 1998 that featured former Arkansas Razorback standout Joe Johnson, now with the NBA's Brooklyn Nets -- and joins a 17-team field loaded with national high school powerhouses. That includes two-time defending tournament champion Monteverde (Fla.) Academy, which went 28-0 last year and was named the national champion by Dick's Sporting Goods.
The Tigers will open tournament play at 7:45 p.m. Central time today against third-seeded Marietta (Ga.) Wheeler, which went 29-6 last year and was the Georgia Class 6A state runnerup. The Wildcats, who are led by one of the nation's top senior recruits in 6-foot-7 forward Jaylen Brown, sport a 5-0 record after a 74-35 rout of Roswell, Ga., last week.
"Wheeler's style of play is very similar to what we would see from a Fort Smith Northside or a North Little Rock," McMahan said. "It's going to be a really good game to help us prepare for what we might see in conference play or in the state tournament, and Jaylen Brown is arguably one of the best players in high school basketball this year.
"It's a tournament full of national talent. I was looking this up, and if we win this tournament, every team we will have beaten will be ranked in the top 20 nationally. So there are going to be some good games, and it will help us prepare for what's coming up."
Bentonville hasn't played a game in more than a week, meaning the Tigers have had plenty of time to stew over their only loss of the season. Bentonville dropped a 68-65 decision to Alma in a game where the Tigers drew 30 fouls -- 20 of them in the first half -- and had three players foul out.
McMahan said most of the practices have been spent on getting the team improved after its loss and incorporating the four players that joined the team upon completion of football season.
"They have really been focused in preparation for this tournament," McMahan said. "We had a really good practice at Florida Gulf Coast University, and I expect us to have a really good game."
A win tonight means Bentonville will play at 5 p.m. Saturday against Fairfax (Va.) Paul VI. If the Tigers lose, they will play at 10:10 a.m. Saturday against the loser of tonight's earlier game between Chicago (Ill.) Whitney Young and High Point (N.C.) Wesleyan Christian.
Sports on 12/19/2014