Santa Clara Seeks Top Invitational : Saints Try to Lure Basketball Powers

A national boys’ basketball tournament, to be played Dec. 27-29 at Santa Clara High, is being organized by the Oxnard chapter of the Knights of Columbus.

Ted Robles, the tournament committee director, said that 37 of the best teams in the country--including every team in the USA Today top 20--were mailed invitations two weeks ago. Laurinburg Institute of Laurinburg, N. C., a nationally recognized power, already has given a commitment to play.

Robles hopes to attract eight teams this year and eventually expand the tournament to 16. Hopes are high because currently no tournament in Southern California attracts national powers.

“We’ve had a good response from athletic directors,” Robles said. “Many teams are already committed to tournaments over the Christmas holidays this year, but 90% of the teams we’ve contacted said they were interested in coming out the following year.”

Most of the 37 teams are from outside the state and only Mater Dei, St. Bernard and Crenshaw have been invited from Southern California. That’s the way Lou Cvijanovich, Santa Clara’s coach of 30 years, wants it.

“We want to attract the best,” Cvijanovich said. “If we include local teams, hell, it’s just another holiday tournament.”

If necessary, the invitational will be held with only four teams this year. Cvijanovich and Robles are firm in their commitment not to dilute the tournament field.

There are several reasons for Cvijanovich to believe that Robles’ idea will develop into a top tournament.

Costs will be minimal to teams traveling to Oxnard. Coaches will have their hotel accommodations paid for and players will stay with families of Santa Clara students or with Knights of Columbus members. And every team will be guaranteed at least three games in Santa Clara’s Friedrich Pavilion, a 2-year-old gym that seats 2,000.

“We think we have an ideal situation to host something like this,” Robles said. “Santa Clara is a good school with a reputation and a following.”

Cvijanovich has led the Saints to 570 victories and and 8 Southern Section titles. Santa Clara, a Southern Section 2-A Division school, routinely plays much larger opponents in the Tournament of Champions and other nonleague tournaments. Of course, a national invitational is stepping up to another level.

“This is going to be a national shoot-out,” Robles said. “If you think you have the best team, come out here to our tournament. There is nothing like it in California.”

Cvijanovich cautioned that a year may go by before the tournament is firmly established.

“I don’t want to dampen any enthusiasm but I think it may be too late to draw many teams for this year,” he said. “But we’ll know soon. It should be interesting.”