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. Since its creation, the tournament has hosted nationally ranked teams from many states including Virginia, New York, Nevada, Louisiana, Texas, Maryland and numerous top teams from California. The LSI is a three-day, 12 game, boys high school basketball tournament. It features 8 teams chosen from Oregon’s top 6A and 5A schools, and elite regional teams through a partnership with Nike.

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

LSI participants named McDonald's All Americans

Les Schwab Invitational NBA players

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.
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