Kang Klassic Basketball Tournament Tips Off This Weekend

The 2010-2011 high school basketball season may have ended three months ago, but the month of June offers up a preview of the 2011-2012 season. Several tournaments that feature high school teams take place during the month and one of the bigger ones is taking place this weekend.

The Kangs Klassic boys basketball tournament tips off June 17 at and and will feature 20 varsity and junior varsity teams from around Western Washington, including six that qualified for the state tournament in their respective classifications last season.

Both Lake Washington and will field teams for the tournament. Lake Washington is coming off a strong season in which it finished one win away from the state tournament and has already won two tournaments this month. Juanita is coming off a down year in which it finished 4-16.

The tournament is in the second year of its current incarnation, after many years being played in at the end of the summer as the Last Chance Tournament. New Washington Interscholastic Activities Association rules re-structured the time that coaches could run practices for the following years teams, forcing the tourney to move to the month of June.

The tournament will feature both varsity and junior varsity teams (20 of each) from the 2A to the 4A divisions, with varsity games being played at Lake Washington High School and junior varsity games being held at Kirkland Junior High. Teams are guaranteed to play at least three games during pool play, with the top 2 teams from each of the five pools advancing to the elimination round. Each pool has a mixture of schools from different classifications.

The varsity tournament is highlighted by six 2011 state tournament participants, including 3A quarterfinalist Chief Sealth along with Mercer Island. The 4A side is led by Kentwood, Puyallup and Monroe, while the 2A divison is represented by state qualifier Burlington-Edison.

The tournament is put on by the booster club for the Lake Washington boys basketball team and acts as a fundraiser for the program. Tournament board member Bob Staudacher said the games usually draw between 25-50 spectators per contest, depending on the teams that are playing.

Cost of admission to the tournament is $5 for adults, $3 for seniors and free for anyone 11 and under. Games begin Friday afternoon at 4:30 pm and run almost continually leading up to the varsity championship game at 4 pm on Sunday. To download a full schedule of games, check out kanghoops.com.