3 Prep Games Added to Wooden Classic

ANAHEIM — A year ago, the Wooden Classic’s future was unclear because it was uncertain whether UCLA would play in the event annually. Now, the basketball classic is expanding to include a high school tripleheader on a Thursday.

The college doubleheader will remain on Saturday.

Five of the six teams competing in the Dec. 4 high school school invitational are from Southern California--Mater Dei, Los Alamitos, Chino Hills Ayala, Encino Crespi and Glendora. Hyattsville (Md.) DeMatha Catholic will be the only out-of-state school. DeMatha, coached by the legendary Morgan Wootten, is traditionally one of the top programs in the country.

“Morgan Wootten represents the philosophy coach [John] Wooden shares,” said Kent Atherton, president of the Atherton Group, which owns the classic.

Atherton said the high school tripleheader will become an annual event.

“Everything we do with this event, we look to perpetuate,” Atherton said. “This did not happen overnight. We had several meetings with CIF and [Southern Section Commissioner] Dean Crowley.”

A percentage of the proceeds from the high school invitational will go to the athletic departments of schools involved each year.

Atherton said he is hoping Mater Dei will be involved in the tripleheader each year.

“Mater Dei is sort of the UCLA of high school basketball in Orange County,” he said. “They’re a nice anchor for us. Gary McKnight has said he’d like to play in this every year and there’s no reason why we wouldn’t want that.”

Mater Dei will not be matched with DeMatha in a game that would have featured two national powers in boys’ basketball. Atherton said Mater Dei was already committed to playing Crespi in a tournament in San Luis Obispo that day. That game will be played at the Pond.

“This was a nice compromise,” Atherton said. “It was already predetermined that they play Crespi and they didn’t want to break their commitment to the San Luis Obispo tournament.”

DeMatha, which has a .869 winning percentage in Wootten’s 41 seasons, will play Los Alamitos in the final game of the night. Los Alamitos lost to DeMatha in Maryland, 73-62, in 1990.

“Playing DeMatha is an excellent opportunity for our kids,” Los Alamitos Coach Steve Brooks said. “To play against a program of that stature is a great challenge and hopefully it will be a rewarding experience for our kids. When we played them, I remember they had just enlarged their gym. It was packed and very hostile.”

The Griffins, who finished 23-4 last season, return the Sunset League co-players of the year, forward Matt Komer and guard Ricardo Garibay. The first game will pit Glendora against Ayala. Atherton said Fox Sports West has expressed interest in televising the DeMatha-Los Alamitos game.

The Wooden Classic features Stanford against Georgia and UCLA vs. New Mexico. UCLA has also committed to play in the 1998 doubleheader.