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, Georgia, Florida, Pennsylvania, and numerous top teams from California. The LSI is a 4-day, 32-game, boy's high school basketball tournament. It features 16 teams chosen from Oregon's top schools and elite national teams through a partnership with Nike. Prime Time Sports is the owner and promoter of the tournament which was founded by co-tournament creator John McCallum.

Facts

Played in the month of December, usually between 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

1996 Beaverton High School Beavers
1997 Oak Hill Academy Warriors
1998 Crenshaw High School Cougars
1999 Jefferson High School Democrats
2000 Dominguez High School Dons
2001 Oak Hill Academy Warriors
2002 Bishop O’Connell High School Knights
2003 Jesuit High School Crusaders
2004 Oak Hill Academy Warriors
2005 Reserve Christian Eagles
2006 Oak Hill Academy Warriors
2007 Archbishop Mitty High School Monarchs
2008 Dominguez High School Dons
2009 Westchester High School Comets
2010 DeMatha Catholic Stags
2011 Oak Hill Academy Warriors
2012 Lake Oswego High School Lakers
2013 Rainier Beach High School Vikings
2014 Montverde Academy Eagles
2015 Oak Hill Academy Warriors
2016 Nathan Hale High School Raiders
2017 Oak Hill Academy Warriors
2018 Sierra Canyon School Trailblazers
2019 Mater Dei High School Monarchs
2020 Cancelled due to COVID-19 Pandemic
2021 Link Academy Lions
2022 West Linn High School Lions

LSI participants named McDonald's All Americans

Carmelo Anthony | Oak Hill Academy, Mouth of Wilson, VA 2001
Andre Barrett | Rice High School, New York, NY 1999
Evan Burns | Fairfax High School, Los Angeles, CA 2000
Tweety Carter | Reserve Christian, Laplace, LA 2005
Tyson Chandler | Dominguez High School, Compton, CA 2000
Eric Devendorf | Oak Hill Academy, Mouth of Wilson, VA 2004
Mike Dunleavy Jr. | Jesuit High School, Portland, OR 1998
Kevin Durant | Oak Hill Academy, Mouth of Wilson, VA 2004
Ndudi Ebi | Westbury Christian, Houston, TX 2002
Donté Greene | Towson Catholic, Towson, MD 2005
JJ Hickson | Wheeler High School, Marietta, GA 2006
Brandon Jennings | Oak Hill Academy, Mouth of Wilson, VA 2006
Terrence Jones | Jefferson High School, Portland, OR 2010
Doron Lamb | Oak Hill Academy, Mouth of Wilson, VA 2009
Tywon Lawson | Oak Hill Academy, Mouth of Wilson, VA 2004
Kevin Love | Lake Oswego High School, Lake Oswego, OR 2007
Kyle Wiltjer | Jesuit High School, Beaverton, OR 2011
Jaylen Brown | Wheeler High School, Marietta, GA 2015
Ben Simmons | Montverde Academy, Montverde, FL 2015
Michael Porter Jr | Nathan Hale High School, Seattle, WA 2017
Keldon Johnson | Oak Hill Academy, Mouth of Wilson, VA 2018
Vernon Carey Jr. | NSU University School, Fort Lauderdale, FL 2019