Clarke, Page could clash in TofC (Tulsa World) 8-11-2007

[ORUTerry]

Clarke, Page could clash in TofC

By BARRY LEWIS World Sports Writer

8/11/2007

Verdigris' Rotnei Clarke and Pawnee's Keiton Page will get one more chance to finally meet in a high school basketball game.

Their basketball teams have been invited to return to the Cherokee Nation Enterprises Schoolboy Tournament of Champions scheduled Dec. 27-29 at Expo Square Pavilion.

Clarke could set the all-time state career scoring record next season and is regarded as one of the nation's top 100 college recruits by several national publications. Page, who is committed to Oklahoma State, is the state's No. 2 active scoring leader and led Pawnee to a 2A title in 2005.

They nearly met in the TofC semifinals last year, but Clarke just missed lifting Verdigris to a first-round upset over Class 6A champion Midwest City.

Also returning to the eight-team field are Jenks, Class B champion Stringtown, Tahlequah Sequoyah and East Central. Stringtown accepted its invitation last week. The six returning teams will be a record in the tournament's 43-year history.

"So many teams are back because of the quality of players and teams involved," tournament director Tommy Thompson said.

Jenks, which has reached the 6A state tournament the past two years, will try to become the first team to win the Tournament of Champions in three consecutive years. Among the Trojans' returnees is center Vince Boncaldo, who has been a key part of their two TofC titles.

East Central, which won the 2006 TofC consolation title, was the 5A state runner-up last season and returns its top two players, Ken Holdman, who is committed to Missouri State, and Sidney Hadnott.

Tahlequah Sequoyah will make its fifth straight TofC appearance after reaching the 2007 3A title game.

The remaining two teams in this year's field are Oklahoma City McGuinness and Bixby.

McGuinness is the two-time defending 4A state champion and comes back to the TofC for the first time since 2000.

Bixby, which reached the 5A semifinals last season, has never played in the TofC.

Thompson also announced a new event that will be held in conjunction with the tournament. All high school basketball coaches, current and former, are invited to a breakfast held at the Cherokee Casino Hotel on the morning of the tournament's opening round, Dec. 27.

"It's going to be free for the coaches," Thompson said. "We're not going to have a speaker. We just want to have something where coaches can just meet and talk basketball with each other."