It's different here.
The San Diego Classic, founded in 1987 by then Santana (Santee, Calif.) coach Wade Vickery is a summer tournament, but it's outside the NCAA Division-1 viewing period.
The only college coaches in attendance are from Division III, NAIA or junior colleges, which means a lot of the elite girls aren't here, though their high school teams are.
These players are focused on getting a scholarship. With a week on the road prior to the San Diego Classic -- and another round of airports and jet lag the week after -- many elite players take the weekend off.
Some of those remaining will play in college, but many know their high school career is the end of the line. For those rising seniors, this is the last summer of league games and tournaments. And for teams that fly to San Diego for the combination of basketball and beaches, it's the last big summer trip as a member of a high school team.
At the other end of the spectrum are girls who've never experienced this before -- playing against veteran players in unfamiliar gyms after a night in a motel and a fast-food breakfast.
But really, the San Diego Classic represents the heart of girls' basketball. It's not about scholarships here, or looking good for the college coaches. And for most of the over 250 teams, it's not about getting a national ranking or winning a state title.
It's just about basketball.
And it's about team, the girls you'll be going to class with in the fall. It's about the girls who play the game because they love sports, not because they see it as a meal ticket or the focus of their identity.
Since no one's keeping score (except for the parents) and no one's really worrying about stats (well, except for the parents), you'd think it would be a recipe for goofy play, lazy defense and a desire to get to the beach before the sun sets.
Elite athletes aren't the only ones who love the game, you know.
In fact, a case could be made that handfuls of the superstars play ball because it's something they're really good it, rather than something they really love to play.
Watch a couple games in the junior varsity division and you'll see a lot of skinny girls getting knocked to the ground, diving after loose balls and playing with a lot more enthusiasm than skill.
In the end, though, what's more true to the game? The elite athlete on the summer circuit, looking to get her points and rebounds so the college coach in the stands will offer her a scholarship or the senior backup guard who's hoping to crack the rotation in the winter and is trying to screen out a 6-foot-2 post player in a battle for rebound?
Yes, there are some quality high schools at the event and the courts at UC San Diego will be crowded when they play. But a majority of the teams there, in their practice reversibles, are there because they're with friends, building a team, playing hard and having fun.
That's the San Diego Classic -- and that's the heart of girls' basketball.
