The Les Schwab Invitational (LSI) is Oregon's premier pre-season high school invitational basketball tournament. 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 40 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. 2004–2023-Liberty High School, Hillsboro, OR. 2024–Present-Viking Pavilion @ Portland State, Portland, OR.
Teams invited
Oregon State classification basketball teams from any level as well as the top teams from the Northwest 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 2023 Columbus (Miami, FL) Explorers
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* Scottie Barnes | University School, Fort Lauderdale, FL 2020 Nathan Bittle | Crater High School, Crater, OR 2021 Nolan Hickman | Eastside Catholic, Seattle, WA 2021 Julian Phillips | Link Academy, Branson, MO 2022 Amari Bailey | Sierra Canyon, Chatsworth, CA 2022 Jordan Walsh | Link Academy, Branson, MO 2022 Mookie Cook | Jefferson High, Portland, OR 2023 Ron Holland | Duncanville High School, Duncanville, TX 2023 Omaha Biliew | Link Academy, Branson, MO 2023 Bronny James | Sierra Canyon, Chatsworth, CA 2023 Trent Perry | Harvard-Westlake, Hollywood, CA 2024
Les Schwab Invitational NBA players
Carmelo Anthony – Oak Hill Academy / Portland Trail Blazers Tyson Chandler – Dominguez H.S. / Chicago Bulls 2001–06, New Orleans Hornets 2006–09, Charlotte Bobcats 2009–10, Dallas Mavericks 2010-11 & 2014–15, New York Knicks 2011–14, Phoenix Suns 2015–2018, Los Angeles Lakers 2018 Kevin Durant – Oak Hill Academy / Seattle SuperSonics 2007–08, Oklahoma City Thunder 2008–2016, Golden State Warriors 2016–Present Kevin Love – Lake Oswego H.S. / Miami Heat Greg Monroe – Helen Cox H.S. / Toronto Raptors Kemba Walker – Rice H.S. / Charlotte Hornets Marvin Bagley III - Sierra Canyon H.S. / Detroit Pistons Jaylen Brown - Wheeler H.S. / Boston Celtics Markelle Fultz - Dematha H.S. / Orlando Magic Aaron Gordon - Archbishop Mitty H.S. / Denver Nuggets Dejounte Murray - Rainier Beach H.S. / Atlanta Hawks Terrence Ross - Jefferson H.S. / Phoenix Suns Ben Simmons - Montverde Academy / Brooklyn Nets Jahlil Okafor - Whitney Young / New Orleans Pelicans Michael Porter Jr - Nathan Hale HS / Denver Nuggets Keldon Johnson - Oak Hill Academy / San Antonio Spurs Payton Pritchard - West Linn H.S. / Boston Celtics Scottie Barnes - University School / Toronto Raptors Zach Collins - Bishop Gorman / San Antonio Spurs Tari Eason - Garfield HS / Houston Rockets Jerami Grant - DeMatha Catholic / Portland Trail Blazers Drew Eubanks - Reynolds HS / Portland Trail Blazers Kenyon Martin Jr. - Sierra Canyon / Houston Rockets Jaylen Nowell - Garfield HS / Minnesota Timberwolves Kevin Porter Jr. - Rainier Beach / Houston Rockets Scotty Pippen Jr. - Sierra Canyon / Memphis Grizzlies JT Thor - Norcross HS / Charlotte Hornets Jordan Walsh - Link Academy / Boston Celtics Ron Holland - Duncanville HS / Detroit Pistons Bronny James - Sierra Canyon HS / Los Angeles Lakers
Sponsors The current presenting sponsor is Express Employment Professionals. The tournament's two main sponsors who have been involved from the beginning are Les Schwab Tires and Nike, both Oregon based companies. Les Schwab Tires is the title sponsor and Nike is the premier sports brand in the world.
References Les Schwab Invitational. (2023, January 1). In Wikipedia. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Les_Schwab_Invitational