We'll be doing daily updates from the 12th Annual Tarkanian Classic, which concludes Dec. 21 with the championship game in nine divisions, including the Platinum Division at 7:30 pm (ET) at Bishop Gorman. The event began with an assortment of prep division showcase games between Dec. 15-17.

Platinum Division 1st Round Previews
(All games listed PT played December 18 at Bishop Gorman HS unless noted)

7-2 St. Pius X-St. Matthias (Downey, Calif.) vs. 6-0 Riviera Prep (Miami, Fla.), 12:45 pm
This has the makings of a war and could be the best first round game. Whichever team handles pressure defense and gets the ball inside best will win. Look out for 6-foot-1 2027 point guard Myles Fuentes of Riviera Prep.

2-5 St. Augustine (San Diego, Calif.) vs. 7-1 Roosevelt (Eastvale, Calif.), 2:15 pm
Saints usually does well in this event, but will be no match for the top seeded Mustangs, currently ranked No. 9 in the FAB 50 National Rankings. Whomever Roosevelt may face in the second round between St. Pius X and Riviera Prep it will have its hands full.

5-0 Campbell Hall (North Hollywood, Calif.) vs. 3-2 Coronado (Henderson, Nev.), 3:45 pm
This will be an intense game and could come down to the production of Colorado-bound Isaiah Johnson of Campbell Hall. He's capable of scoring outbursts and Coronado will want to contain him. UNLV-bound Mason Abittan of Coronado is one of the more underrated players in the event.

5-1 Rainier Beach (Seattle, Wash.) vs. 7-0 Redondo Union (Redondo Beach, Calif.), 5:15 pm
The guard matchups will be scintillating in what should be a fast-paced game. Rainier Beach will be in business if it can keep the turnovers down and get Rutgers-bound Jayden Powers going offensively. Redondo Union will want to speed The Beach up and whomever executes if the game is close will win. If the game is not that close, I would expect the Sea Hawks to be up because they are getting the better shots. The loser of this game could be a tougher out than the Campbell Hall-Coronado winner in the quarterfinals.

7-0 Bishop Gorman (Las Vegas, Nev.) vs. 3-5 Westchester (Los Angeles, Calif.), 6:45 pm
The host Gaels are a bit more talented, but they know the Comets play hard and anything can happen in a one-game setting. Westchester's Tajh Ariza will need to stay composed against a multitude of Gorman defenders. With the ankle injury to Gorman's Grid-Hoop stud Jett Washington, it could be a tough road for the host club and three time tourney champs because he's the Gaels' most versatile player.

3-6 Centennial (Corona, Calif.) vs. 3-2 Layton Christian (Layton, Utah), 8:15 pm
Don't let the records fool you; these are two quality teams, although Centennial is a youthful club. Centennial won this tournament in 2019 and won't go easy, but with three D1-bound seniors, including UNLV-bound Tyrin Jones, the Eagles should advance to meet the hosts in Thursday's 7:30 pm quarterfinal matchup. Layton Christian owns a 42-39 victory over Timpview, which has beat FAB 50 No. 31 Harvard-Westlake (North Hollywood, Calif.) last week.

9-0 Basha (Chandler, Ariz.) vs. 9-0 Notre Dame (Sherman Oaks, Calif.), 9:45 pm
In a battle of unbeatens, the matchup within the matchup is the point guard battle between Rutgers-bound Lino Mark of Notre Dame and 2026 15-year old Mason McGee of Basha. Notre Dame, currently ranked No. 32 in the FAB 50, is the stronger team and is getting Tyran Stokes back in the fold from a hand injury. He could be the top junior in the country, but Notre Dame has quality role players who have improved in his absence.

4-2 Timpview (Provo, Utah) vs. 0-1 St. Joseph (Philadelphia, Pa.), 1:30 pm (12/19)
These teams have to meet on Thursday because of travel and are good enough that if the bracket was truly seeded, would likely be a quarterfinal matchup. The one area where Timpview has the advantage is having quality games under its belt, where as St. Joe's is just warming up. Timpview shoots the perimeter shot as well as any team in this field and has quality size to boot, led by 6-foot-7 2026 Dean Rueckert and 6-foot-9 2026 Will Openshaw. The winner will likely face Notre Dame at 9 pm on Thursday evening in an attractive quarterfinal matchup. Both Notre Dame and Roosevelt on the opposite sides of the bracket potentially face teams more than capable of pulling an upset in the quarterfinals.

Chris Cenac Impresses
The 6-foot-10 Houston-bound Cenac and the best big man in the senior class impressed for FAB 50 No. 20 Link Academy (Branson, Mo.) in its 78-61 victory over ABC Prep National of New Mexico on Tuesday. Cenic was overpowering around the basket with his quick leaps and power finishes. He finished with a team-high 20 points on 9-of-11 from the field.

Cenac does need to work more inside, as he tends to drift to the perimeter against top tier competition, but he has all the necessary tools to make a pro impact down the line.

Gut Check For Prolific Prep
On Monday evening FAB 50 No. 3 Prolific Prep (Napa, Calif.) was in a dogfight with Colorado Prep and pulled out a come-from-behind 89-83 overtime victory. Prolific Prep trialed 43-32 at halftime, but stormed back behind the 3-point shooting of Michigan-bound wing Winters Grady and Kansas-bound shooting guard Darryn Peterson. The Crew survived a late technical foul and some dynamic play from Colorado-bound point guard Josiah Sanders to outscore Colorado Prep, 15-9, in a three-minute overtime.

Grady, one of the country's best spot-up shooters, made 8-of-17 3-pointers and finished with 32 points. Peterson converted a monster slam dunk down the stretch to spark The Crew and finished with 26 points, including 16 in the second half, along with eight assists and zero turnovers.

Sanders finished with 38 points, including 23 in the first half, and had the look and makings of a Top 100 player in the national 2025 class.

Darryn Peterson Tracking Nicely

The well-built Kansas-bound guard showed why some consider him on par with Duke-bound Cameron Boozer of FAB 50 No. 1 Columbus and BYU-bound A.J. Dybansta of FAB 50 No. 28 Utah Prep (Hurricane, Utah) as the best prospect in the national 2025 class. Peterson is unselfish, sees the floor, and is a tier one scorer who is more of a dynamic shot-maker than shooter.

Peterson, who came in third place in the 2024-25 preseason Mr. Basketball USA Tracker and was the only player to garner a first-place vote besides front-running Dybansta and Boozer, reminds us of former Ohio St. All-American and two-time Mr. Ohio Mr. Basketball Jimmy Jackson, who went on to play 14 seasons in the NBA, with his combination of strength, skill and calm demeanor. If he continues to develop point guard traits, it will one day make Peterson an even more potent professional player.

Ronnie Flores is the national Grassroots editor of Ballislife.com. He can be reached at [email protected]. Don't forget to follow him on Twitter: @RonMFlores