Oregon’s biggest high school basketball tournament moving to new venue

Portland State University to host longtime Pacific Northwest high school holiday basketball showcase in 2024

Les Schwab Invitational trophies and awards wait idly on championship Saturday of the 2023 tournament on Dec. 30 when Columbus (Florida) beat Harvard-Westlake (California) in dramatic fashion. / Photo by Naji Saker, SBLive Sports

One of the top high school basketball showcases in the country will have another star-studded field for 2024.

And a new home for the first time in 20 years.

The Les Schwab Invitational is moving to Portland State's Viking Pavilion in downtown Portland's Park Blocks in December and has locked in four out-of-state teams, featuring a typical crop of national powerhouses: Gonzaga College (Washington D.C.), Long Island Lutheran (New York), La Lumiere (Indiana) and Owyhee (Idaho).

PrimeTime Sports, the company behind the long-running showcase, signed on for at least a three-year rental agreement to host the tournament at the university's 3,000-seat arena, LSI Director and PrimeTime Sports President John McCallum told SBLive. The 2024 rendition will run Dec. 26-30.

"It’s a new experience all around," McCallum said. "And sometimes that’s always an added benefit for something that’s gone on for so long. It’s almost like hitting a reset button."

MORE: How the Les Schwab Invitational rose to became one of nation's top high school hoop showcases

Rising rental costs from the Hillsboro School District for Liberty High School pushed PrimeTime to look for another venue for the annual 16-team showcase that pits the top Oregon high school basketball teams against a select out-of-state field.

The district first notified McCallum it was raising rental costs before last December's tournament, which he said came as a surprise.

"We just kind of had to go with it because we didn’t have enough time to do anything else," he said. "After that, they let us know that costs would be raised again (in 2024), which was going to put a really big strain on the tournament short-term and long-term."

There had been interest from Portland State to host the event in the past, so McCallum picked up the phone and discussions quickly re-engaged. Portland State, he said, cited the national appeal of the LSI and the potential economic impact that could bring businesses in downtown Portland.

"Us and our sponsors were really looking for somebody who understood what the event is about," McCallum said. "To have something that goes on for 27-plus years, it takes a lot more than a (competitive) field to make that happen and (Portland State) got that."

Portland State's Viking Pavilion, a 3,000-seat basketball arena, will play host to the Les Schwab Invitational for the foreseeable future. /

McCallum said the tournament planned to take full advantage of the capabilities of the recently renovated (2018) Viking Pavilion, noting two jumbotrons and college arena lights.

"It’s new, upgraded, the concourse is big, the food options are incredible," McCallum said. "There are a lot of added benefits I think our crowds will very much like. It’s a new experience all around." 

The event started in 1996 and has showcased the likes of Kevin Durant, Carmelo Anthony, Jaylen Brown and Payton Pritchard. It was first hosted at Lewis & Clark College during its inaugural year.

It moved to the Memorial Coliseum in 2000 and 2001, then to the University of Portland's Chiles Center in 2002 and 2003 before landing at Liberty High School in Hillsboro in 2004, which had been the event's host site since.

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Long Island Lutheran, which finished No. 4 in the SBLive/SI Power 25 national rankings in 2024, is set to return five four-prospects: Guard Kiyan Anthony (No. 35 in nation, 247), the son of Carmelo Anthony; Kayden Mingo (No. 44) and Nigel James (No. 85); four-star Florida State-committed center Alier Maluk and 6-foot-5 small forward Jacob Ross. LuHi and La Lumiere compete in the Nike-branded national high school EYBL Scholastic super league.

Carmelo Anthony and his son, Kiyan, watch the Don Bosco Prep Ironmen compete against the McEachern Indians in a game during the 50th annual City of Palms Classic at Suncoast Credit Union Arena in Fort Myers on Tuesday, Dec. 19, 2023. Kiyan Anthony and the Long Island Luthern Crusaders defeated Westminster Academy earlier in the day. / Jonah Hinebaugh/Naples Daily News/USA

La Lumiere (Indiana) stars some of the nation's top 30 prospects in 2025: Five-star forward Jalen Haralson (uncommitted), four-star shooting guard Darius Adams (uncommitted) and four-star combo guard Jerry Easter. La Lu finished No. 17 in the SBLive/SI Power 25.

Gonzaga College (D.C.) finished on the SBLive/SI Power 25 bubble and returns three top 100 prospects in the class of 2026, headlined by four-star guards Nyk Lewis (No. 59 in nation per 247 Sports) and Derek Dixon (No. 62).

Owyhee, an upstart Idaho powerhouse and defending class 5A state champion, returns four starters but must replace four-star 6-foot-4 shooting guard Liam Campbell, a once-USC commit now headed to Saint Mary's. The Storm are the first Idaho team in the LSI's 27-year history.

Last December, two national powerhouses clashed in the LSI championship game: Top national 2026 prospect Cameron Boozer and Columbus (Florida) beat UCLA signee Trent Perry and Harvard-Westlake (California) to win the showcase.

In 2023, Jackson Shelstad and hometown West Linn knocked off Bronny James and Sierra Canyon (California) in the semifinals and projected lottery pick Ron Holland and the No. 1 ranked team in the nation Duncanville (Texas) in the championship game.

-- Andy Buhler | andy@scorebooklive.com | @sblivesports