After weeks of dark and gloomy weather in Solano County, the Vanden High School boys basketball team will finally get some sunshine. The Vikings are headed to Phoenix for the Nike Tournament of Champions, which tips off Thursday and runs through Saturday across six venues.
“It’s special for these young guys. A lot of high school kids don’t know if they’re gonna play afterwards or not,” Vanden head coach Micheal Holloway said. “It gives them the opportunity to travel and get the college feel.”
The boys’ Tournament of Champions is a collaboration between the Arizona Basketball Coaches Association, the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame, and the organizers behind the signature girls’ Tournament of Champions. The girls’ event has been held continuously since 1998 and in the Phoenix metro area since 2000.
The boys event debuted this year and will feature 68 teams from across the nation in its second edition.
“To learn more of our student-athletes’ personality while they’re with us is one of the main reasons we travel a lot during preseason,” Holloway explained. “And then also, to keep the competition level up and always test ourselves as much as we can every year, no matter who’s on the roster.”
Vanden (6-3) will open the tournament against Hamilton (6-4) of Chandler, Arizona, on Thursday. Holloway said the Vikings’ competitive non-league schedule, which has featured Division I opponents like Sheldon and Inderkum, has prepared them for the challenges they might face in the tournament.
“Every team that we’ve played has been a different style. It’s been different personnel as far as size, speed, and all those different kinds of things,” Holloway said. “This will allow us to face some of those similar things.”
Vanden will count on its big three—Templeton Fountaine V, James Carraway, and Nate Hibbert—to make a splash in the desert. Fountaine is scoring a team-high 16.6 points per game, while Carraway isn’t far behind at 13 points per game. Hibbert is next in scoring with 11.9 points per game and has knocked down a team-high 28 three-pointers.
“I just want them to keep adding on to what they’ve already done, as far as preparing themselves, and also the team, to play at a high level,” Holloway said. “We’ve had James and Nate, who were part of the section title in 2024, so for them to understand what it takes to get there, I hope they can transfer some of that over and teach these younger guys what it takes to win at that level.”
Senior forward Matthew Wright and senior guard Caleb Rafan have also been bright spots this season. Rafan, who’s dished out at least five assists in five games, will be counted on even more with starting point guard Chriseannie Nealy sidelined for the tournament.
“We always told him (Rafan) from the beginning of the year, you could have gone and started somewhere else, but you’re like a sixth starter for us,” Holloway said. “Now, he gets to step up and take that role while Chris is out, until he battles back.
“Hopefully at some point our team can be complete in the near future, but right now, we’ve just got to keep battling because we don’t make excuses.”
https://www.thereporter.com/2025/12/30/vanden-high-boys-basketball-ready-to-face-top-competition-in-arizona/
