2021 Maui Invitational moving to Las Vegas, field announced
Jon Rothstein of CBS Sports is reporting that the 2021 Maui Invitational will be moving to Las Vegas. The field for the 2021 version of the tournament will include Oregon, Houston, Wisconsin, Butler, Notre Dame, Texas A&M, Saint Mary’s and Chaminade.
Mandalay Bay in Las Vegas has emerged as a potential venue to host the tournament, according to Rothstein.
This will be the second-straight season the tournament is being played somewhere else other than Maui. Last year, it was played in Asheville, North Carolina.
The officials of the Maui Invitational have not yet officially announced the news.
Houston Cougars
The Cougars are fresh off a trip to their first Final Four in decades. They’ve got a couple of impact transfers coming in, one of which is guard Taze Moore, who measures 6-foot-4 and weighs 185 pounds. He played his first five seasons for Cal State Bakersfield. He will have one season of eligibility with Houston. Moore was named to the 2021 All-Big West First Team. He led UCSB in scoring (12.2 points per game), free throw percentage (82.8 percent), and steals (30).
The Cougars also welcome in another forward Josh Carlton from UConn. Carlton has averaged just over six points per game for his career and five rebounds per game in his career. Those are just a few players to watch for the Cougars in the Maui Invitational.
Oregon Ducks
The Ducks return a lot of height in 2021 as they return four players that are 6-foot-11 or more that could contribute. One player to keep an eye on in the Maui Invitational for the Ducks is former five-star recruit Nate Bittle. He played last season for Prolific Prep. The 6-foot-11 Oregon native was ranked as the 24th-best overall prospect in America, according to the On3 Class of 2021 recruiting rankings. Speaking of Prolific Prep, the Ducks also signed Dior Johnson, the ninth-ranked overall prospect in the nation, according to the On3 Class of 2022 rankings. Johnson transferred to Prolific Prep in August.
Texas A&M
One player to look out for in the Maui Invitational from Texas A&M is four-star shooting guard Manny Obaseki. He was rated as a four-star prospect in the 2021 recruiting class by On3. The 6-foot-4 guard was ranked as the 47th best overall prospect in America in the 2021 recruiting class, according to the On3 100. Texas A&M head coach Buzz Williams was suspended for two games by the NCAA due to violating NCAA rules.
Notre Dame
A power forward to watch for the Fighting Irish in the Maui Invitational will be Nate Laszewski. He averaged 13.3 points per game, 7.3 rebounds per game, and shot over 43 percent from beyond-the-arc in 2021 for the Irish. Their point guard, Prentiss Hubb averaged 14.6 points per game and 5.8 assists per game last season.