Thumbs up for the inaugural Lady X (Extravaganza) girls basketball tournament.

Valley high school sports promoter Marc Beasley had produced boys basketball tournaments before, many in the southeast Valley, but this was his first attempt at girls competition.

The tournament was well-attended and the fans and players were enthusiastic.

The coaches probably would agree that it offered a good opportunity to assess their players’ strengths and weaknesses and how to approach workouts leading up to the start of the 2014-15 season. You have to figure that top-notch coaches like Goodyear Millennium's Cory Rojeck, Mesa Dobson’s Tyler Dumas, Chandler Hamilton’s Jeff Kain, Gilbert Highland’s Miner Webster, Chandler Seton Catholic’s Karen Self, Gilbert Mesquite’s Candice Gonzales, Phoenix Mountain Pointe’s Trevor Neider and Chandler Valley Christian’s Scott Timmer made a lot of mental notes.

The Lady X featured many of the anticipated top teams for the coming season.

Tempe High served as a good central location for most of the teams. The next one in June of 2015 should be even better. Nice job by Beasley and his crew.

And don’t forget – Tempe High will be full again next weekend with the 4th Annual PrimeTime tournament for boys featuring defending Division I champion Tempe Corona del Sol, defending Division II champion Phoenix Shadow Mountain, Phoenix Pinnacle, Gilbert, Scottsdale Chaparral, Tempe, Phoenix Desert Vista and Phoenix Sunnyslope.

From June 26-28, the 7th annual Best in Basketball Summer Tournament (BIBSI) for boys will be held at Tempe High, featuring 24 teams.