Seven elite high school boys basketball teams — including a first-time entry from Alabama — will highlight the 16-team field in the 23rd Annual 'Iolani Prep Classic, which begins Division I play with four games tomorrow.

Five-time defending state champion 'Iolani leads the nine Hawai'i teams in the field.

Le Flore (Mobile, Ala.) enters the tournament with a 9-0 record and ranked No. 11 in USA Today's Super 25. The Rattlers are a perennial power in Alabama and return six key players from a team that went 29-6 last season.

Le Flore is averaging 86 points per game so far, with five players averaging in double figures. Point guard Chris Blake, regarded by some as the No. 2-ranked player in Alabama, is averaging 27 ppg. Nick Williams is considered to be one of the nation's top juniors and has made a verbal commitment to Marquette.

Joshua Wesley has had three games in which he hit at least nine 3-pointers.

Defending Classic champion Fairfax (Los Angeles) has five returnees, including UCLA-bound Chace Stanback. Forward Solomon Hill is regarded as one of the top sophomores in California.

White Station (Tenn.) has won several state championships and recently defeated defending state champion Hamilton. The Spartans also took crosstown rival Raleigh-Egypt, ranked No. 16 in USA Today, to overtime before losing.

Vincent (Milwaukee) is ranked No. 6 in the Midwest Region by USA Today. The Vikings' 6-foot-5 point guard, Diante Garrett, has signed with Iowa State and shooting guard Bryquis Perine has signed with Wisconsin-Green Bay.

Vincent recently defeated Illinois' No. 2-ranked team, St. Joseph (Westchester), and is the alma mater of former Hawai'i point guard Deonte Tatum.

Roman Catholic (Philadelphia) is back after many past Classic appearances and has several returnees from a team that went 26-6. Cahillites guard Bradley Wanamaker has signed with Pittsburgh.

Georgetown Prep (North Bethesda, Md.) freshman guard Markel Starks has already received five Division I scholarship offers.

St. Dominic (Oyster Bay, N.Y.) is regarded as one of the top five teams in New York and returns six top players from a team that went 20-6 and won its league.