Greg Tacon is no stranger to the Iolani Prep Classic having coached in 13 of them over the years. Ty Nichols has yet to coach a game in the prestigious 16-team tournament that is considered by many to be one of the nation's top high school basketball fields year after year.

The two coaches will cross paths Thursday night when Tacon's Kamehameha Warriors face off with Nichols' Sierra Canyon Trailblazers in the last of four games on the opening day of the 31st edition of the tournament. Tip off is scheduled for 8 p.m. at Iolani's lower gym.

Kamehameha is making its 19th appearance in the tourney — the most of any school other than the host Raiders — and its second straight under Tacon, who in the past also brought teams from both Punahou and Moanalua when he was the coach there.

"I'm fortunate as a coach that in the fifteen years I've been a coach over here I've only missed two Iolani Classics," Tacon said. "Kamehameha is always in it every year and it's a great experience for the kids and for me. I love being a part of it and we'll have another big task ahead of us because Sierra Canyon is loaded big time."

The Trailblazers, who hail from Chatsworth, Calif. — located in the northwest corner of the San Fernando Valley in Los Angeles — bring a No. 13 national ranking into the tournament according to USA Today's Super 25. They went 26-4 en route to a Division V state championship last year.

"Everyone one of our starters from that team is coming back," said Nichols, who is 72-19 in his fourth season at the school. "Last year we started four sophomores and a junior. This year we will start four juniors and a senior."

Leading the way for Sierra Canyon is 5-foot-11 senior guard Devearl Ramsey (13.4 points per game, 3.1 rebounds per game, 4.3 assists per game last season). He is committed to the University of Nevada-Reno for next year.

Cody Riley (15.6 ppg, 9.4 rpg, 2.1 apg), a 6-foot-9 junior forward,  is rated as the 22nd best player in his class, according to ESPN, while 6-foot junior guard Remy Martin (11.4 ppg, 3.8 rpg, 3.2 apg) is ranked No. 96 by Rivals.

"We're very athletic and quick and we have some very skilled players," Nichols said, whose team is riding a five-game win streak entering the tournament.

The Trailblazers (5-1) opened the year with a one-point loss at No. 11 Moreau Catholic back on Nov. 28 in San Francisco.

"It was actually a healthy loss for us because it pointed out some areas in which we really need to shore up from a system standpoint," said Nichols, who previous served as an assistant at Liberty University in Virginia. "Even though it was hard to lose, it was a very helpful loss."

Sierra Canyon is a private, independent school with an enrollment of just 450. The lower school (kindergarten through grade six) has been open for more than three decades, while the upper schools (grades 7 through 12) have been around for "seven or eight years," Nichols said.

"Most of these guys have been playing together since the eighth grade or earlier, so even though they're young, they've played a lot of games together," Nichols said.

Ramsey is one of just two seniors on the roster and the only player current committed to a college or university, but Nichols said each of his first seven players holds at least one Division I offer.

There is no shortage of talent — or recent success — for Sierra Canyon, but Nichols said the team is focused only on the here and now.

"We kind of redefined our goal this year and we really are taking every game we play as a single goal," Nichols said. "We're not looking a week out, we're not looking two days out, we're not looking a month out. We're looking one game out and right now our focus is Kamehameha. That's who we're focused on and after that we're focused on the next team we play after that, but we're going to take it one game, one half, one possession at a time."

Tacon said the Warriors (2-3) will have their hands full with the Trailblazers.

"They're very guard-oriented, but they have bigs that are effective on the roster as well," Tacon said. "Everyone tries to zone them up and they just lob up a 3-pointer; you play man and they lob up dunks. They have a bunch of Division-I players, so for us it's just a matter of keeping the game as close as we can and maybe building some confidence from there."

The tournament gets underway with Farrington taking on Lone Peak (Highland, Utah), the No. 17 team according to USA Today, at 3:30 p.m. Leilehua plays Mount Saint Joseph (Baltimore) at 5 p.m. and Kahuku faces Martinsburgh (W.Va.) at 6:30 p.m.

The opening round continues Friday with Guang'ming (China) meeting La Lumiere (La Porte, Ind.), which is ranked No. 3 nationally, at 3:30 p.m. Reigning Division II state champion Kaiser faces The Master's Academy (Oviedo, Fla.) at 5 p.m., Iolani plays Kaimuki at 6:30 p.m. and Mid-Pacific takes on three-time tournament champion Fairfax (Los Angeles), which will be making its 15th appearance in the Iolani Classic, at 8 p.m.

The top player in the field is Lone Peak guard Frank Jackson, who is rated as the 14th-best senior in the country by ESPN and has signed with Duke.

The quarterfinals will be held Saturday before an off day Sunday. Monday's semifinals and dunk contest, as well as Tuesday's championship final will be broadcasted on ScoringLive.com.