Steve Erler | SL

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Since its inception in 1983, the Iolani Prep Classic has brought many of the nation's top high school basketball programs and players together for one of the premier tournaments in the country.

This year's tournament promises to be no exception.

The 16-team field is headlined by two of the nation's perennial powers in Findlay Prep (Henderson, Nev.) and Oak Hill (Mouth of Wilson, Va.).

Findlay Prep (13-0), under first-year coach Paul Washington, has the distinction of being the current No. 1 team in the country in MaxPreps computer rankings, while Oak Hill (13-1), behind its longtime coach Steve Smith, is ranked 20th in the same poll.

The Pilots will be making their second trip to the 50th state for the Iolani Classic. The last time they were here, they won the 2012 edition of the tournament.

"We're excited to be one of the top teams to get the invite to this tournament," said Washington, who took the job in August after coming over from Frisco, Texas, where he headed both an AAU and high school team there.

Findlay Prep, founded in 2006, is the high school basketball team of the Henderson International School, a primary and former secondary school. Although the high school closed in 2010, the school continues to support a high school basketball program.

The Pilots, who went 28-2 last year, are independent and not affiliated with any league, instead playing a national schedule filled with multiple prestigious tournaments. In their relatively short existence, they have won the National High School Invitational tournament three times.

"We've probably got the toughest schedule in the country," Washington said. "We will play eight of the top 25 teams in the country and we've already played three of them, so we're battle-tested. Hopefully this tournament will give us even more experience because we've still got a long ways to go, but we hope to be in the championship game. So far I'm pretty happy with where we're at and excited about where we're headed."

Findlay Prep senior power forward P.J. Washington — the son of the coach — is the top-ranked player in the tournament. Washington (6-8, 225 ) is No. 16 in the ESPN 100, a five-star recruit, and has signed with Kentucky. Point guard Justin Roberts, a 5-foot-11, 170-pound senior, is signed with DePaul.

Donnie Tillman (6-7, 225), Reggie Chaney (6-7, 220) and Lamine Diane (6-6, 195) and Chris Giles (6-3, 175) are other standouts for the Pilots.

"We're led by four seniors, but all five starters average double-figures," Washington said. "They're very unselfish and they enjoy playing with each other. For us, our focus is on defense; That's our biggest thing this year."

While it will be just the second Iolani Classic appearance for the Pilots, the Warriors are no stranger to the event.

In fact, of its nine previous Iolani Classic appearances, Oak Hill has won it seven times.

"We love the competition, how hard the Hawaiian teams play, the national competition and the great people of Hawaii who support and run the tournament; Everything is first class," said Smith, who has led the Warriors to nine national championships and has coached 28 McDonald's All-Americans.

Oak Hill posted a 45-1 record last year and is ranked second in the USA Today Super 25 national rankings. Its top player is Kansas-signee Billy Preston, a 6-foot-10, 230-pound power forward.

"Billy is the most skilled big man to play for us in the last 10 to 15 years," Smith said. "He can score inside and out and is our leading rebounder."

Preston and Matt Coleman are rated as the 20th and 27th top players in the ESPN 100, respectively.

"Matt is the consummate point guard," Smith said of the 6-foot-1, 174-pound point guard. "He is our most important player. He keeps everyone happy on offense by his ability to create shots for them."

Three others — Lindell Washington (6-1, 165), Ty-Shon Alexander (6-4, 190) and Devontae Shuler (6-3, 180) — are signed with Iowa State, Creighton and Ole Miss, respectively.

The Warriors also have a formidable presence in the front court with a pair of junior centers in David McCormack (6-10, 290) and Kenneth Nwuba (6-9, 220).

"We like to play an uptempo style of basketball by playing pressure defense and sharing the ball on offense," said Smith, whose team is coming off a 83-79 loss to last year's Iolani Classic champion, Sierra Canyon (Chatsworth, Calif.) in a nationally-televised game in Indiana Thursday night. "We are playing well, but hopefully getting better with every practice and game."

The loss snapped a 56-game win streak for the Warriors.

Findlay Prep opens against Mid-Pacific at 6:30 p.m. Friday, while Oak Hill will face Kapolei at 5 p.m. Saturday.

The winners advance to Monday's quarterfinal round. Tuesday's semifinals and dunk contest, along with Wednesday's championship game will be streamed live on ScoringLive.com.

Other participating teams from the mainland are Southwind (Memphis, Tenn.), Corona Del Sol (Tempe, Ariz.), Dr. Phillips (Orlando, Fla.), Mount Vernon (Mt. Vernon, N.Y.) and De La Salle (Concord, Calif.).

Local teams Waiakea, Kailua, Punahou, Kahuku, Waianae, Kaiser and host Iolani make up the rest of the field.