Fourth 'Real Deal on the Hill' Brings Prep Stars, 270 Teams to NWA

Michael Pirnique Coach Bill Ingram shows off the state every year during the Real Deal on the Hill tournament.

(To see some of the players coming to the "Real Deal on the Hill" tournament, click here.) 

About five years ago, Bill Ingram was hoping his connections nationally in Amateur Athletic Union basketball would help bring some prominent programs to a fledgling tournament in Fayetteville.

Now, with the Real Deal on the Hill having grown in four years to maxing out all available courts in the region with 270 teams, he's just hoping the coaches of the 186 teams on the tourney's waiting list have some understanding.

"It's taken on a life of its own," Ingram said.

More than 3,000 boys and girls - mostly boys, since only 20 of the teams are girls teams - plus their coaches and families, along with some of the biggest coaching names in NCAA college basketball, will converge on northwest Arkansas the weekend of April 18-20 for the fourth Real Deal. The tournament will span 37 basketball courts from Fayetteville to Bentonville, but Ingram says that fans wanting to check out the can't-miss stars in the 17-year-old division should plan on spending their weekend at Bud Walton Arena on the University of Arkansas campus.

Unless you're a recruiting nut who follows this stuff, the following names may not mean much now. But a year or two from now, you're likely to have seen them competing in the NCAA Tournament and likely will hear their names called in the NBA Draft.

Derrick Favors. Lance Stephenson. Kenny Boynton. Demarcus Cousins. Clarence Trent.

There are dozens more, all hoping after April 20 their names become household words with the likes of North Carolina coach Roy Williams, Tennessee coach Bruce Pearl, UCLA coach Ben Howland and other NCAA coaches and talent scouts.

Maybe they'll be as talked about as some of the Real Deal alumni, such as this year's biggest college name, Michael Beasley, a Kansas State freshman and the Big 12 player of the year. Greg Oden, last year's first pick in the NBA Draft by Portland, and his Ohio State teammate, Mike Conley Jr., now with Memphis Grizzlies, played here. Former Texas star Kevin Durant, last year's NBA second pick by Seattle, was here. Stanford's sophomore duo of Brook and Robin Lopez also played here.