Enchantment Classic brings together New Mexico's top prep basketball talent

After traveling throughout the region with ABC Prep over the past four years, Brandon Mason had an epiphany.

At events in places like Los Angeles, Phoenix and Las Vegas, prep schools, which focus on preparing athletes to improve their basketball skills to play at the next level, were matched against some of the top high school basketball teams in those areas. It seemed to be a valuable experience for all parties involved, and for Mason, that’s when “the light bulb went off.”

“I was like, ‘You know what, I should reach out to some high school coaches and try to do the same thing in New Mexico,’” he said. “And so I reached out to some of the coaches that I know personally that are good friends that have kids that play for our AAU program for ABC, and they thought it was a good idea as well.”

With that, the Enchantment Classic was born. The two-day event will take place on Saturday at Bosque School and on Sunday at Rio Rancho High School, pairing local high school teams against prep schools. Mason, a former collegiate standout at New Mexico State and the founder of ABC Prep, is the event organizer and will have several of his teams competing. Prep schools from Arizona (PHH National) and Texas (DaVinci) will also take part, while the high school representation will include La Cueva, Albuquerque High, Cibola, Rio Rancho and Highland.

“It’s like a scrimmage for them… The high schools get a chance to play against (a) good level of competition, and from out of state as well,” Mason said. “And then for us, we get a chance to play in front of more fans than normal because usually we just play in front of like scouts and writers and college coaches, but not a lot of fans.”

This will be different from the typical high school basketball experience. There will be a 24-second shot clock, a live DJ, free giveaways and a variety of halftime games and entertainment.

“It’ll be something new for New Mexico high school kids because they’ll have to take faster shots, but the teams that are playing in this, the kids are more than capable and I think it’s gonna be exciting,” said Mason, a former star basketball player for New Mexico State.

For coach Eric Orell and La Cueva, the Enchantment Classic represents an opportunity for the Bears to gain some valuable experience before the season begins in earnest on Nov. 25 against West Mesa.

“It’s a little different than a regular season game where we’ll break down film and have a scouting report,” Orell said. “I don’t know a lot about the teams that we’re gonna play. We obviously know about ABC Prep and some of their players individually, but it’s a time for us to go play hard and compete (to) see where we’re at.”

La Cueva is involved in perhaps the most buzzworthy game on the docket when it faces ABC Prep National on Saturday at 6:30 p.m. In that matchup, Drew Bramlett, the son of former Arizona Wildcat A.J. Bramlett, will go head-to-head against three of Mason’s sons — Brandon Jr., B’Angelo and Carmelo — in something of a legacy game. According to Orell, La Cueva will be shorthanded this weekend, as several players will be traveling to Las Cruces for the football team’s Class 6A quarterfinal playoff game against Centennial.

“I think It’s gonna be a good time for all involved to kind of see those kids of some New Mexico guys,” Orell said. “I think it’s gonna be fun.”

There are no entry fees for the participating teams, Mason says, and the main goal is to put the spotlight on the athletes who might not always have that level of exposure.

“I want to make this more about the high school kids than normal just because I think it’s a great opportunity for them to be on the circuit networks before their season starts and see if they can create some buzz before they start,” Mason said. “I think it works all hand-in-hand together.”

Mason has designs on making the Enchantment Classic an annual event, opening it up to more teams in the future. For the debut, though, Mason believes the size is just where it needs to be.

“I just wanted to make it small and fun,” he said. “It’s gonna be competitive, but at the same time, it’s not gonna be like fierce, going at each other like that — but I think it’ll be good for all sides.”