When organizers of the Roundball Classic decided four years ago to hold an all-star basketball game at Geneva College's Metheny Fieldhouse in Beaver Falls, they encountered an interesting problem: Nobody knew who they were or what the classic was.

"Now, the parents know about the game," said Allen Deep, the sales and marketing director for the contest.

Before that, Deep and his associates had to explain to players' parents and, sometimes, to players what was going on. For the most part, that's no longer the case.

	Related coverage The Roundball Classic will take place Saturday at Geneva College's Metheny Fieldhouse in Beaver Falls. The girls' game will be at 6:30 p.m. with the boys' contest at 8:30 p.m. Here are the rosters for the games: Girls' and Boys rosters

In its heyday, when it was run by basketball guru Sonny Vaccaro and played at the then Civic Arena, the Dapper Dan Roundball Classic was the game high school seniors who were hoop hotshots wanted to be invited to.

While the recent version of the Roundball Classic will never achieve that kind of national recognition, it has carved out a nice niche in Western Pennsylvania and is growing in popularity.

This year's Roundball Classic will be Saturday at Geneva College. The girls' all-star game will start at 6:30 p.m. with the boys' contest at 8:30. Tickets are $6 and teams won't have geographical designations. There will be Black and Gold squads in both contests, with the talent evenly divided.

Mike Mastroianni, who guided Bethel Park to the WPIAL Class AAAA title this year and was the Post-Gazette's Coach of the Year, and Albert Gallatin's Dan Andria will handle the boys' teams.

Chris Raso, who coached Hopewell to its second consecutive PIAA Class AAA girls' title, and New Castle's Luann Grybowski, whose Red Hurricanes won the WPIAL Class AAAA crown, will direct the girls' teams.

"It used to be difficult for us to get kids because there were some other [all-star] games and we weren't that well known," Deep said. "But the game's reputation has spread and we don't have that problem much, especially with the guys."

For example, the boys' game Saturday will feature Monessen guard Josh Arnold, who led the WPIAL in scoring and averaged 30.7 points per game; Aliquippa's Antonio Reddic, who averaged 19.7 and helped lead the Quips to the WPIAL Class AA title; Elizabeth Forward 6-foot-9 center Steve Swiech, who averaged 24.5 ppg; Albert Gallatin's Jawaan Alston, who is 6-8 and averaged 20.3 ppg; Bethel Park's Tim Picard, a 6-3 guard; Chartiers Valley guard Mike Sherry, who averaged 25.5 ppg; Serra Catholic's Marc Rozanski, a 6-4 guard who averaged 18.4 ppg; New Castle's Anthony Harvey, a 6-2 guard who averaged 17.6 ppg; and Rochester's Derek Moye, 6-5, who is headed to Penn State for football but averaged 18.6 ppg. this season.

"We've got seven [Associated Press] all-state players on the boys' side and four Division I football players," Deep said. "We don't have a slam dunk contest. Instead, we let the players show off in the pregame warmups. We think that adds to the game."

Teams were to practice last night and there will be a dinner for the players tomorrow evening at the Beaver Falls Holiday Inn. Pitt women's coach Angus Berenato will be the guest speaker and should enjoy watching both games the following night.

Her son, Joe, a 6-3 guard at Central Catholic, will participate as will two of her prize recruits -- Gateway High School's Shayla Scott, who is 6-0, and Greensburg Central Catholic guard Ashley Henderson, who is 5-10 and averaged 17.3 ppg.

"The girls' game is loaded. There are something like 15 players who are going to Division I colleges in it," Deep said.

Some of the other top girls' players are Southmoreland's Vanessa Abel, a 5-6 guard headed to West Virginia; New Castle's Jaleesa Sams, who is 5-11 and headed to North Carolina A&T; Oakland Catholic's Erica Prosser, who has signed with Lehigh; Slippery Rock's Jenice Rhoades, who has signed with Vanderbilt; Penn Hills' Taja Wilson, 6-1, who will play at Michigan State; and Hopewell's Joyce Novacek and Jordan Zuppe. Novacek, 6-2, is headed to Bucknell; Zuppe to Indiana/Purdue Fort Wayne.

Char Valley's Sherry, a 6-1 guard, is looking forward to the experience. He has yet to decide on a college and, while he has offers, he said the exposure can't hurt.

He also knows that in an all-star game, the basketball rarely comes back to a player who gives it up.

That doesn't mean he will abandon his unselfish style.

"If my shot is there, I'll take it, but I'm not going to play any differently just because it's an all-star game," he said. "I'm just going to go out and have some fun. That's what this is all about. I'm looking forward to being on the same side as guys I've gone against for a while."

Last year's boys' game attracted a crowd of about 1,000. But Deep is quick to point out Beaver Falls' Lance Jeter and Jack Anderson, and Shenango's Steve McNees were high-profile local players in the contest.