OPINION

By Mike DeCourcy

updated 7:03 p.m. ET Nov. 7, 2006

Mike DeCourcy

What would my life be like if someone were to take two of my favorite activities and pay me to partake?

Oh, yeah. That's my current gig: traveling and watching college basketball. Hey, don't tell anyone!

I've been to nearly all of the great and near-great holiday tournaments. Yes, my idea of paradise is a seat at any huge college game, but still it's nice to have a little paradise with your paradise. We're talking college hoops in tourist towns -- a combination no less attractive than Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie.

Maui Invitational
Location: Lahaina, Hawaii, November 20-22. Maui is the ideal blend of nature and culture. I'd never go anywhere else if it weren't for the length of the flight. I've seen the Haleakala volcano at sunrise. I've played golf at Kapalua Bay. Do you think all those NBA scouts show up just to see players? In the gym, you're never more than a few rows from the action. The Lahaina Civic Center has been renovated to include air conditioning, which means fewer coaches sweating through their pants, but there still aren't quite 3,000 seats.

Fields: Always the best of any tournament. The appeal of visiting Maui and ESPN's start-to-finish coverage allow the event to pick any teams it wants. This year's field isn't shabby, with Kentucky, UCLA and Memphis leading the way. Next year's will be amazing, with Duke, LSU, Marquette, Oklahoma State and Illinois.

Cost: Extremely high. The cheapest Chicago-to-Maui ticket on Travelocity for the week in question is in the $800s, and it's not unusual to pay more than $250 a night for a Ka'anapali hotel. But it's worth every cent.

Stars (out of five): Five

NIT Season Tip-Off
Location: New York City, November 22-24. OK, best week ever: Damn Yankees with Victor Garber on Tuesday; shopping at Bloomingdale's and the NIT semifinals Wednesday; the Macy's parade, Thanksgiving dinner and Les Miserables on Thursday; NIT finals on Friday. That was a while ago, but if you haven't seen Spamalot and Avenue Q, you can enjoy your own Broadway/b-ball adventure.

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Fields: The 16-team NIT usually is designed to send four powerhouses to NYC. (Early rounds are played at regional sites.) This year could include Tennessee, Indiana, North Carolina and Gonzaga. Cost: High. Flights to the city are plentiful, but cheap hotel rooms aren't.

Stars: Four

If you can't escape the fam on Thanksgiving, New York has another holiday tournament -- the 2K Sports College Hoops Classic (November 16-17). You'll get most of what the NIT offers, but the field is slightly lower quality -- Texas, Maryland, Michigan State and St. John's are in it this year -- and, oddly enough, hotel rooms are pricier than they are the following week.

Las Vegas Invitational
Location: Las Vegas, November 24-25. If I need to explain the appeal of Vegas, you wouldn't want to go.

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Fields: Promoters usually land two heavyweights -- this year's are Florida and Kansas -- along with some high-level mid-majors. It's more of a round-robin event than a true tournament, so you know going in the big guys will meet.

Cost: Affordable. You can do Vegas however you want, from $309 for a view room at the Wynn to $77.80 for the Vagabond Inn. And ticket packages are a bargain.

Stars: Three

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