LAHAINA » Chaminade’s Eric Bovaird took a moment to look around at his counterparts in the 2015 Maui Jim Maui Invitational field.

Bovaird allowed himself a smile Sunday amid a who’s who of hoops legends-turned-coaches.

"It’s awesome. I remember watching some of these guys growing up," Bovaird said. "Chris Mullin, I was a huge fan. Steve Alford, Danny Manning. I think we can put together a starting five from this group that would probably be able to compete in this tournament."

Chaminade, the little school that could, finds itself betwixt giants yet again in one of the strongest early-season tournaments in the country. The host Silverswords face elite Kansas in the Maui first round today, while ranked teams Indiana and Vanderbilt also decided to drop by the Valley Isle. The eight-team field is rounded out by UCLA, UNLV, St. John’s and Wake Forest, for a combined pedigree of 20 national championships. Four of the programs — UCLA, Indiana, Kansas and St. John’s — rank in the top 10 winningest programs in Division I history.

If a coaches’ game or free-throw contest broke out — and the latter did Sunday — it was sure to get competitive. Alford, UCLA’s coach and at one point Indiana’s career scoring leader, swished his three attempts to win it teamed up with a youth from Maui.

Alford is one of four coaches in the field whose alma mater is also present. Two of them — UNLV’s Dave Rice and Mullin of St. John’s — are coaching their own. Wake Forest coach Manning was a Kansas legend and played in the Maui Invitational.

"I’ve always said it’s exciting to be a part of college basketball when you can do it (coach) at your alma mater, it takes on extra special significance," Rice said.

Mullin and Alford won gold medals together at the 1984 Olympics. Mullin would go on to become a five-time NBA All-Star and play for the 1992 Dream Team. He is now a rookie college coach.

"I’ve been here several times," Mullin said. "It’s nice to see the kids experience it for the first time. A lot of our guys have never been to Hawaii. … It’s a real life experience."

It’s possible Alford and Manning could meet their old schools on the third day of competition Wednesday at the Lahaina Civic Center. Alford and Indiana won the 1987 national championship under Bobby Knight. Manning and Kansas took it in 1988.

Indiana’s traveling fan contingent is among the largest here, along with Kansas. That was not lost on Alford, who has received warm greetings. He noted his old team trainer is still with the Hoosiers, along with several other familiar faces.

He’s hoping he won’t cross paths with his old school, now led by Tom Crean.

"I follow them with great interest all the time. That’s not a fun matchup, because you never like competing against a team that you played for," Alford said.

Manning wasn’t sweating it.

"It is great, from the standpoint that we’re on different sides of the bracket," he said. "Selfishly for me, my son (Evan) plays for Kansas. So my wife is here and my daughter came over. We get to spend Thanksgiving together. So it’s all good for us."

Some players to watch this year include:

» Kansas forward Perry Ellis (18.5 points per game), an All-American candidate

» Indiana guard Kevin Yogi Ferrell, a triple-double threat (16.7 points, 7.3 rebounds and 7.0 assists per game)

» Vanderbilt guard Damian Jones (11.7 ppg) is on several watch lists, including the Wooden Award

» UCLA forward Tony Parker (16.7 ppg, 16.0 rpg) leads the nation in rebounding

» UNLV forward Derrick Jones Jr. threw down a vicious dunk-of-the-year nomination last week

Past winners in this Maui field are UCLA (2006), Indiana (2002), Kansas (1996) and Vanderbilt (1986). For St. John’s and Wake Forest, it is their first appearance. UNLV last appeared in 2000.