HOOP IT UP: There have been exhibitions,...

HOOP IT UP: There have been exhibitions, but local basketball begins in earnest in December for colleges and high schools. (The O.C. Times’ special prep basketball previews begin today on C24.) There will be nearly 20 prep holiday tournaments, but eight county teams will travel extensively. . . . Mater Dei, the county’s top-ranked team, heads to Raleigh, N.C., Capistrano Valley to both Florida and Nebraska, and Los Alamitos to Maui. . . . Mater Dei knows the perils of playing national powers outside the county. The Monarchs, then ranked No. 21 nationally, met No. 9 Oak Hill (Va.) Academy last New Year’s Eve. The result: a 19-point loss, one of only two the Monarchs suffered last season.