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PORTSMOUTH, Va. -- The service was impeccable.

And by the time the final horn had sounded on the opening game of this year’s Portsmouth Invitational Tournament, Pat Calathes had served up nearly every dish on the menu.

There was the coast-to-coast driving layup; the nifty offensive rebound and putback; the back-door pass from the top of the key; the baseline floater; the straight-away 3-pointer; and the cross-court, no-look assist.

Now, if only the 6-10 senior from St. Joseph’s would occasionally sit for a meal himself ...

Marty Blake, the NBA’s Director of Scouting, swears he sat with Calathes at breakfast Wednesday morning at the Holiday Inn, though there is no actual footage. Several eye witnesses did confirm Calathes tipped the PIT scales at a sparse 206 pounds, several pounds less than Xavier’s Stanley Burrell and Davidson’s Jason Richards, a pair of 6-2 guards.

That Calathes would have his name lumped in with two guards almost stands to reason. He essentially is one, having played point guard in high school before a massive growth spurt meant he’d have to change his game somewhat.

He had it all working Wednesday night, finishing with 16 points, 10 rebounds and four assists as Tidewater Sealants defeated Holiday Inn Portsmouth, 99-81 in the opening game of the tournament.

ESPN’s Chad Ford listed Calathes as a major sleeper heading into this year’s NCAA Tournament and it’s pretty easy to see why. He’s a proficient outside shooter. He handles the ball like a guard. He’s quick enough to get his own shot. And, oh yeah, he’s 6-10.

Unfortunately, you need a telescope to locate his shoulders, and at certain angles, he resembles a cardboard cutout. That said, Calathes’ skill level and height automatically make him an intriguing prospect. He’ll certainly need to add strength to reach his potential.

He should also benefit from the old PIT adage: "Good conference rivals make good Portsmouth teammates." Joining Calathes on the Tidewater squad are Xavier’s Josh Duncan and Temple’s Mark Tyndale. From the beginning, it was clear to see all three were well versed in each other’s games, having played against each other in the Atlantic 10 for four years and on summer tour teams together.

Tidewater registered an eye-popping 29 assists, led by eight from Tyndale, who also added 11 points, eight rebounds and four blocks. Duncan finished with 14 points, seven rebounds and three assists.

Tyndale is the latest in a long line of Temple participants in the PIT who just flat out bring it. Last year, it was Dustin Salisbery. A few years back, it was David Hawkins. Tyndale was all over the floor, defending with vigor, beating players to loose balls and out-muscling taller players on the block. Unlike Calathes, Tyndale is a very sturdy 6-5, and checked in at 220. Not one of the more talked about players heading into the week, Tyndale definitely turned some heads.

Duncan was pretty much the same player you saw this season at Xavier. Steady, no frills, makes his free throws, and if you leave him open at the top of the key, he’s going to knock down shots. He’s on the perfect team this week to showcase his talent, and has a decent chance to move on to Orlando.

All eight players on Tidewater scored at least nine points, with the team shooting 53 percent for the game. That figure was helped by Texas A&M’s Joseph Jones, who finished with 15 points on 7-for-9 shooting, and Texas Tech’s Martin Zeno, who tallied 14 points on 5-for-8 shooting.

Jones, who played in Orlando last year before pulling his name out of the draft, saw his production go down this past season. Unfortunately, his weight seems to have gone up. He weighed in at 262, and was noticeably fatigued throughout Wednesday’s game. Not a good sign for a player whose game depends on energy around the basket and running the floor.

A player who showed no signs of fatigue was Mississippi State’s Charles Rhodes, who grabbed a team-high nine rebounds to go with 10 points for Holiday Inn Portsmouth. Though he had trouble getting shots to fall, Rhodes was extremely active around the basket and showed a decent combination of toughness and skill. An early entry candidate in 2007, Rhodes failed to garner an invite to Orlando. Based on Wednesday, he has a chance to make the cut this season.

In the second game of the evening, Norfolk Naval Shipyard got a combined 48 points from UMass’ Gary Forbes (26) and Virginia Tech’s Deron Washington (22) en route to a 96-88 win over Sales Systems. The pair also took a combined 37 shots.

Forbes was the more efficient of the two, shooting 10-of-18 from the field, including 4-of-7 from behind the arc. He also showed decent ball-handling skills and the ability to get to the basket. Forbes is clearly a volume scorer, needing his fair share of shots to put up numbers, as evidenced by his 40 percent shooting this past season. He’ll need to show some other things this week to endear him to NBA scouts.

Washington, who shot 7-for-19, just needs to stop shooting, period. Players often come to Portsmouth thinking they have to score to impress. Washington needs to focus on bringing energy and doing the little things that made him so valuable at Virginia Tech the past few years.

Iowa’s State’s Jiri Hubalek didn’t stop shooting either, although most of his shots were finding the bottom of the cup. A late replacement, Hubalek led Sales Systems with 27 points on 10-for-19 shooting, to go with 10 rebounds.

A native of the Czech Republic, Hubalek played on season of junior college basketball before playing his final three seasons at Iowa State. He’s not a banger, but his ability to face the basket at 6-11 and knock down shots will earn him a paycheck somewhere next year.

Though he only scored three points, Xavier’s Stanley Burrell had one of the better games of the evening, dishing out 13 assists, while committing only one turnover. Not bad for a player many feel has to be evaluated as a point guard for the next level, after playing alongside Drew Lavender the last two seasons. Burrell also brought his customary stifling defense and positive energy.