TRENTON, N.J. -- Marty Johnson learned to deal with the full-court press as the point guard for St. Vincent-St. Mary High School more than 25 years ago.

With his alma mater from Akron, Ohio, in Trenton on Saturday for the Prime Time Shootout, Johnson is handling a more intense press: the one to see LeBron James.

James, expected to the top choice in the NBA draft this year, will play his first game since an Ohio judge restored his eligibility when St. Vincent-St. Mary meets Westchester of Los Angeles on Saturday night at the Sovereign Bank Arena.

''There has been interest everywhere,'' said Johnson, whose Isles Organization promotes the charitable four-day event that has drawn teams from 11 states. ''We have media from Japan and London. With LeBron, interest in this game is worldwide, and not just sports coverage.''

More than 150 media information packets have been prepared for the game, but just four days ago tournament organizers didn't know if the event would have its top attraction.

James had his eligibility taken away by Ohio scholastic officials last week for accepting two retro jerseys valued at $845 from a clothing store. The ruling came just four days after the high school association found that James' mother did nothing wrong in giving him a $50,000-plus Hummer sport utility vehicle as an 18th birthday gift.

In restoring James' eligibility, the judge ruled he would have to sit out one of the school's final four regular-season games, but school officials said he will play in Trenton.

The judge will decide Feb. 19 whether to grant a permanent order to block a state commission's ruling that the teenage superstar violated amateur rules.

On Friday, Jim Burdon, the school's lawyer and chairman of the board of trustees, said James would sit out a game on Feb. 23 "no matter what the decision the court may render.''

''We've weathered the Hummer. We've weathered the jerseys. We've weathered LeBron and New Jersey. Now we're just weathering the weather,'' Johnson said in a telephone interview from his Trenton office. ''We're having a blizzard down here.''

About 10 inches of snow fell in the New Jersey capital area Friday, but Johnson didn't foresee any problems for Saturday night.

St. Vincent-St. Mary, ranked No. 1 by USA Today, was to fly from Akron to Philadelphia on Friday. The Fighting Irish are 14-1, with the only defeat being a forfeit when James was deemed ineligible because of the free jerseys.

Westchester, ranked No. 7, was making the trip from Los Angeles on Friday.

''The spotlight isn't going to be on us,'' Westchester coach Ed Azzam told The Times of Trenton. ''I don't care for all the hype, don't enjoy all the phone calls. It's all focused on LeBron, and that's a lot for an (18-year-old) to handle.''

The game will be one of eight being played at the 8,000-seat arena Saturday. The games have been sold out for a while.

Ticket prices were between $12 and $25, but Johnson said he has seen some tickets being offered on the Internet for $75. The Trentonian newspaper reported Friday that there were rumors of court-side tickets being scalped for $2,500.

Westchester (21-2) is led by Trevor Ariza, a UCLA-bound power forward. At 6-foot-8, Ariza is the same height as James, the swingman who already is being compared to Kobe Bryant and Michael Jordan.

James had 36 points and nine rebounds in the Prime Time Shootout last year, but St. Vincent-St. Mary dropped a 72-66 decision to Oak Hill Academy and its star, Carmelo Anthony, now at Syracuse.