For the second consecutive year, day one of the fall Buckeye Prep Elite Showcase will include a slate of elite level all-star games. This year’s slate of games will include the inaugural Best of the Midwest Classic, featuring some of the region’s top 6
th graders. The game will include nationally ranked players such as Ohio’s
Shemar Morrow, Jack Pugh, Grant Huffman, Zeb Jackson and
Keetaan Wyatt; Indiana’s
Mike Saunders, Hunter Jackson and
Brevin Jackson; Tennessee’s
Kyrie Walker and North Carolina’s
Kahlil Brantley.
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| Jordan Mitchell |
Game two of the day will feature a 7
th grade
battle between the Buckeye State’s best and the Hoosier State’s top dogs, including
Jeremiah Francis, Jordan Mitchell and
Gerard Reynolds for Ohio, and Dexter Shouse, Keon Brooks and Simon Banks for Indiana. The 7
th grade Ohio vs Indiana contest is simply an appetizer, as the top players from the NYBL will be in Columbus to show why the NYBL was the hottest event of 2013. NYBL action will tip off with the Top 40 game at 9:15am. That game will feature nationally ranked players such as
Keyshawn Langley, Levar Allen, Shamar Florence, Michael Green, and
Terrence Williams. Ohio’s own
Chris’Seon Stringer, Chris Payne, Alfonse Hale, Justin Smith, Darius Moos Jr. will also be in the mix.
Following the Top 40 game, the top performers in the inaugural season of the NYBL will take the floor for the Top 20 game. The game features North Carolina’s Wendell Moore, the consensus #1 player in the country. Other nationally ranked players include Scottie Lewis (NJ), Chris Hinton (GA), Kobe Langley (NC), DeVion Harmon (TX), Daniel Rodriquez (NY) and many more. Also in that game are Ohio’s Jeremiah Francis, Jordan Mitchell and Gerard Mitchell, all of whom are ranked nationally. In total, 21 nationally ranked 7th graders will be featured in the NYBL Top 20 all-star game!
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| Coryan Rice |
In 2012 the Buckeye Prep Elite Showcase jumped off with a first-ever Ohio vs Michigan game; this year, the 8th grade division takes the interstate rivalry one step further, as Indiana and Kentucky roll in town with their best ballers to go head-to-head with the Ohio’s elite. Ohio will field 2 eighth grade teams which will be divided between the North and South. The Buckeye State may have split the talent, but ALL of the top 8th graders in the state are accounted for in a 3 game round robin. Ohio has Coryon Rice, Dwayne Cohill, Jerry Higgins, Kane Cooper, EJ Williams, Isaiah Speelman, Jack Cravaack, Jordan Coovert and Dane Goodwin. Make no mistake, Team Indiana is loaded with talent as well and will feature guys like Cobie Dillard, Antwan Cushingberry, Caleb Brown, Kevin Easley and Chance Coyle. Coach Lee Brones has some fire on his roster as well with Coulter Dotson, Bayley Rice, Willie B. Hill III, Kyle Rode Anthony Wales and a couple of more studs.
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| Logan Hill |
Just when you thought the competition could not get any thicker, the Buckeye Prep Elite Showcase goes international! That’s right, Canada wanted a piece of the action, and will bring down an all-star team that boasts 6’7 and 6’8 in the front court. Jahmari Bernard, Jordan Fullerton will hold down the paint, but other guys like Jaskran Samra, Devante Ashmen, Rasheed Weeks and Abuhaef Kigab will be in support for the real “team up north.” Ohio will again be divided into 2 teams (North & South), but the Buckeyes have more than enough talent to compete. Tommy Schmock, Logan hill, Kelvin Calhoun and Naz Bohannon will hold down the North squad, while Jayden Sayles, Dylan Dupler, Caden Sanchez, Keegan Seban and Matt King will represent the South team.
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| Omari Spellman |
The 10th graders will battle for intrastate bragging rights, as North vs South square off in the afternoon. The Class of 2016 will feature Brandon Peters, Anthony Christian, Derek Funderburk Jr., Omari Spellman and Tervell Beck for the North, while the South squad will go with highly ranked cats like Xavier Simpson, Seth Towns, James Manns II, Derek Daniels and Yavari Hall. For those of you who remember what went down last September, Omari Spellman rolled into the Buckeye Prep Elite Showcase as a virtual unknown, but by Sunday afternoon, he had blown up and was widely considered one of the top players in the crowed 2016 class.
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| AJ Harris |
So far, we have talked about a lot of talented players, but the 11th grade game may steal the show, as Ohio’s most elite juniors will be in the gym. The South team features the top PG in the state and recent Ohio state pledge, AJ Harris! He’s not by himself, as his supporting cast consists of Kyle Ahrens, Montel McCray, Ahmed Wagner and Xeyrius Williams, Luke Fisher. Not to be outdone, the North team has Carlton Braggs, Esa Ahmed, Kipper Nichols, Craig Randall, LaMonte Stone, Derrick Pardon and others. The top 3 point guards and the best bigs in the state will take the floor at the same time in this game.
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| Carlton Braggs |
There are a lot of events, but you have to admit, NOBODY is doing it like the Buckeye Prep Showcase! This event just keeps getting bigger every year. You may not be entered into this event, but you really need to make your way to Central Crossing High School in Columbus to check out the action first hand. If you can’t make the trip, don’t worry, as there will be almost 20 scouting services and video guys documenting the action. All I can say, I would rather be in the action than reading about it on Monday morning. Let’s do this!!!!
