High school basketball: Montverde Academy, Long Island Lutheran and Paul VI are among headliners for 50th annual City of Palms Classic

The City of Palms Classic tips off Monday, Dec. 18 and runs through Saturday, Dec. 23 at the Suncoast Credit Union Arena on the campus of Florida SouthWestern State College.

The 50th annual event offers everything a high school basketball fan could want. The field features 17 of the top 100 teams in the country, including the top team in both the MaxPreps Top 25 and National Top 10, and showcases 28 top 30 prospect.

The world's tallest teenager will also be in the building for the second consecutive season as 7-foot-6 Florida commit Olivier Rioux of IMG Academy (Bradenton, Fla.) stands out in a crowd.

Also, 13 sons of current and former NBA players will be competing in the event with Dylan Harper of Don Bosco Prep (Ramsey, N.J.), Cameron Boozer of Columbus (Miami, Fla.) and Kiyan Anthony of Long Island Lutheran (Brookville, N.Y.) among the most notable names.

The 16-team Traditional Bracket features 10 nationally-ranked teams within the MaxPreps Top 25 and National Top 10. 

No. 1 Paul VI (Chantilly, Va.), No. 4 Don Bosco Prep (Ramsey, N.J.), No. 5 Archbishop Stepinac (White Plains, N.Y.), No. 6 Columbus (Miami, Fla.), No. 16 North Mecklenburg (Huntersville, N.C.) and No. 22 McEachern (Powder Springs, Ga.) represent the MaxPreps Top 25 while No. 1 Montverde Academy (Montverde, Fla.), No. 2 Long Island Lutheran (Brookville, N.Y.), No. 4 Link Academy (Branson, Mo.) and No. 8 IMG Academy (Bradenton, Fla.) join from the National Top 10. Teams ranked within the top 100 nationally in the 16-team field include No. 29 Westminster Academy (Fort Lauderdale, Fla.), No. 30 Millennium (Goodyear, Ariz.) and No. 79 Archbishop Ryan (Philadelphia, Pa.). Cannon (Concord, N.C.), Mariner (Cape Coral, Fla.) and Richmond Heights (Ohio) round out the main bracket.

All four quarterfinal matchups will be streamed via the LeagueReady YouTube channel. Both semifinal contests on Friday, Dec. 22 and the third-place game along with championship game on Dec. 23 will be live streamed on ESPNU. Numerous games will also be streamed throughout the week on NBATV, the NBA app and BallerTV.

The four-team Signature Series features top 100 programs No. 50 Lexington (S.C.) and No. 57 Lyon County (Eddyville, Ky.) along with Buckhorn (New Market, Ala.) and Charlotte (Punta Gorda, Fla.).

The four-team Sunshine Series is composed of top 100 programs No. 43 Mater Dei (Santa Ana, Calif.) and No. 74 Riviera Prep (Miami, Fla.) joined by Victory Christian Academy (Lakeland, Fla.) and Windermere Prep (Windermere, Fla.).

Along with highly-regarded teams, the individual talent is also overwhelming as 10 top 10 prospects across the Classes of 2024 through 2026 are competing in the event headlined by top-ranked senior prospect Cooper Flagg of Montverde Academy. Read on for a full list of top 30 prospects competing in the event this season. See the official site for the full schedule.

Cooper Flagg, Montverde Academy (No. 1 according to 247Sports, Duke signee)

Dylan Harper, Don Bosco Prep (No. 2, Rutgers commit)

Ace Bailey, McEachern (No. 3, Rutgers signee)

Tre Johnson, Link Academy (No. 5, Texas signee)

V.J. Edgecombe, Long Island Lutheran (No. 6, Uncommitted)

Isaiah Evans, North Mecklenburg (No. 11, Duke signee)

Derik Queen, Montverde Academy (No. 12, Uncommitted)

Asa Newell, Montverde Academy (No. 13, Georgia signee)

Liam McNeeley, Montverde Academy (No. 15, Indiana signee)

Patrick Ngongba, Paul VI (No. 20, Duke signee)

Labaron Philon, Link Academy (No. 27, Kansas signee)

Donnie Freeman, IMG Academy (No. 28, Syracuse signee)

Khani Rooths, IMG Academy (No. 29, Michigan commit)

Cameron Boozer, Columbus (No. 2, Uncommitted)

Darius Acuff, IMG Academy (No. 8, Uncommitted)

Jasper Johnson, Link Academy (No. 10, Uncommitted)

Cayden Boozer, Columbus (No. 18, Uncommitted)

Dorian Jones, Richmond Heights (No. 29, Uncommitted)

Caleb Holt, Buckhorn (No. 3, Uncommitted)

Caleb Gaskins, Montverde Academy (No. 5, Uncommitted)

Alex Constanza, Westminster Academy (No. 11, Uncommitted)

Cameron Holmes, Millennium (No. 12, Uncommitted)

Dylan Mingo, Long Island Lutheran (No. 13, Uncommitted)

Jaxon Richardson, Columbus (No. 14, Uncommitted)

Jordan Smith, Paul VI (No. 20, Uncommitted)

Kayden Allen, Montverde Academy (No. 22, Uncommitted)

Brandon Bass Jr., Windermere Prep (No. 25, Uncommitted)

Sinan Huan, Windermere Prep (No. 29, Uncommitted)