Blockbuster weekend ahead with key events in Arkansas, Illinois and Kentucky.
JaJuan Johnson, Johnathan Williams III and Memphis power Southwind will get a crack at Oak Hill Academy on Saturday at the Marshall County Hoopfest.
Photo by Fred Brooks
The wait is over for hoops junkies. The first big weekend of high school basketball is here.
Events in Kentucky, Illinois and Arkansas will have a major impact on Monday's first regular season release of the Xcellent 25 and Academy Top 10 national rankings.
The Marshall County Hoopfest in Benton, Ky., will play host to 13 games Friday and Saturday. Storied
Oak Hill Academy (Mouth of Wilson, Va.), upstart
Huntington Prep (W.Va.) featuring No. 1 2013 prospect
Andrew Wiggins,
Fort Bend Travis (Richmond, Texas) and Memphis powers
Memphis East and
Southwind highlight the cast of teams headed to the event.
The Chicago Elite Classic will showcase four teams ranked in the preseason Xcellent 25 on Saturday. No. 1
Simeon (Chicago), No. 6
Lone Peak (Highland, Utah), No. 8
Whitney Young (Chicago) and No. 13
Proviso East (Maywood, Ill.) will be in action at the University of Illinois-Chicago.
The Battle of the Border features a major Arkansas vs. Tennessee showdown not to be overlooked. The Saturday event features four games at Hall High School in Little Rock, Ark.
Weekend Games to Watch* No. 1 [Academy Top 10] Huntington Prep (W.Va.) vs. Memphis East (Tenn.): Wiggins and a talented cast at Huntington Prep (5-0) will be tested against Tennessee's defending AAA state champions at the Marshall County Hoopfest. The Mustangs (2-1) are led by senior Memphis Tigers pledge
Nick King, a 6-foot-7 forward.
* No. 2 Fort Bend Travis (Richmond, Texas) vs. Ballard (Louisville, Ky.): Travis (3-0) is getting over 20 points per game from star senior twins
Aaron and
Andrew Harrison early on this season. The Tigers may need somebody else to step up big at the Hoopfest against Ballard (1-0), a leading contender for Kentucky's single-class state championship.
* No. 4 [Academy Top 10] Oak Hill Academy (Mouth of Wilson, Va.) vs. No. 9 Southwind (Memphis, Tenn.): Oak Hill Academy (8-0) has won 52 games in a row heading into the weekend. After taking on
Cliff Alexander and
Curie (Chicago) on Friday, the Warriors will face Southwind (4-0) on Saturday in Kentucky. Southwind is feeling good coming off a tournament victory at the Rumble on the Ridge in Arkansas last weekend.
* No. 6 Lone Peak (Highland, Utah) vs. No. 13 Proviso East (Maywood, Ill.): Lone Peak (1-0) opened impressively Wednesday night with a 79-59 win over
Brighton (Salt Lake City), the same team it beat for the 5A state title last season. Proviso East probably won't be ranked come Monday following a tournament loss last week, but still represents a dangerous early test for the Knights at the Chicago Elite Classic.
* No. 8 Whitney Young (Chicago) vs. DeMatha (Hyattsville, Md.): This is a "Show Me" game for Whitney Young at the Chicago Elite Classic. Youth was a more than reasonable explanation for losing 10 games a year ago. The Dolphins still have just two seniors on the roster, but 6-10 junior center
Jahlil Okafor and company could use a big win to avoid being tagged with the underachiever label.
* No. 20 White Station (Memphis, Tenn.) vs. Hall (Little Rock, Ark.): White Station (4-1) deserves credit for heading into enemy territory and playing Hall on its home floor at the Battle of the Border. Coming off a loss to rival
Ridgeway (Memphis), White Station could use a win against the
Bobby Portis-led Warriors (3-1) to stay in the national rankings conversation.
