Showcase events Saturday in Portsmouth, Va., and Wheeling, W.Va., will continue to help shape the national rankings and give fans an opportunity for one-stop shopping in terms of taking in dozens of future Division I players.
Portsmouth will host the Seven Cities Roundball Classic with teams from New York, North Carolina, Pennsylvania and Nevada, in addition to Virginia.
Marcellous Bell and DeMatha are headed to the Cancer Research Classic.
Photo by Larry Lawson
The headliner of the nine-game slate is a showdown between No. 6
Findlay Prep (Henderson, Nev.) and No. 15
Norcom (Portsmouth, Va.), who is undefeated and coming off a statement-making tournament victory at the GlaxoSmithKline Holiday Invitational in Raleigh, N.C.
No. 22
Academy of the New Church (Bryn Athyn, Pa.) is also on the bill and meets North Carolina-bound
James McAdoo and
Norfolk Christian (Norfolk, Va.). The teams should be familiar with each other as both participated in the City of Palms Classic last month in Fort Myers, Fla.
Another intriguing pairing features
Lincoln (Brooklyn, N.Y.), who has emerged as New York City's top team and is beginning to show up in the national rankings, taking on a solid
Kecoughtan (Hampton, Va.) program. A win in Virginia could push the Railsplitters into our Top 25.
In just its fourth year, the Cancer Research Classic has become a national attraction and staple of the early-January schedule.
DeMatha (Hyattsville, Md.) – ranked No. 9 in this week's Xcellent 25 – is the most highly-regarded team headed to Wheeling and will take on
St. Andrew's (Barrington, R.I.). The Stags are unbeaten and riding high after a tournament victory in Oregon.
Gonzaga (Washington, D.C.)-
Christ the King (Middle Village, N.Y.) and
Rice (New York, N.Y.)-
Northland (Columbus, Ohio) are two other matchups with national implications in Wheeling.
7 Cities Roundball ClassicSaturday, Jan. 8 – Wilson High School / Portsmouth, Va.9 a.m. –
Wilson (Portsmouth, Va.) vs.
Marshall (Richmond, Va.)10:30 a.m. –
Landstown (Virginia Beach, Va.) vs.
Jefferson (Brooklyn, N.Y.)Noon –
Hampton (Va.) vs.
Forsyth Country Day (Lewisville, N.C.)1:30 p.m. –
Kecoughtan (Hampton, Va.) vs.
Lincoln (Brooklyn, N.Y.)3 p.m. –
Kellam (Virginia Beach, Va.) vs.
Westchester Country Day (High Point, N.C.)4:30 p.m. –
Phoebus (Hampton, Va.) vs.
Boys & Girls (Brooklyn, N.Y.)6 p.m. –
Booker T. Washington (Norfolk, Va.) vs.
Oak Ridge Military Academy (Oak Ridge, N.C.)7:30 p.m. – No. 22
Academy of the New Church (Bryn Athyn, Pa.) vs.
Norfolk Christian (Norfolk, Va.)9 p.m. – No. 6
Findlay Prep (Henderson, Nev.) vs. No. 15
Norcom (Portsmouth, Va.)Cancer Research ClassicSaturday, Jan. 8 – Wheeling Jesuit University / Wheeling, W.Va.12:30 p.m. –
Rice (New York, N.Y.) vs.
Northland (Columbus, Ohio)2 p.m. – No. 9
DeMatha (Hyattsville, Md.) vs.
St. Andrew's (Barrington, R.I.)3:30 p.m. –
Archbishop Carroll (Radnor, Pa.) vs.
Wheeling Park (Wheeling, W.Va.)5 p.m. –
Gonzaga (Washington, D.C.) vs.
Christ the King (Middle Village, N.Y.)6:30 p.m. –
Neumann & Goretti (Philadelphia, Pa.) vs.
Mount Vernon (N.Y.)8 p.m. –
St. Joseph's Prep (Philadelphia, Pa.) vs.
Wheeling Central Catholic (Wheeling, W.Va.)
