The field for Dick's Sporting Goods High School National Tournament was announced Tuesday night, making a trip to New York City official for eight of the nation's top high school basketball teams.
The event will be held April 3-5 with the first two rounds played at Christ the King High School in Middle Village and the final at Madison Square Garden in Midtown Manhattan.
Headed to the Big Apple are No. 2
Montverde Academy (Fla.), No. 3
Rainier Beach (Seattle), No. 4
Sagemont (Weston, Fla.), No. 5
Northside Christian Academy (Charlotte, N.C.), No. 7
La Lumiere (LaPorte, Ind.), No. 10
Oak Hill Academy (Mouth of Wilson, Va.), No. 11
Huntington St. Joseph Prep (W.Va.) and No. 14
Findlay Prep (Henderson, Nev.).
It may be the strongest postseason tournament field in high school basketball history. The combined record of the eight invitees is 238-14. Four teams enter harboring legitimate national title hopes, including defending champion Montverde Academy.
In addition to Montverde's 2013 title run, past champions at the event include Findlay Prep (2009, 2010 and 2012) and Montrose Christian (2011).
First Round – April 3 at Christ the King (Middle Village, N.Y.)Montverde Academy vs. Sagemont
Huntington St. Joseph vs. La Lumiere
Northside Christian Academy vs. Oak Hill Academy
Rainier Beach vs. Findlay Prep
Dick's Nationals Team Profiles
Montverde Academy (Montverde, Fla.)Record: 25-0
MaxPreps Xcellent 25 ranking: 2
Signature wins: No. 5 Northside Christian Academy, No. 16 Paul VI (Fairfax, Va.), Lincoln (Brooklyn, N.Y.), Providence (Jacksonville, Fla.), Roselle Catholic (Roselle, N.J.), St. Joseph (Metuchen, N.J.), Tift County (Tift, Ga.), Wheeler (Marietta, Ga.), White Station (Memphis, Tenn.)
Tournament titles: City of Palms Classic, Wild Wings Café National Classic, Bass Pro Shops Tournament of Champions, Montverde Academy Invitational
Players to watch: Justin Bibbs (6-4, Sr., G/Virginia Tech),
Brendan Boyle (6-2, Sr., G),
Jordan Caroline (6-6, Sr., F/Southern Illinois),
Chris Egi (6-8, Sr., F/Harvard),
Makinde London (6-8, Sr., F/Xavier),
Jalyn Patterson (5-11, Sr., G/LSU),
D'Angelo Russell (6-4, Sr., G/Ohio State signee),
Ben Simmons (6-8, Jr., F/LSU)
Dick's Nationals history: Fifth appearance. Montverde is the defending champion in the event and was runner-up in 2010 and 2012.
Rainier Beach (Seattle)Record: 29-0
MaxPreps Xcellent 25 ranking: 3
Signature wins: No. 12 Whitney Young (Chicago), No. 13 Bishop Gorman (Las Vegas), Bishop O'Connell (Arlington, Va.), Jefferson (Portland, Ore.)
Tournament titles: Les Schwab Invitational, WIAA Class 3A state tournament
Players to watch: Shaqquan Aaron (6-7, Sr., G/Louisville),
David Crisp (6-0, Sr., G/Washington),
Elijah Foster (6-6, Sr., F),
De'Jounte Murray (6-5, Jr., G),
Dujaun Piper (6-6, Sr., F)
Dick's Nationals history: First appearance. The Vikings were granted a waiver by Washington's governing body and will be the first team from the Pacific Northwest to participate.
Sagemont (Weston, Fla.)Record: 33-0
MaxPreps Xcellent 25 ranking: 4
Signature wins: Bentonville (Ark.), Norland (Miami), Oak Ridge (Orlando, Fla.), Providence (Jacksonville, Fla.)
Tournament titles: Hawk Kreul Classic Power96 Elite Challenge, Neosho Holiday Classic, FHSAA Class 3A state tournament
Players to watch: Prince Ali (6-4, Jr., G/Connecticut),
Lance Crawford (5-11, Sr., G/UMass-Lowell),
Gyorgy Goloman (6-10, Sr., C/UCLA),
Joe Kirby (6-0, Sr., G/Richmond)
Dick's Nationals history: First appearance. The Florida High School Athletic Association grants members permission to participate in the event.
Photo courtesy of Northside Christian Academy
28-1
MaxPreps Xcellent 25 ranking: 5
Signature wins: Arlington Country Day (Jacksonville, Fla.), Denver East (Colo.), Lincoln (Brooklyn, N.Y.)
Tournament titles: NCISAA Class 2A state tournament
Players to watch: James Demery (6-4, Sr., G/St. Joseph's),
DeSean Murray (6-5, Sr., F/Presbyterian),
Keyshawn Woods (6-3, Sr., G/Charlotte)
Dick's Nationals history: First appearance.
La Lumiere (LaPorte, Ind.)Record: 23-2
MaxPreps Xcellent 25 ranking: 7
Signature wins: Our Savior New American (Centereach, N.Y.), Prime Prep (Dallas)
Tournament titles: Laker Invitational
Players to watch: Jalen Coleman (6-3, Jr., G),
Sam Logwood (6-6, Sr., F/Auburn),
Alex Olesinski (6-8, Jr., F),
Joseph Toye (6-7, Jr., G-F),
Munis Tutu (6-0, Jr., G)
Dick's Nationals history: Third appearance. La Lumiere has been knocked out in the first round each of the past two seasons.
Oak Hill Academy (Mouth of Wilson, Va.)Record: 39-3
MaxPreps Xcellent 25 ranking: 10
Signature wins: No. 13 Bishop Gorman (Las Vegas), Archbishop Carroll (Radnor, Pa.), Hamilton (Memphis, Tenn.)
Tournament titles: Chick-fil-A Classic
Players to watch: Rokas Gustys (6-8, Sr., F),
Caleb Martin (6-6, Sr., G-F/North Carolina State),
Cody Martin (6-6, Sr., G-F/North Carolina State),
Shelton Mitchell (6-3, Sr., G/Wake Forest),
Terrence Phillips (5-11, Jr., G),
B.J. Stith (6-6, Sr., G/Virginia)
Dick's Nationals history: Fifth appearance. The Warriors reached the finals of the 2009 and 2011 tourneys.
Huntington St. Joseph Prep (Huntington, W.Va.)Record: 27-4
MaxPreps Xcellent 25 ranking: 11
Signature wins: Our Savior New American (Centereach, N.Y.), Prime Prep (Dallas)
Tournament titles: None
Players to watch: Miles Bridges (6-6, So., F),
Thomas Bryant (6-9, Jr., F),
Montaque Gill-Ceasar (6-7, Jr., F),
Jalen Lindsey (6-7, Sr., F/Providence),
JaQuan Lyle (6-5, Sr., G),
Josh Perkins (6-3, Sr., G/Gonzaga)
Dick's Nationals history: The Irish could have been strong candidates in 2012 and 2013 but red tape prevented them from participating.
Findlay Prep (Henderson, Nev.)Record: 30-4
MaxPreps Xcellent 25 ranking: 14
Signature wins: No. 9 Corona del Sol (Tempe, Ariz.), De La Salle (Minneapolis, Minn.)
Tournament titles: None
Players to watch: Dillon Brooks (6-6, Jr., F),
Justin Jackson (6-8, So., F),
Kelly Oubre (6-6, Sr., G/Kansas),
Horace Spencer (6-8, Jr., F),
Derryck Thornton Jr. (6-1, So., G),
Rashad Vaughn (6-6, Sr., G/UNLV),
Craig Victor (6-7, Sr., F/Arizona)
Dick's Nationals history: Sixth appearance. The Pilots are the event's most decorated participant, winning titles in 2009, 2010 and 2012. Findlay Prep entered last year's tournament unbeaten but fell in the semifinals.
