5 days until MaxPreps Holiday Classic: The dunkers

PALM SPRINGS, Calif. — There are five days until the MaxPreps Holiday Classic and five judges will hand out scores for the tournament's coveted slam dunk contest.

The number of judges is really not relevant. Either are their scores – for now.

Who are important are the high-flyers who will be participating. Most anticipate a finals showdown between dunking machines Malik Monk, a 6-foot-3 guard and top recruit from Bentonville (Ark.), and Harvard-Westlake (Studio City, Calif.) 6-5 freshman Cassius Stanley.

Monk has been tagged "God of Dunk," by one blogger, and Clay may just be the best freshman in the country. He looks far beyond his years. And he's a high flyer, on top of being skilled. Same goes for Monk.

If Monk or Stanley don't make the finals, which are slated for Monday Dec. 28 at Rancho Mirage, there will still be a remarkable show at the 13th annual MPHC which takes place Dec. 26-30 in beautiful Palm Springs.

Last year, then Mater Dei (Santa Ana) senior and now Notre Dame freshman Max Pflueger won the dunk contest.

Pflueger, a 6-foot-6 guard, had perfect scores in the semifinal round and added a 93 (out of 100) in two dunks during the finals.

"This is even better," Pflueger said of winning last year's competition. "This is very special to me. To come out and represent my school and come out with a victory is great."

Two friends helped in the semifinals. First, Pflueger jumped over KJ Smith and sent down an empathic one-hander. Then another classmate Pierre Aguirre sent a pass from at the top of the stands that bounced once perfectly at the rim.

Pflueger, who has a vertical jump of 34 inches from a standing start, easily jammed it down. Remarkably, Pflueger said, he and Aguirre rarely worked on it.

"We don't practice it at all," Pflueger said. "I just asked him if he could throw this pass and he said, 'yeah.' It turned out to be pretty good.. The first one was a little shaky but the second one was perfect."

His best dunk of the night came when he dribbled through his legs before wrapping the ball threw his legs, then hoisted the ball off the backboard and one-handed it home.

"I stole it from LeBron (James)," Pflueger said. "I remember last year he did that in warm-ups and it went crazy all over the Internet. And I thought: 'hey that doesn't look too hard. I think I could do that.' So I thought I'd incorporate it into the dunk."

If Stanley and Monk decide not to compete in the dunk contest, there will be plenty others likely to enter the mix. Here are 24 of the top-rated players coming to the event, according to 247Sports and other recruiting sources. 

Class of 2016

1. Malik Monk, 6-6, G, Bentonville (Ark.)/ No. 5 247Sports (Kentucky)

2. Lonzo Ball, 6-6, G, Chino Hills (Calif.) | No. 7 247Sports Composite (UCLA)

3. Schnider Herard, 6-10, C, Prestonwood Christian (Plano, Texas) | No. 43 247Sports Composite (Mississippi State)

4. Zach Collins, 6-10, F/C, Bishop Gorman (Las Vegas) | No. 64 247Sports Composite (Gonzaga)

5. Jonah Mathews, 6-2, G, Santa Monica (Calif.) | No. 78 247Sports Composite (USC)

6. Oscar Frayer, 6-6, G/F, Moreau Catholic (Hayward, Calif.) | No. 141 247Sports Composite

7. Jordan Ford, 6-0, G, Folsom (Calif.) | No. 165 247Sports Composite (St. Mary's)

8. Leland Green, 6-2, G, Redondo Union (Redondo Beach, Calif.) | No. 212 247Sports Composite

9. Travis Bianco, 6-3, G, St. Petersburg (Fla.)

10. Shacquille Dawkins, 5-9, G, Alemany (Mission Hills, Calif.)

11. Tiegen Jones, 6-1, G, Capital Christian (Sacramento, Calif.)

12. Brandon Lawrence, 6-3 G, Moreau Catholic, (Fresno State)

Class of 2017

1. James (M.J.) Walker, Jr. 6-5, G, Jonesboro (Ga.) | No. 25 247Sports Composite

2. Chuck O'Bannon Jr., 6-4, G, Bishop Gorman | No. 37 247Sports Composite

3. Jordan Poole, 6-3, G, King (Milwaukee) | No. 92 247Sports CompositE

4. LiAngelo Ball, 6-5, G, Chino Hills | No. 150 247Sports Composite (UCLA)

5. Darius Banks, 6-4, G, St. Petersburg | No. 176 247Sports Composite

6. Jalen Harris, 6-1, G, Windward (Los Angeles) | No. 187 247Sports Composite

7. Damari Milstead, 6-2, G, Moreau Catholic | No. 108 247Sports Composite

8. Aaron Nettles, 5-11, G, Seattle Prep

9. Kaden Rasheed, 6-1, G, Santa Margarita (Rancho Santa Margarita, Calif.)

10. Elizjah Scott, 6-4, G, Chino Hills

11. Collin Welp, 6-8, F, Seattle Prep

12. Ryse Williams, 6-3, G, Redondo Union

Think that list is impressive. How about this player alumni list from previous events in Palm Springs.

Kawhi Leonard (San Antonio Spurs, 2014-15 NBA Defensive Player of the Year)

Stanley Johnson (Detroit Pistons)

Aaron and Andrew Harrison (Kentucky, 2015 NBA Draft entries)

Xavier Johnson (Colorado)

Katin Reinhardt (USC)

Elijah Stewart (USC)

Jason Todd (University of Portland)

Kendall Williams (Italy Serie A2)

Isaiah Whitehead (Seton Hall)