Annually the premier holiday event in high school basketball, the City of Palms Classic announced its 2022 field earlier this week. The 49th annual event will take place Dec. 16-21 at Suncoast Credit Union Arena at Florida SouthWestern State College in Fort Myers, Fla.
Since 2000, 50 former participants have gone on to become top 10 picks in the NBA Draft, including
LaMelo Ball,
Jayson Tatum and
Joel Embiid.
Here's a look at the participants across three separate brackets:
16-team tournament field:
Archbishop Stepinac (White Plains, N.Y.),
Canterbury (Fort Myers, Fla.),
Centennial (Corona, Calif.),
Charlotte (Punta Gorda, Fla.),
Columbus (Miami, Fla.),
Imhotep Charter (Philadelphia, Pa.),
Newman (New Orleans, La.),
Lake Highlands (Dallas, Texas),
Myers Park (Charlotte, N.C.),
Newton (Covington, Ga.),
North Laurel (London, Ky.),
St. Paul VI (Chantilly, Va.),
Tampa Catholic (Tampa, Fla.),
Vashon (St. Louis, Mo.),
Wheeler (Marietta, Ga.),
Winter Haven (Winter Haven, Fla.) Signature Series: Donda Academy (Los Angeles),
Link Academy (Branson, Mo.),
St. Frances Academy (Baltimore, Md.),
The Rock (Gainesville, Fla.)Sunshine Series:
IMG Academy Blue (Bradenton, Fla.),
Providence School (Jacksonville, Fla.),
The Villages Charter (The Villages, Fla.),
Westminster Academy (Fort Lauderdale, Fla.)
Senior point guard Isaiah Collier of Wheeler (Marietta, Ga.) is the No. 9 player in the Class of 2023.
Photo: Ed Turlington
Defending City of Palms champion
Montverde Academy (Montverde, Fla.) is not in the field, but the 16-team main bracket is loaded and will showcase teams from 11 states.
Five teams from the way-too-early MaxPreps Top 25 for 2022-23 were announced as part of the field, including No. 2 Centennial and Duke commit
Jared McCain.
Columbus is No. 9 and was led by
MaxPreps National Freshman of the Year Cameron Boozer and twin brother
Cayden, who earned a spot on the Freshman All-America Team. The sons of two-time NBA All-Star Carlos Boozer led the Explorers to a state championship in Florida's highest classification in 2021-22.
Other teams included in the way-too-early MaxPreps Top 25 are No. 5 St. Paul VI, No. 6 Imhotep Charter and No. 21 Archbishop Stepinac.
Coached by Dorell Wright, Kanye West's school Donda Academy will make its debut in Fort Myers, participating in the Signature Series.
Top 10 prospects expected to participate include
Justin Edwards of Imhotep Charter,
Isaiah Collier of Wheeler,
Robert Dillingham of Donda Academy,
Elliot Cadeau of Link Academy,
Tre Johnson of Lake Highlands,
Bryson Tucker from IMG Academy Blue and Tampa Catholic's
Karter Knox, whose brother
Kevin Knox played in the Classic before moving on to Kentucky and the the NBA.
Another top 10 prospect — from the football side — is
Arch Manning, who is expected to suit up for Newman after winning a Louisiana state basketball championship last year.
