By Danny Wild
MaxPreps.com
NEW YORK -- When Michael Jordan comes out to watch a high school basketball game, you know you're about to see something special.
But Jordan didn't just show up for a game on Saturday. The legendary NBA All-Star hosted his annual All-American showcase event, the 2008 Jordan Brand Classic at Madison Square Garden, broadcast nationally on ESPN2.
The best of the best high school talent in America, all in the world's most famous arena, boxed in by a list of celebrities, NBA players and a parade of media -- you can imagine how quickly the fans forgot that these were, indeed, high school students on the court.
Check out photos from the Jordan Brand Classic All-American game!
Arizona-bound Brandon Jennings (Oak Hill Academy/Los Angeles, Calif.) absolutely dazzled on the Garden floor, breaking the event record with 14 assists en route to earning co-MVP honors with Tyreke Evans, (American Christian/Aston, Pa./Memphis) who had 23 points, seven rebounds and four assists.
Jennings was spectacular to watch even in the pre-game warmups, reeling off highlight-reel dunks for fans. The senior finished with 10 points and 14 assists to lead the "visiting" Blue Jerseys to the 124-114 victory over the White Jerseys.
"Since the old [assists] record was only 10, and I had five in the first half, I knew I was going to break that," Jennings told USA Today.
"Michael Jordan was speaking before the game," Jennings said. "He told us to play hard, play defense and compete, and that's what we did."
Neither team really focused much on defense, though. With two rosters brimming with talent, there was no holding back in this match-up. Besides, no one came to see the defense.
People did come, however, to see Jordan. The former Chicago Bulls star quietly made his entrance a few minutes before the third and final game began. Dressed in a black leather jacket and surrounded by MSG security, Jordan took his usual seat about 10 rows back from the court. NBA players Kevin Durant, who was MVP of the Jordan event in 2006, Vince Carter and Rudy Gay also took in the action. Carter, an annual attendee, sat in Spike Lee's usual seat courtside beside former Bull Ron Harper.
Hip hop producer Irv Gotti and artists Jadakiss and Maya sat first row, while Boyz II Men performed the National Anthem. Interscope rapper Wale took center court at the half.
Of course, there was the game, a high-scoring slugfest of dunks, crowd-pleasing moves and fast-paced action.
Scotty Hopson (Hopkinsville, Ky./Tennessee) led the Blue squad with 21 points in 18 minutes. Demar DeRozan (Compton, Calif./USC) was 7-of-10 from the floor and finished with 17 points, while William Buford (Toledo, Ohio/Ohio State), Wesley Witherspoon (Lilburn, Ga./Undecided) and Greg Monroe (Harvey, La./Georgetown) each added 13 points.
B.J. Mullens (Canal Winchester, Ohio/Ohio State) had 12 points and three rebounds in the win for the Blue team, which, somehow, scored 71 points in 20 minutes. Not a typo.
Evans led the White team with 23 points, while Devin Ebanks (Oakdale, Conn./Undecided) added 20. Local big man Samardo Samuels (Newark, N.J./Louisville) had a few trademark dunks and finished wirth 13 points and five rebounds in 22 minutes, while Al-Farouq Aminu (Norcross, Ga./Wake Forest) tallied 13 points and a game-high 12 boards.
UConn-bound Kemba Walker, perhaps the top player in New York City for Rice, finished with 11 points, five rebounds and two assists on his home court. Kemba dazzled months ealier at the Garden in the Nike Super 6.
The Jordan rosters included nine of the 10 players who played in the Nike Hoop Summit, and 18 players who played in the McDonald’s All-American Game. More than a few of the former Jordan Brand attendees have gone on to NBA careers, most notably 2003 MVP LeBron James.
Recent Jordan Brand Classic MVPs have included Donte Greene (Syracuse) and Corey Fisher (Villanova) in 2007, Kevin Durant (Seattle Sonics) and Thaddeus Young (Philadelphia Sixers) in 2006, Tyler Hansbrough (North Carolina) and Andray Blatche (Washington Wizards) in 2005, Dwight Howard (Orlando Magic) in 2004, LeBron James (Cleveland Cavaliers) and Shannon Brown (Chicago Bulls) in 2003, and Amaré Stoudemire (Phoenix Suns) and Sean May (Charlotte Bobcats) in 2002.
Suburban Squad Holds off NYC in Regional Game
In the second game of the event, the NY/NJ Regional Game, the Suburban All-Stars defeated the City All-Stars, 129-127. The 'Burbs were led by co-MVP Marcus Morris (Apex Academy/Pennsauken, N.J./Kansas), who had 20 points. Co-MVP Ryan Pearson (Christ the King/Middle Village, N.Y./George Mason) led all scorers with 36 points and 15 rebounds.
View photos from the Jordan Brand regional game.
Morris' twin brother, the also Kansas-bound Markieff Morris, added 16 points and six rebounds in the win. West Virginia-bound Kevin Jones (Mt. Vernon) and Seton Hall commit Jordan Theodore had 15 points, while Jarret Mann (Blair Academy/Standford) and Travon Woodall (St. Anthony/Pittsburgh) added 13.
Erving Walker (Christ the King/Florida) and Patrick Jackson (Boys & Girls/Rutgers) each scored 20 points for the city squad, which actually out-scored the suburban team 70-60 in the second half. Providence-bound Bilal Dixon had 12 points, Rice senior Chris Fouch (Drexel) finished with 11, and Holy Cross star Blaise Ffrench knocked down 10 points and grabbed seven rebounds.
The evening began with the inaugural International game, led by Enes Kanter (Turkey) with 22 points and 17 rebounds. Check out photos from the international game.
Danny Wild is a writer and photographer for MaxPreps and can be reached at danny@danny-wild.com
