Photo courtesy of Position Sports/Nike.
By David Cordova
Every year, after the high school season, there is plenty of excitement for all-star games, especially the national events. The reason for that is because it is many of the nation’s best high school seniors get to play on the home court of a major venue, more often than not, the pro arena that houses an NBA team, and they get to showcase their talent in front of thousands of fans in attendance and also in front of the lens of a major network, with it possibly being ESPN.
During the month of April, one of the premier events to watch out for is none other than the Jordan Brand Classic. Since 2002, it has become one of the major all-star games to watch, as it has produced many of the best players of our time, including players that have gone on to be college stars, NBA draft picks and some have gone on to ascend on to greater heights, whether they became All-Star selections or even NBA champions.
But it’s also the chance to pay homage to one of the legendary players of all-time in the pro basketball space, Michael Jordan and also the Jordan Brand, a division of Nike, which has been responsible for producing gear that many youth, not just athletes, love to wear. Ever since the first Air Jordan shoe dropped in 1984, you can’t find anyone that doesn’t have an affinity for some J’s. It’s even better when one gets to wear the latest merchandise or even retro Jordans.
But what tops that is the opportunity to pay homage to Air Jordan, by playing in the event that bears his name, especially in the city where he was born: Brooklyn, New York.
This year, after a six-year hiatus from the borough of Brooklyn, the Classic will be back at the Barclays Center on Sunday, April 21st, with two games, such as the girls game and the boys game.
Although the event had their run at Madison Square Garden, in Midtown Manhattan from 2005 to 2010, the event has had some great moments in the borough of Brooklyn, as well.
While the event has been in Brooklyn, there have been performances from artists such as Drake, Nicki Minaj, Rick Ross, Macklemore, Ryan Lewis, Desiigner and A Boogie Wit Da Hoodie, to name a few. The musical performances from the hip-hop elite is another reason that the fans were drawn to the game, as they were also the incentive to checking out the game.
As far as the hoops is concerned, there was also some classic games, such as the 2015 game, in which Isaiah Briscoe, who now plays professionally in Greece, stole the show and showed the crowd why he was given the nickname, “Must See TV,” due to his ability to play one-on-one basketball and challenge the opposition. And there was also the most recent game in 2018, when Emmitt Williams, who also plays professionally in Nicaragua, set the all-time scoring record for points in a game with 44.
Some of the game’s MVP’s feature current NBA players such as Julius Randle (New York Knicks), Malik Monk (Sacramento Kings), De’Aaron Fox (Sacramento Kings) and Lonnie Walker (Brooklyn Nets).
There have also been All-Stars that have participated in the event at the Barclays Center, such as Karl-Anthony Towns (Minnesota Timberwolves), D’Angelo Russell (Los Angeles Lakers), Devin Booker (Phoenix Suns), Joel Embiid (Philadelphia 76ers), Jaylen Brown (Boston Celtics), Jalen Brunson (New York Knicks), Edrice “Bam” Adebayo (Miami Heat), Jaren Jackson (Memphis Grizzlies) and Trae Young (Atlanta Hawks).
On the girls side, some of the most notable players that played in the game that ended up in the WNBA were Napheesa Collier (Minnesota Lynx), Asia Durr (Atlanta Dream), Marina Mabrey (Chicago Sky), Arike Ogunbowale (Dallas Wings), Katie Lou Samuelson (Indiana Fever), Kysre Gondrezick (Chicago Sky), Sabrina Ionescu (New York Liberty), DiJonai Carrington (Connecticut Sky), Shakira Austin (Washington Mystics), Emily Engstler (Minnesota Lynx), Rhyne Howard (Atlanta Dream) and Olivia Nelson-Ododa (Connecticut Sun).
After the 2018 game, the event moved on to Las Vegas the following year and was slated to move to Chicago for the 2020 game, but then the COVID-19 pandemic went down and the game never took place. The game came back at Hope Academy in Chicago in 2022, but last year, there was no game.
Which brings us back to the present day, as the event is ready for the Barclays Center.
Another thing to note is that many of the players came up in the Nike EYBL, on both the boys and the girls side. When they become high school seniors, chances are they will have a chance to play in this prestigious event before they graduate and go on to play college basketball. But there can only be 48 players, 24 total players in both games, 12 apiece on both sides.
On the girls side, representing the tri-state area is the trio from Long Island Lutheran in Brookville, Long Island in Syla Swords, Kayleigh Heckel and Kate Koval, all of whom will be playing high-major Division I basketball next season at schools such as Michigan, USC (Southern California) and Notre Dame, respectively. From the Garden State is Central Jersey’s Mikayla Blakes, who plays her high school ball at Rutgers Prep in Somerset, and will be playing her college ball at Vanderbilt University. In South Jersey, there is Kiyomi McMiller from Life Center Academy, who will be playing for the Scarlet Knights of Rutgers University in Piscataway next season.
As far the out of towners, there is plenty of talent in the game as well, with All-Americans such as Tajianna Roberts (Louisville signee), Jaloni Cambridge (Ohio State signee), Kendall Dudley (UCLA signee), Joyce Edwards (South Carolina signee), Zamareya Jones (North Carolina State signee), Madisen McDaniel (South Carolina signee), Alivia McGill (Florida signee), Kennedy Smith (USC signee) and Kennedy Umeh (Stanford signee).
There are also three legacy players that will also be playing in the event such as Izela Arenas (Louisville signee), the daughter of former Washington Wizards great Gilbert Arenas, Mearah O’Neal (Texas signee), the daughter of NBA Hall of Famer and current TNT broadcaster, Shaquille O’Neal, and Mackenly Rudolph (Louisville signee), the daughter of two-time NBA All-Star Zach Randolph.
The ladies definitely have game. They will put that on display at 4 PM.
Then at 6 PM, there will be the main event, the boys game, the game where there will be plenty of athletic plays being done on the court. Dunks, crossovers and plays that will be bringing people out of their seat.
Representing the New York area is Johnuel “Boogie” Fland (Kentucky signee), a native of The Bronx who plays for Archbishop Stepinac High School in White Plains, New York, and V.J. Edgecombe (Baylor signee), whom also plays at Long Island Lutheran.
From Northern New Jersey is Dylan Harper (Rutgers signee) from Don Bosco Prep in Ramsey, which is located in Bergen County, who is the younger son of five-time NBA champion, Ron Harper, Sr. and also Tahaad Pettiford (Auburn signee) from Hudson Catholic in Jersey City. And lastly, there’s Billy Richmond from the legendary Camden High School down in Camden.
Just across the Ben Franklin Bridge from Camden is the city of Philadelphia, where two of the city’s finest from the Catholic League and Public League in Archbishop Wood’s Jalil Bethea (Miami [FL] signee) and Imhotep Charter’s Ahmad Nowell (UConn signee), will be repping the City of Brotherly Love in Brooklyn.
As far as the national talent from the other areas in the country, there are some great gems that will be making their first appearance on the home court of the Nets, such as Carter Bryant (Arizona signee), Isaiah Evans (Duke signee), Donavan Freeman (Syracuse signee), Tre Johnson (Texas signee), Darren Harris (Duke signee), Patrick Ngongba (Duke signee), Drake Powell (North Carolina signee), Labaron Philon (Kansas signee), Jayden Quaintance (Kentucky signee), Derrion Reid (Alabama signee), Jase Richardson (Michigan State signee) and Aidan Sherrill (Alabama signee).
And then there were several other players from the No. 1 team in the country, Montverde Academy in Montverde, Florida, just outside of Orlando, that will also be ready for action in Brooklyn. There’s Rob Wright III (Baylor signee), Derik Queen (Maryland signee), Asa Newell (Georgia signee), Liam McNeeley (undecided), and last, but certainly not least, the undisputed No. 1 player in the class, Cooper Flagg (Duke signee), who is a generational talent that is a sure lock to play in the NBA level.
Over the summer, many of the above mentioned players on both the boys and girls side got their taste of playing basketball in New York City in events such as the SLAM Summer Classic, Vol. 5 at Rucker Park in Harlem in August and the World Basketball Festival, which took place in September at Lincoln Center in the Upper West Side of Manhattan.
But two weeks from now, they will be able to play on a pro court, one that seats over 17,000 spectators. They will all do it in the name of the Jumpman. Very soon, many of these young stars will be able to play on this court and others like it across the nation, whether it is next year during the regular season or in the NCAA Tournament or as pros in the WNBA or the NBA, respectively. All we know is that it will be their chance to show and prove on the big stage.
As far as the entertainment, there will be plenty of that, as two of New York City’s esteemed streetball hosts, in David “Cha-Ching” Teele and Jaden “Mr. Talk Spicy” Edwards will be delighting the crowd during timeouts. There will also be music coming from Brooklyn’s own DJ Authorize who is known for making basketball games in the summer time feel like what you normally see in the NBA with the music and even the catchy sound effects.
And for those that can’t make it in person to see the games live & direct, you will also be able to see the action on the YouTube page of the Chicago-based League Ready, the platform responsible for the Nike Scholastic EYBL, in which many of the nation’s top high school teams, which many of the above-mentioned players that will be participating in the JBC also play for.
On Sunday, April 21st, get ready for the show that is returning to the confines of good old Brooklyn. The Jordan Brand Classic is back and it will be a motion picture worth watching.
Past highlights from the Jordan Brand Classic:
Courtesy of Hoop Mixtape.
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