Adam Zagoria covers basketball at all levels. He is the author of two books and an award-winning journalist whose articles have appeared in ESPN The Magazine, SLAM, Sheridan Hoops, Sports Illustrated, Basketball Times and in newspapers nationwide.
Field Set for Dick’s Sporting Goods National High School Tournament; No New York or New Jersey Teams Invited
Coach Kevin Boyle and defending champion Montverde (Fla.) Academy lead the eight-team field for the DICK’S Sporting Goods High School National Tournament to be played April 3-5 in New York City.
Boyle’s club — led by Ohio State commit D’Angelo Russell and LSU-bound Ben Simmons — won’t have played since a Feb. 19 victory over Kentucky signee Karl-Anthony Towns in Boyle’s home state of New Jersey.
The first two days of the event will be played at Christ the King, with the final set for April 5 at Madison Square Garden.
Seven of the top eight teams in the USA Today Super 25 poll are in the event — but none with New York or New Jersey ties. The governing bodies of both states do not allow their teams to compete in the event.
The list includes: No. 1 Montverde (Fla.) Academy; No. 3 Rainier Beach (Seattle); No. 4 Northside Christian Academy (Charlotte); No. 5 Huntington-St. Joseph Prep (Huntington, W.Va.); No. 6 La Lumiere, La Porte, Ind.; No. 7 Oak Hill Academy (Mouth of Wilson, Va.); No. 8 Findlay College Prep, Henderson, Nev.; and No. 18 The Sagemont School (Weston, Fla.).
No. 9 Our Savior New American on Long Island was considered but was bypassed for The Sagemont School because it was one of only five unbeaten teams in the Super 25, according to USA Today.
“The selection process became more difficult because of the quality of the field,” tournament organizer Rashid Ghazi told USA Today. “It’s the strongest field we’ve ever had for this tournament or any high school tournament I’ve been involved in.”
Here are the matchups for the first-round games: top-seed Montverde will face eighth-seed Sagemont; second-seeded Rainier Beach will play seventh-seed Findlay; third-seeded Northside Christian will play sixth-seeded Oak Hill; and fourth-seeded Huntington-St. Joseph will play fifth-seeded La Lumiere.
A year ago, Montverde beat St. Benedict’s Prep in the final at Georgetown Prep.
Adam Zagoria is a Basketball Insider who covers basketball at all levels. A contributor to The New York Times and SportsNet New York (SNY), he is also the author of two books and is an award-winning journalist and filmmaker. His articles have appeared in ESPN The Magazine, SLAM, Sheridan Hoops, Basketball Times and in newspapers nationwide. He also won an Emmy award for his work on the SNY mini-documentary on Syracuse guard Tyus Battle.
A veteran Ultimate Frisbee player, he has competed in numerous National and World Championships and, perhaps more importantly, his teams won the Westchester Summer League (WSL) championships in 2011 and 2013.
He lives in Manhattan with his wife and children.
Coach Kevin Boyle and defending champion Montverde (Fla.) Academy lead the eight-team field for the DICK’S Sporting Goods High School National Tournament to be played April 3-5 in New York City.
Boyle’s club — led by Ohio State commit D’Angelo Russell and LSU-bound Ben Simmons — won’t have played since a Feb. 19 victory over Kentucky signee Karl-Anthony Towns in Boyle’s home state of New Jersey.
The first two days of the event will be played at Christ the King, with the final set for April 5 at Madison Square Garden.
Seven of the top eight teams in the USA Today Super 25 poll are in the event — but none with New York or New Jersey ties. The governing bodies of both states do not allow their teams to compete in the event.
The list includes: No. 1 Montverde (Fla.) Academy; No. 3 Rainier Beach (Seattle); No. 4 Northside Christian Academy (Charlotte); No. 5 Huntington-St. Joseph Prep (Huntington, W.Va.); No. 6 La Lumiere, La Porte, Ind.; No. 7 Oak Hill Academy (Mouth of Wilson, Va.); No. 8 Findlay College Prep, Henderson, Nev.; and No. 18 The Sagemont School (Weston, Fla.).
No. 9 Our Savior New American on Long Island was considered but was bypassed for The Sagemont School because it was one of only five unbeaten teams in the Super 25, according to USA Today.
“The selection process became more difficult because of the quality of the field,” tournament organizer Rashid Ghazi told USA Today. “It’s the strongest field we’ve ever had for this tournament or any high school tournament I’ve been involved in.”
Here are the matchups for the first-round games: top-seed Montverde will face eighth-seed Sagemont; second-seeded Rainier Beach will play seventh-seed Findlay; third-seeded Northside Christian will play sixth-seeded Oak Hill; and fourth-seeded Huntington-St. Joseph will play fifth-seeded La Lumiere.
A year ago, Montverde beat St. Benedict’s Prep in the final at Georgetown Prep.
