The Nike Hoop Summit was already set to feature one Kentucky-bound player in Roselle (N.J.) Catholic point guard Isaiah Briscoe, who will play for the USA team in the April 11 game in Portland, Ore.
Now comes news that 2015 Kentucky commit Skal Labissiere of Haiti and 2016 Wildcats pledge Tai Wynyard of New Zealand will play for the World team in the game. The news was first reported by scout Can Pelister of trendbasket.net before the Hoop Summit later made the roster official.
The game will be broadcast live on ESPN 2 at 3 p.m on April 11.
The USA roster includes Kentucky targets Malik Newman, Jaylen Brown, Stephen Zimmerman, Brandon Ingram and Caleb Swanigan, who plans to announce his college choice at the Hoop Summit.
The World roster also includes Cheick Diallo of Our Savior New American, Thon Maker and Jamal Murray of Orangeville Prep and Italian guard Federico Mussini, among others.
LSU-bound forward Ben Simmons of Montverde (FL) Academy previously told SNY.tv he will play in the game. Simmons on Tuesday was named the Morgan Wootten Award winner.
The 6-9 Diallo is considering Iowa State, Kentucky, Kansas, St. John’s and Pittsburgh.
The 6-foot Mussini is being targeted by St. John’s, among others.
Murray, a 6-5 2016 point guard, is being courted by Maryland, Indiana and Michigan State, among others.
Maker, a 7-footer who is working on reclassing to 2015, recently visited Indiana and is also considering Kentucky and Kansas, among others.
Murray and Maker will have a busy week that week as they will head from the Hoop Summit to Toronto, where they are eligible for the first BioSteel All-Canadian All-Star Game to be played at Toronto’s Mattamy Athletic Centre on April 14.
The game is intended as Canada’s version of the McDonald’s All-American Game.
“I would watch the world junior hockey championships, and think, why can’t we do that for basketball, with that type of viewership, and cater to people who are interested in seeing the next group of Canadians headed to college basketball or the NBA Draft?” game organizer Tony McIntyre told the Toronto Globe & Mail. “We want to take some aspects of the McDonald’s All-American game – like the prestigious nature – and some things from the NBA all-star game and create our own truly Canadian event. We would love for kids to strive to be a BioSteel All-Canadian and for it to become something special.”
BRISCOE NO LONGER IN 2016 MOCK
Speaking of Briscoe, the Kentucky-bound point guard is no longer in the 2016 Mock Draft per DraftExpress.com, so he’s not projected as a one-and-done. Briscoe had been ranked as the No. 14 pick in 2016.
