Jordan Brand All-American Team Announced
Madison Square Garden to Host Nation's Elite High School Basketball Players
NEW YORK, NY (February 10, 2009) – Jordan Brand, a division of Nike, Inc., announced today during a special ESPNU Selection Show that the top-five ranked ESPNU 100 players –
Advertisement
Xavier Henry (Oklahoma City, OK/Memphis), Derrick Favors (Atlanta, GA/Georgia Tech), John Henson (Tampa, FL/North Carolina), DeMarcus Cousins (Mobile, AL/Undecided) and Renardo Sidney (Los Angeles, CA/Undecided) – will headline the nation's best 20 high school senior basketball players at the 2009 Jordan Brand Classic, presented by Foot Locker, at Madison Square Garden on Saturday, April 18 at 8:00 p.m. EST. This year's event will once again be televised nationally live on ESPN2.
The Jordan Brand Classic will also continue to include a regional game, showcasing the top prep players from the New York City metropolitan area in a City vs. Suburbs showdown. In its second year of the event, an International game will tip-off the tripleheader by featuring 16 of the top 17-and-under players from around the world. A portion of the proceeds benefit the New York City-based charity, The Children's Aid Society.
In addition to Henry, Favors, Henson, Cousins and Sidney, the event will also include Kenny Boynton (Plantation, FL/Florida), Avery Bradley (Henderson, NV/Texas), Dominic Cheek (Jersey City, NJ/Villanova), Abdul Gaddy (Tacoma, WA/Washington), Keith Gallon (Mouth of Wilson, VA/Oklahoma), Jordan Hamilton (Compton, CA/Texas), Lamont Jones (Mouth of Wilson, VA/Virginia Tech), Wally Judge (Jacksonville, FL/Kansas State), Tommy Mason-Griffin (Houston, TX/Oklahoma), Alex Oriakhi (Tilton, NH/UConn), Daniel Orton (Oklahoma City, OK/Kentucky), Mason Plumlee (Arden, NC/Duke), Durand Scott (New York, NY/Miami-FL), John Wall (Raleigh, NC/Undecided) and Royce White (Minnetonka, MN/Minnesota).
"In its seven year history, the Jordan Brand Classic has featured an incredible alumni list of current NBA stars," said Keith Houlemard, President of Jordan Brand. "The Jordan Brand is proud to once again showcase the future of basketball in the world's most famous arena while benefiting a great cause in the Children's Aid Society."
Sponsored by Jordan Brand, the event is also annually attended by some of sport and entertainment's biggest stars, who have included Michael Jordan, Spike Lee, LL Cool J, Warren Sapp, Terrell Owens, Floyd Mayweather, Kanye West, Mya, Boyz II Men, Fat Joe, Ludacris, Ahmad Rashad and Vince Carter.
Recent Jordan Brand All-Americans have included NBA stars Chris Paul, Carmelo Anthony, LeBron James, Amar'e Stoudemire, Dwight Howard and Kevin Durant as well as current NCAA standouts Tyler Hansbrough (North Carolina), Blake Griffin (Oklahoma), Kyle Singler (Duke), Tyreke Evans (Memphis) and Demar DeRozan (USC).
In addition to the game, the Jordan Brand All-Americans have a number of special events around New York City. Last year's players held an autograph session at the Foot Locker House of Hoops, participated in a slam dunk and three-point contest, visited ESPN studios in Bristol, CT, appeared on BET's 106 and Park and attended an intimate awards dinner with NBA Rookie of the Year Kevin Durant as the keynote speaker, where they received their All-American rings.
This year's event tripleheader will begin with an International Game at 3:30 p.m. followed by the Regional Game at 5:30 p.m., and the All-American Game at 8:00 p.m. The International and regional rosters will be announced at a later date.
Tickets are now on sale at all Ticketmaster locations, the Madison Square Garden box office, online at ticketmaster.com or by calling 212-307-7171. For more information, please visit the official web site, www.JordanBrandClassic.com. Live webcasts of the Regional and International games, produced by the High School Basketball Network, are also available at www.JordanBrandClassic.TV.
Go to NYC Hoops for all the late breaking NYC basketball news and rankings plus access to
FREE BASKETBALL WEBCASTS.
Sign-up for our FREE eNewsletter to get the even more news right in your email box.
Talk about NYC Hoops on our Message Board.