The 36th Annual Bank of America City of Palms Classic
presented by State Farm
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Schedule
2008 Tournament Teams

  • American Heritage HS (Plantation, Florida), 19-9: Kenny Boynton, HoopScoop's No. 2-rated senior, returns for an encore after his 61-point City of Palms game against Fort Myers Dunbar in 2007, and will be joined again by pint-sized point guard Ray Taylor.
  • Arlington Country Day (Jacksonville, Florida), 22-6: Apaches have won four consecutive state championships, and boast McDonald’s All-American hopeful 6-9 Wally Judge and national top-100 senior 6-4 Rodney McGruder (both committed to Kansas State), plus 6-4 Emari Bailey.
  • Briarcrest HS (Memphis, Tennessee), 22-12: Leslie McDonald, a 6-5 guard and HoopScoop’s 15th-rated senior (committed to North Carolina), teamed with fellow seniors 6-9 Johnny Williams and 6-2 Gregg Wooten to win state title.
  • Dunbar HS (Fort Myers, Florida), 21-8: Tigers reached 3A Final Four behind 6-5 junior David Paulk and senior Melvin German. But the arrival of one of the state’s top five sophs, 6-1 Darius Perkins, from Miami Pace and 6-10 senior John Florveus makes Dunbar even stronger.
  • Duncanville HS (Duncanville, Texas), 36-2: Led by 6-6 Shawn Williams (Texas), 6-5 Roger Franklin (Oklahoma State) and 6-foot Roger Dowell, all national top-100 seniors, and juniors 6-9 Perry Jones and 6-foot Jamison Sterns (both committed to Baylor), the Panthers are ranked No. 1 in the nation by ESPN.com and are 75-2 over the past two seasons.
  • Fayette County HS (Fayetteville, Georgia), 23-10: The Tigers rode 6-6 consensus top-25 senior Noel Johnson (25 ppg, 9 rpg), committed to USC, all the way to the Class 4A state title game and earned a City of Palms berth after an appearance in last year’s Sunshine Series.
  • Fort Myers HS (Fort Myers, Florida), 26-4: Green Wave won district and county titles and reached Class 5A regional semis. They will build around 6-11 senior Josh Nicholas, 6-4 senior John-Michael Hodge, 6-3 sophomore Evin Graham and 6-5 sophomore Matt Yance.
  • Lincoln HS (Brooklyn, New York), 28-4: The 6-5 Lance Stephenson, HoopScoop’s No. 1-rated senior and dubbed “Born Ready” by the Rucker Park regulars in New York City, has starred for three straight city champions. Can he and 6-8 senior James Padgett (Maryland) make it 4-for-4 for the Railsplitters?
  • Mater Dei HS (Santa Ana, California), 35-1: Monarchs could be nation’s preseason No. 1 team, led by 6-10 senior twin-tower brothers David & Travis Wear, who already have committed to North Carolina, and national top-30 juniors Tyler Lamb (UCLA) and Gary Franklin.
  • Olympia HS (Orlando, Florida), 24-3: Class 6A Titans won inaugural McDonald's Tampa Hoops Classic and are the state’s consensus preseason No. 1 team, led by seniors Dexter Fields (committed to UAB), William Green (Western Kentucky), Jamel Marshall (Florida International) and Martell Blue.
  • Roman Catholic HS (Philadelphia, Pennsylvania), 19-6: The Cahillites, upset in the Catholic playoffs after a 14-0 regular-season rampage through the Southern Division, boast 6-foot Malik Wayns (committed to Villanova), HoopScoop’s No. 11 senior, top junior 6-foot Rakeem Brookins and 6-7 senior Koron Reed.
  • St. Patrick HS (Elizabeth, New Jersey), 25-5: Kevin Boyle’s Celtics will make record eighth City of Palms appearance, powered by consensus top-10 senior 6-3 Dexter Strickland (committed to North Carolina), 6-8 senior Paris Bennett (George Mason), 6-1 junior Kyrie Irving (Villanova) and 6-7 Michael Gilchrist, HoopScoop's No. 2-rated sophomore.
  • Westchester HS (Los Angeles, California), 28-5: The young Comets put their perfect 14-0 City of Palms record (tourney titles in 2000-01 and 2003) on the line, led by national top-25 junior 6-7 Dwayne Polee (committed to USC), 6-4 Kareem Jamar and 6-2 Jordin Mayes.
  • Wheeler HS (Marietta, Georgia), 30-3: Highly touted seniors 6-7 Ari Stewart (committed to Wake Forest), 6-8 Richard Howell (N.C. State) and 6-3 Tahj Tate fell one game shy of giving Coach Doug Lipscomb his fifth state title in 15 seasons, but are among four returning starters.
  • Winter Park HS (Winter Park, Florida), 28-2: The Wildcats won their first 21 games, led by national top-25 sophomore 6-3 Austin Rivers, son of Boston Celtics coach Doc Rivers.
  • Word of God (Raleigh, North Carolina), 31-3: John Wall, a 6-3 point guard and Rivals' No. 1 senior, teamed with 6-9 C.J. Leslie (committed to N.C. State), HoopScoop's No. 20 junior, to lead the Holy Rams to a second-straight NCISAA Class 1A state title.

2008 Sunshine Series Teams

THURSDAY, DECEMBER 18, 6:00 PM

  • Andrew Jackson HS (Jacksonville, Florida), 23-8: Big man 6-6 Milton Geddes is joined by 6-4 transfer Stacey Poole, Jr. (son of the 1986 City of Palms MVP), giving the Tigers two of the state's top dozen juniors and continuing a tradition of top Jacksonville teams here.
  • North Port HS (North Port, Florida), 20-7: The Bobcats’ 6-4 Shaun Noriega (committed to South Florida) is widely regarded as Southwest Florida’s top senior, and is joined by fast-rising 6-6 sophomore Kasey Wilson and 5-10 freshman Larry Taylor.

SATURDAY, DECEMBER 20, 5:15 PM

  • Montverde Academy (Montverde, Florida), 24-5: The nationally regarded Eagles program builds around 6-11 Ruslan Pateev, 6-8 Nick Diatta (committed to Towson) and 6-foot Dmitry Zimin, all seniors, and 6-5 Arlington Country Day transfer James Bell (Villanova), HoopScoop's No. 3 junior in Florida.
  • Westlake Prep (Davie, Florida): One of South Florida's fastest-emerging programs features a pair of 6-9 post players, plus fast-rising 6-4 senior Christian Knbongo and 6-foot junior David Joseph.

TUESDAY, DECEMBER 23, 7:15 PM

  • Sickles HS (Tampa, Florida), 21-7: The Gryphons become a hot ticket at the City of Palms with the arrival of 6-11 John Henson (committed to North Carolina), who averaged 25 points, 11 rebounds and 5 blocks at Round Rock, Texas, and is Scout.com's No. 3-ranked senior. He will get help from 5-10 junior Jordan Davis and 6-2 sophomore Rashawn Rembert.
  • Bishop Verot HS (Fort Myers, Florida), 16-11: The tournament host Vikings lost a lot of size, but will rely heavily on the 3-point line – led by seniors 6-4 Brennen Melvin and 6-6 Etienne Effenberg, plus talented 5-11 junior Jacquard Hagan.


*Local teams hightlighted in blue
2008 City of Palms Classic Preview
Day-by-Day Game Recaps
*Game-by-game schedule
*Home team (white uniforms) is team on left *All games at Bishop Verot HS
*Local teams hightlighted in blue


THURSDAY, December 18 (5 games)
  • 2:30 p.m. (Game 1): Philadelphia Roman Catholic 56, Jacksonville Arlington Country Day 55
  • 4:15 p.m. (Game 2): Raleigh Word of God (N.C.) 63, Plantation American Heritage (Fla.) 61
  • 6:00 p.m. (Game 3-Sunshine Series): Jacksonville Andrew Jackson (Fla.) 76, North Port (Fla.) 58
  • 7:45 p.m. (Game 4): Duncanville (Texas) 83, Fort Myers Dunbar (Fla.) 62
  • 9:30 p.m. (Game 5): Los Angeles Westchester (Calif.) 62, Fort Myers (Fla.) 47

FRIDAY, December 19 (6 games)
  • 1:00 p.m. (Game 6): Consolation: American Heritage 87, Fort Myers Dunbar 67
  • 2:45 p.m. (Game 7): Consolation: Arlington Country Day 56, Fort Myers 46
  • 4:30 p.m. (Game 8): Winter Park (Fla.) 69, Duncanville (Tx.) 64
  • 6:15 p.m. (Game 9): Westchester 69, Orlando Olympia (Fla.) 66
  • 7:40 p.m.: Team Flight Brothers Dunk Show ... www.teamflightbros.org
  • 8:15 p.m. (Game 11): Santa Ana Mater Dei (Calif.) 74, Fayette County (Ga.) 46
  • 10:00 p.m. (Game 10): Brooklyn Lincoln (N.Y.) 70, Memphis Briarcrest (Tenn.) 55

SATURDAY, December 20 (7 games)
  • 10:15 a.m. (Game 12): Consolation: Duncanville (Tx) 63, Briarcrest (TN) 50
  • 12:00 p.m. (Game 13): Consolation: Olympia 68, Fayette County (Ga) 50
  • 1:45 p.m. (Game 14): Quarterfinal: Winter Park 60, Westchester 54
  • 3:30 p.m. (Game 15): Quarterfinal:Elizabeth St. Patricks (N.J.) 77, Word of God (NC) 69
  • 5:15 p.m. (Game 16-Sunshine Series):Montverde Academy (Fla.) 72, Deerfield Beach Zion Lutheran (Fla.) 59
  • 6:25 p.m: City of Palms 3-point Shootout (Winner - John Michael Hodge from Fort Myers HS)
  • 7:30 p.m. (Game 17): Quarterfinal: Marietta Wheeler (Ga.) 101, Lincoln (N.Y.) 84
  • 9:15 p.m. (Game 18): Quarterfinal: Santa Ana Mater Dei 72, Roman Catholic (PA) 70 

MONDAY, December 22 (8 games)
  • 8:30 a.m. (Game 19): Challenge-round game: Fort Myers vs. Fayette County
  • 10:15 a.m. (Game 20): Challenge-round game: Dunbar vs. Briarcrest (TN)
  • 12 noon (Game 21): Consolation semifinal: Olympia (FL) vs. Arlington Country Day (FL)
  • 1:45 p.m. (Game 22): Consolation semifinal: Duncanville (Tx) vs. American Heritage (FL)
  • 3:30 p.m. (Game 23): Fifth-place semifinal: Lincoln (NY) vs. Word of God (NC)
  • 5:15 p.m. (Game 24): Fifth-place semifinal: Roman Catholic (PA) vs. Westchester (CA)
  • 7:00 p.m. (Game 25): Semifinal: St. Patricks (NJ) vs. Winter Park (FL)
  • 8:25 p.m.: Fowler White Boggs Banker Slam Dunk Championship
  • 9:30 p.m. (Game 26): Semifinal: Wheeler (GA) vs. Mater Dei (CA)

TUESDAY, December 23 (7 games)
  • 9:00 a.m. (Game 27): Challenge-round (pairing of 1-win teams to be announced at 5 p.m. Monday)
  • 10:40 a.m. (Game 28): Challenge-round (pairing of 1-win teams to be announced at 5 p.m. Monday)
  • 12:20 p.m. (Game 29): Fifth-place final: Game 24 winner vs. Game 23 winner
  • 3:00 p.m. (Game 30): THIRD PLACE FINAL!! Game 25 loser vs. Game 26 loser /To Be Televised Live on ESPNU
  • 5:00 p.m.: CITY OF PALMS CHAMPIONSHIP!! Game 25 winner vs. Game 26 winner / To Be Televised Live on ESPNU
  • 7:15 p.m. (Game 32-Sunshine Series): Fort Myers Bishop Verot (Fla.) vs. Tampa Sickles (Fla.)
  • 9:00 p.m. (Game 33): Consolation championship: Game 22 winner vs. Game 21 winner

For more info visit CityofPalmsClassic.com