The Grind Session National Tournament, which features Kansas University recruiting targets Thon Maker, Josh Jackson, DeAndre Ayton and others, will be held Thursday through Saturday at Free State High School.
The 11 teams that will compete are: Athlete Institute (Mono, Ontario), Prolific Prep (Napa Valley, Calif.), Sunrise Christian Academy (Wichita), 22ft. Academy (Greenville, S.C.), Hillcrest Academy (Queen Creek, Ariz.), Advanced Prep International (Dallas), Word of God (Raleigh), Quality Education (Winston-Salem, N.C.), Victory Prep (Houston), Victory Rock Prep (Sarasota, Fla.) and Evelyn Mack (Charlotte).
Here’s the schedule of games followed by a description of the teams.
Thursday, March 24 (play in games): Sunrise Christian v. Word of God, 5:30 p.m.; Athlete Institute v. 22ft Academy, 7 p.m.; Victory Prep v. Evelyn Mack, 8:30 p.m.
Friday, March 25 (quarterfinals): API v. Victory Rock, 4 p.m.; Prolific Prep v. Victory Prep/Evelyn Mack winner, 5:30 p.m.; Hillcrest v. Sunrise Christian/Word of God winner, 7 p.m.; Quality Ed v. Athlete Institute/22FT Academy winner, 8:30 p.m.
Saturday, March 26: Semifinals 10 a.m., 12 p.m; championship game 7:30 p.m.
Athlete Institute: Features KU target Thon Maker, a 7-foot senior, who also is considering Indiana, Arizona State and others. His brother Matur, is a 6-10 junior who is a major college recruit. AI also features seniors Nikola Djogo, a 6-7 Notre Dame signee, and Cole Long, a 6-7 UMBC commit.
Prolific Prep: Features KU prospect Josh Jackson, a 6-7 senior who is ranked No. 1 in the class of 2016 by Rivals.com. He’s considering KU, Arizona and Michigan State. The team also boasts 6-8 UConn signee Vance Jackson and 6-5 Utah signee Devon Daniels. Top juniors include Abu Kigab, a 6-6 native of St. Catherine’s, Canada considering KU, USC, Oregon, Baylor and others, plus 6-9 Ira Lee, who is considering Arizona, Cal, Texas and others.
Sunrise Christian: Features Oklahoma signee Kameron McGusty, a 6-5 shooting guard, ranked No. 43 in the Class of 2016, as well as junior Isiah Jasey, a 6-10 forward who is considering KU and others.
22ft Academy: Features 6-10 South Carolina signee Sedee Keita and 6-5 Mississippi State signee Eli Wright. Jordan Bowden (6-5) is considering Eastern Kentucky, Utah, Southern Miss and others.
Hillcrest Academy: Features KU target DeAndre Ayton, a 7-foot junior ranked No. 1 in the Class of 2017, who is also considering Duke, Kentucky and others. Senior point guard Julian Payton (6-0), who holds an offer from Texas Southern, is the son of former NBA player Gary Payton.
Advanced Prep International: Features former Alabama commit Terrance Ferguson, a 6-6 senior, who is ranked No. 12 in the Class of 2016. Ferguson has KU on his list of schools. The squad includes 6-5 Baylor signee Mark Vital, 6-10 Cincinnati signee Nysier Brooks and junior Billy Preston, a 6-10 forward, who is considering KU and others. He’s ranked No. 6 in the Class of 2017 by Rivals.com. The team also boasts the country’s top junior guard, 6-3 Trevon Duval, who is ranked No. 5 in the Class of 17.
Word of God Christian: Features Rawle Alkins, a 6-4 senior ranked No. 9 nationally who has committed to Arizona. Also, Blake Harris, a 6-2 junior who is considering LSU, Wake Forest and others.
Quality Education: Features Deshawn Corprew, a 6-5 senior who is being recruited by N.C. State, Virginia Tech and others as well as 6-5 junior Ranathan Embo. Quality Education big men include 6-9 senior Papa Ndiaye, who is considering Oklahoma and Mississippi State as well as 6-9 senior Malik Brevard and 6-7 senior Marsellis Purvis
Victory Prep, TX: Features KU target Jarred Vanderbilt, 6-8 junior, who is ranked No. 11 in the Class of 2017. He’s also considering Kentucky and others. Coach of Victory Prep is Rodney McCray, who won an NBA title with the Bulls in 1993.
Victory Rock: Features 6-10 Gorjok Gak, who is headed to Oklahoma State, plus 5-7 Long Beach signee Loren Christian Jackson.
Evelyn Mack: Features Darius Webster, 6-7 from Bronx, N.Y., and Isahia Whaley, 6-10 from Gastonia, N.C.
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