Tuesday, April 10, 2012

2012 Jordan Brand Classic this Weekend

Posted by Jarvis Holliday On 4/10/2012 No comments
The Jordan Brand Classic, one of the biggest, annual high school basketball events in the country, takes place this Saturday at Time Warner Cable Arena. It's a tripleheader, beginning with the International Game at 2:30 p.m., followed by the Regional Game at 4:30 p.m., and then the big show, the All-American Game at 7 p.m., which will be nationally televised on ESPN.

Jordan Brand, a division of NIKE, Inc. and named after the legendary Michael Jordan, whose sneaker line is as popular today as it was during his playing days, puts on this event for the 11th year, showcasing the best amateur basketball players in the world. Many of them have gone on to become superstars in the NBA, such as Chris Paul, Carmelo Anthony, LeBron James, Kevin Durant, and Blake Griffin, among others. And two of the top five picks in last year’s NBA Draft were International Game alums Enes Kanter from Turkey (drafted by the Utah Jazz) and Jonas Valančiūnas from Lithuania (drafted by the Toronto Raptors).


This year's squads in the All-American Game--there's an East team and a West team, each with 11 high school seniors from around the country--feature several members of ESPNUs top 100 players: No.1 Shabazz Muhammad (Las Vegas, NV/Undecided), No. 2 Isaiah Austin (Arlington, TX/Baylor), No. 3 Kyle Anderson (Jersey City, NJ/UCLA), and No. 4 Kaleb Tarczewski (Southborough, MA/Arizona). There are two Carolinas players on the East team: Brice Johnson, a power forward from Edisto H.S. in Cordova, SC, who's committed to UNC; and Rodeny Purvis, a point guard from Upper Room Christian Academy in Raleigh, who's committed to N.C. State.

If you want to see more talent from within the state, the Regional Game will showcase the top high school seniors from North Carolina. The players for the international and national teams are scheduled to arrive in Charlotte tomorrow, and will begin practicing Thursday. As was the case last year, I'm sure they'll make appearances around the city over the next few days. The best way to keep up with their movements is to follow Jordan Brand Classic on Twitter @JordanClassic. Plus, rapper Fabolous is scheduled to perform after the national game, and you can expect to see plenty of other celebrities in attendance.

And then, there are the shoes. The national team will wear the Air Jordan 2012 Deluxe on the court in special East and West team editions. The West team will wear a team orange/cool grey colorway while the East team will wear a university blue/white-obsidian colorway. Both sneakers feature the Jordan Brand Classic logo on the tongue. These special editions go on sale tomorrow, for a suggested retail price of $223.


Tickets to the Jordan Brand Classic can be purchased, from $10 to $125, on Ticketmaster. For more details, visit www.jordanbrandclassic.com.

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