Each year the top high school basketball programs from across the nation travel to Fort Myers, Florida to compete in the City of Palms Classic. Now in it’s 44th year, the City of Palms Classic has seen some of the world’s best players before they made it to the NBA. Today, one in every eight NBA players played in the City of Palms, with some of the most notable alumni of the event including four of the last seven #1 overall pick Ben Simmons (2016), Andrew Wiggins (2014), Anthony Bennett (2013), and John Wall (2010). This year’s lineup features eight schools ranked in the BallisLife Fab 50 with Hillside Patrick School (#3), Montverde Academy (#5), Neumann Goretti (#11), Memphis East (#12), and IMG Academy (#16) all ranked in the top-20.

One of the top storylines in this year’s event is the abundance of elite big men participating. There is plenty of star power with DeAndre Ayton (#1 in 2017), Wendell Carter (#3 in 2017), Mohammed Bamba (#4 in 2017), Nick Richards (#12 in 2017), and Jeremiah Tilmon (#37 in 2017) all participating this year. This is also an extremely deep class of big men with fourteen seniors already committed to continue their career into college. Also at the event, but not participating, is the #2 sophomore in the nation, Charles Bassey.

This year’s event also has its fair share of top-level on the perimeter with Trevon Duval (#5 in 2017), Colin Sexton (#10 in 2017), Hamidou Diallo (#11 in 2017), M.J. Walker (#21 in 2017), and Quade Green (#22 in 2017) leading the charge. The underclassmen might be just as good as the seniors with six perimeter players in ESPN’s Super 60 Juniors, and two more in their Top 25 Sophomores. The 6’7 R.J. Barrett is the top player in the class of 2019 and returns to the City of Palms after dropping 31 points as a freshman in a loss to Chino Hills.

Maret School(DC) vs. Hudson Catholic(NJ)

Box Scores: Maret Hudson Catholic

The first game of the day featured the Frogs of Maret against the Hudson Catholic Hawks. Maret was led by 6’11 Iowa signee, Luka Garza. who was the best player on the court all game. The big man displayed a knack for scoring around the rim with 27 points on 6-11 shooting, and 15-17 from the free throw line. Garza also pulled down 14 rebounds and blocked five shots, and proved to be a force down low on both ends of the court.

The Hawk’s lineup features three of the top juniors in the nation in Jahvon Quinerly, Louis King, and Luther Muhammad. King is ranked as the #30 player in the class of 2018, but did not play up to that ranking today scoring just four points while pulling down six rebounds. The 6’8 forward gave glimpses of his potential with a few highlight reel plays, but fouled out after logging 25 minutes of action. The backcourt of Quinerly and Muhammad also struggled early, but started to find their groove in the second quarter and combined to score 40 points on the game.

The Hawks jumped out to an eleven-point lead in the first quarter and never looked back, heading into halftime with a 42-24 lead. Garza and the Frogs wouldn’t go away though and after holding Hudson Catholic to just five points in the third quarter, had cut the lead down to ten, 47-37. Unfortunately for Maret, they wouldn’t get any closer and eventually lost, 65-51.

Hudson Catholic will face a familiar foe in the second round when they matchup with fellow New Jersey school, Hillside Patrick School. Maret will have a quick turnaround and will play Sagemont school out of Weston, Florida in the first game of day two at the City of Palms.

Hillside Patrick School(NJ) vs. Weston Sagemont(FL)

Box Scores: Patrick School Sagemont

Patrick School enters the event as the top overall seed, and the #3 team in Ball is Life’s FAB 50. The Celtics’ roster features five players committed to play college basketball, and are led by Kentucky signee Nick Richards. The 6’11 Richards is ranked as the #12 player in the class of 2017 and selected Kentucky over Syracuse, Arizona, and Kansas. Richards struggled in his first game of the event, picking up two early fouls in the first minute and a half of the game and was stuck on the bench for the rest of the half. Even after getting back on the court in the second half Richards was a non-factor and finished the day with two points and four rebounds in only nine minutes of action.

Luckily for Patrick School, the other four starters all pitched in to pick up the slack. Senior guards Jamir Harris (committed to Minnesota) and Jordan Walker both scored 20 points while Marcus McClary (committed to Monmouth) had 11 points and 7 rebounds. Down low, Vladir Manuel played with an edge and finished the game with 12 points and 7 rebounds. Al Amir Dawes added 10 points off the bench and gave the Celtics a scoring threat on their second unit.

Facing off against the Patrick School was the Sagemont School Lions of Weston, Florida. Not to be completely outclassed, the Lions feature three D-1 signings of their own in Tyler Pooley (committed to Uconn), Luis Hurtado (committed to UAB), and Tomas Verbinskis (committed to Richmond). Unfortunately, Pooley was the only one to really get going for the Lions and finished the game with 21 points. Hurtado and Verbinskis combined to score only 10 points which doomed the Lions as they just could not keep up with Patrick School’s scoring. The Celtics would come away victorious, 80-62.

With the win the Patrick School will now face off against Hudson Catholic in the quarterfinals of the event. Sagemont will get a chance at redemption in the loser’s bracket where they will take on Maret.

East St. Louis(IL) vs. Tampa Catholic(FL)

Box Scores: East Tampa Catholic

In what was probably the most entertaining game of the night, the Tampa Catholic Crusaders raced past the East St. Louis Flyers, 77-72. It was a fast paced game that pitted Illinois commit, Jeremiah Tilmon (#37 in 2017) against one of the top players in the nation, Kevin Knox (#7 in 2017). It was a back and forth game that featured nine lead changes and six ties before Tampa Catholic took the lead for goo on a Darren Robinson lay-up with 4:44 remaining in the game. The 6’9 Knox put on a show early, scoring seven of his team’s first 12 points and didn’t let up, finishing with 30 points, 12 rebounds, 6 steals, and 3 blocks. Tai Strickland also had a solid game for Tampa Catholic, scoring 22 points and dishing out 6 assists.

East St. Louis got solid contributions from a lot of different guys with senior guard Arthur Carter leading the way with 21 points and 6 rebounds. Both Jeremiah Tilmon (19 pts 13 rbs) and Terrence Hargrove Jr. (10 pts 12 rbs) had double-doubles to help the cause. Zachery Forest also got to double figures with 10 points off the bench, including 2-2 from deep. Ultimately the Flyers were done in by committing 21 turnover compared to the 12 committed by Tampa Catholic.

This game was not part of the main tournament, but rather a part of the Sunshine Series. The Sunshine Series is made up of schools from across the state of Florida, with the exception of East St. Louis, and will each play only one game at the event. The next Sunshine Series matchup is Saturday at 3:45 and will feature Winter Park and South Miami.

Mariner(FL) vs. IMG Academy(FL)

Box Scores: Mariner IMG

The fourth game of the day featured a battle of two Florida schools when local power Mariner took on IMG Academy from Bradenton. IMG is ranked #16 in the nation and is home to some of the top players from all across it. Leading the Ascenders is the top guard in the class of 2017, Trevon Duval. The 6’3 native of Delaware has been to schools all across the nation during his prep career and has dominated at each stop. This game was no different with Duval leading the charge with 16 points on 8-10 shooting while also picking up 5 assists and 3 steals. Florida signee Isaiah Stokes finished with 15 points, while juniors Emmitt Williams and Keyontae Johnson chipped in 14 and 13 respectively.

The Tritons could never get their offense going against IMG and fell behind 17-5 after just one-quarter of play. From there it just snowballed as the deficit grew to 40 points before the game ended with a score of 80-43. Sean Kostyk finished the game with 12 points and was the only player to reach double figures for Mariner.

With the win IMG advanced to the quarterfinals to face a Norcross team from Georgia that should give them a much more competitive game. Mariner is off until Monday when they will play the loser of the Jonesboro vs. Mae Jamison matchup.

Lehigh(FL) vs. Jonesboro(GA)

Box Scores: Lehigh Jonesboro

The final game of the night featured another local school in Lehigh against Jonesboro from their neighbor to the north, Georgia. This game was much more competitive than the previous one with both teams fighting until the final horn. Lehigh was led by seniors Jarvis Martin’s 22 points and Malik Martin’s 10, but fell short in the end, 61-53.

Jonesboro is led by the #21 player in the nation M.J. Walker who showed why he is ranked so high. The 6’6 Walker exploded for 29 points, 14 rebounds, and 3 steals in the victory for the Cardinals. Walker did turn the ball over 7 times against a less talented team and needs to tighten up his decision-making to stay effective against better competition. Jaylon Terrell also reached double figures for Jonesboro with 12.

Jonesboro will face the Mae Jemison Jaguars from Huntsville, Alabama in their second round matchup tomorrow. Jemison is the home to Alabama Signee, and #25 player in the nation, John Petty. Lehigh will play again on Monday when they face off against the loser of the Pebblebrook vs. Brentwood Academy from tonight.