Paul Biancardi, Justin Kutcher, Tim McCormick, Jay Williams & Cara Capuano to Announce
Nike and Gatorade Join as Event Sponsors
To tweet this release – http://bit.ly/dpIIiA
The second annual ESPN RISE National High School Invitational (NHSI), produced in conjunction with Paragon Marketing Group, will air live from the Physical Education Complex at Coppin State University on the ESPN family of networks Thursday – Saturday, April 1-3. Featuring boys and girls tournaments, the ESPN RISE NHSI consists of 10 games: ESPN (1 game), ESPN2 (3 games) and ESPNU (6 games). Paul Biancardi, ESPN’s National Director of High School Basketball Recruiting (analyst), Justin Kutcher (play-by-play), Tim McCormick (play-by-play) and Jay Williams (analyst) will call the boys games; while Cara Capuano (play-by-play) and Tim McCormick (analyst) will call the girls games –from Baltimore.
Schedule:
| Date | Game | Talent | Time (ET) | Network |
| Thurs., April 1 | Boys Quarterfinals Game 1 | Paul Biancardi (analyst)Justin Kutcher (play-by-play) | 2 p.m. | ESPNU |
| Boys Quarterfinals Game 2 | Paul Biancardi (analyst)Justin Kutcher (play-by-play) | 4 p.m. | ESPNU | |
| Boys Quarterfinals Game 3 | Tim McCormick (analyst)Justin Kutcher (play-by-play) | 6 p.m. | ESPNU | |
| Boys Quarterfinals Game 4 | Tim McCormick (analyst)Justin Kutcher (play-by-play) | 8 p.m. | ESPNU | |
| Fri., April 2 | Boys Semifinals Game 1 | Paul Biancardi (analyst)Justin Kutcher (play-by-play) | 12 p.m. | ESPN2 |
| Boys Semifinals Game 2 | Tim McCormick (analyst)Justin Kutcher (play-by-play) | 2 p.m. | ESPN2 | |
| Girls Semifinals Game 1 | Tim McCormick (analyst)Cara Capuano (play-by-play) | 4:30 p.m. | ESPNU | |
| Girls Semifinals Game 2 | Tim McCormick (analyst)Cara Capuano (play-by-play) | 6:30 p.m. | ESPNU | |
| Sat., April 3 | Girls Championship | Tim McCormick (analyst)Cara Capuano (play-by-play) | 11:30 a.m. | ESPN2 |
| Boys Championship | Tim McCormick (analyst)Jay Williams (analyst)Justin Kutcher (play-by-play) | 1:30 p.m. | ESPN |
The ESPN RISE NHSI boys tournament will showcase eight teams: No. 4 Montverde Academy (Fla.), 21-4; No. 5 Findlay Prep (Nev.), 29-2; No. 7 Oak Hill Academy (Va.), 29-3; No. 9 Christ School (N.C.), 37-1; No. 13 Winter Park (Fla.), 29-5; No. 48 Mountain State Academy (W.Va.), 21-3; Charlotte Christian (N.C.), 29-4; Montrose Christian (Md.), 16-5. Five of the eight teams are ranked in the ESPN RISE FAB 50.
The boys tournament will feature 10 signed and four verbally committed Division-1 players: Montverde Academy’s James Bell (Sr., SF, ESPNU 100 No. 40, Signed: Villanova), Jamail Jones (Sr., SF, ESPNU 100 No. 53, Signed: Marquette), Haukur Palsson (Sr., SF, Verbal: Maryland), Ugo Okam (Sr., C, Verbal: Harvard), Papa Samba Ndao (Sr., PF, Signed: Boston College); Findlay Prep’s McDonald’s All-Americans Tristan Thompson, (Sr., SF, ESPNU 100 No. 10, Signed: Texas) and Cory Joseph (Sr., PG, ESPNU 100 No. 21, Signed: n/a); Oak Hill Academy’s McDonald’s All-American Doron Lamb (Sr., SG, ESPNU 100 No. 25, Signed: n/a), Roscoe Smith (Sr., SF, ESPNU 100 No. 29, Signed: UConn), Pe’Shon Howard (Sr., SG, Verbal: Maryland); Christ School’s Eric Smith (Sr., PG, Signed: South Carolina); Winter Park’s Austin Rivers (Jr., SG, ESPNU Super 60 No. 2, Verbal: Florida); Mountain State Academy’s Justin Martin (Sr., SG, ESPNU 100 No. 46, Signed: Xavier), David Nyarsuk (Sr., C, Signed: West Virginia); Charlotte Christian’s Akil Mitchell (Sr., SF, Signed: Virginia), Anthony Gill (Jr., PF, Verbal: South Carolina); and Montrose Christian’s Joshua Hairston (Sr., PF, ESPNU 100 No. 18, Signed: Duke) and Justin Anderson (Soph., SF, ESPNU Terrific 25 No. 9, Signed: n/a).
The girls tournament will showcase four teams: No. 27 Peddie School (N.J.), 23-2; No. 33 Dillard (Fla.), 26-4; Oak Hill Academy (Va.), 21-3; No. 34 Lake Mary (Fla.), 32-1. Standout players include: Peddie School’s McDonald’s All-American and New Jersey Gatorade Player of the Year Haley Peters (Sr., F, ESPNU HoopGurlz 100 No. 19, Signed: Duke); Dillard’s Florida Gatorade Player of the Year Dawnn Maye (Sr., PG, ESPNU HoopGurlz 100 No. 32, Signed: Georgia Tech); Oak Hill Academy’s Ariel Johnson (Sr., P, Signed: Georgia), Alex Rodgers (Sr., G, Verbal: Princeton); and Lake Mary’s Morgan Jones (Jr., F, ESPNU HoopGurlz Super 60 No. 1, Signed: n/a).
Nike and Gatorade have joined the event as two of its sponsors. Many of the teams competing in the ESPN RISE NHSI will wear the latest Nike footwear and Nike Pro Combat base layer apparel. During the three-day event, Nike will provide players and fans a unique interactive experience and special retail space where they will: get an up-close look at exclusive Nike footwear and apparel; get a sneak peak at the brand’s Fall 2010 collection; an opportunity to purchase NIKEiD footwear, and customize t-shirts featuring team logos. Additionally, during the tournament Gatorade will fuel the student athletes with the new G Series sports performance beverage, designed by Gatorade scientists in collaboration with the world’s greatest athletes to provide fuel, fluids and nutrients before, during and after physical activity. The student athletes will also have access to the G Series Mobile Locker Room, a state-of-the-art facility which provides student athletes with a hydration, nutrition and performance improvement learning experience.
NHSI teams were selected by ESPN RISE high school basketball experts and other leading evaluators based on their performance during the 2009/2010 high school basketball season and their ranking in the ESPN RISE FAB 50. Team eligibility criteria also included that participating schools must be four-year high schools, independent or public, and have their respective governing body’s permission to participate. Teams with post-graduate students or re-classified fifth year seniors were not eligible for consideration for the ESPN RISE NHSI.
This year’s event marks the first time that the Florida High School Athletic Association (FHSAA) and the North Carolina Independent School Athletic Association have granted their member schools permission to participate in the ESPN RISE National High School Invitational.
ESPN RISE National High School Invitational tickets are available now at NHSIHoops.com and Coppin State University’s box office: $10 for adults and $5 for students.
Media interested in credentials for the event should contact [email protected].
Visit ESPNRISE.com for comprehensive pre and post event details.
About ESPN RISE
ESPN RISE represents ESPN’s commitment to engage and elevate student athletes by providing them with recognition, resources, information and inspiration that can motivate them to improve their skills and achieve their goals on and off their fields of play. ESPN RISE assets include ESPN RISE, GIRL, Hardwood and Gridiron magazines; ESPNRISE.com; and more than 160 high school events including Elite 11, Boost Mobile Elite 24, ESPN RISE Games, ESPN RISE National High School Invitational, Faster to First, Area Code Baseball and Nike Combines/Nike SPARQ Mini Camps. ESPN RISE is uniquely positioned to provide student athletes and the company’s core fans with compelling high school sports content across all ESPN platforms.
For team brackets and other information on the ESPN RISE NHSI please see: Media Kit.
For photos: LINK.
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