Top high school seniors ready for Carolinas All-Star Basketball Classic

Featuring some of the area’s top basketball talent, the Carolinas All-Star Basketball Classic tips off Friday in Myrtle Beach.

The two-day event, featuring 40 seniors from South Carolina and North Carolina, begins with a slam dunk and 3-point shooting contest at 7 p.m. Friday at Myrtle Beach High.

On Saturday at Socastee, South Carolina’s all-stars challenge the North Carolina squads for interstate bragging rights.

Leading South Carolina’s girls in the 6:30 p.m. game is Richland Northeast coach Precious Caldwell.

Irmo’s Ke’Asia Jackson is the Columbia area’s lone representative. Jackson averaged 14 points, 3 rebounds and 3 steals while leading the Yellow Jackets to the Class 4A Lower State final in February. Orangeburg-Wilkinson’s Dejoria Howard and JaQuanna Murray also will be a force for the South Carolina girls.

The boys’ game follows at 8:30 p.m.

Coached by Summerville’s Greg Elliott, South Carolina’s roster features 3A state runner-up A.C. Flora’s Karl Gamble, Spring Valley’s Malik Dunbar, White Knoll’s Emarius Logan, and Virginia Commonwealth-bound Tevin Mack of Dreher. They will play alongside Chesnee’s Deion Holmes, the state’s second-leading all-time scorer.

“These students work extremely hard in the classroom and on the court to earn the opportunity to participate in this incredible tournament,” said tournament executive director John Rhodes.

“Approximately 50 percent of these athletes — boys and girls from both Carolinas — have already committed to some of the nation’s top colleges,” Rhodes said. “For them, the (Classic) represents their last appearance in a high school basketball tournament.”