Bol Bol and other players to watch, plus story lines for Chick-fil-A Classic
The 16th annual Chick-fil-A Classic begins Wednesday at Richland Northeast.
Here are five things and key players to watch in the four-day event:
Nationally-ranked field
You can argue top to bottom that this year’s field might be the best in the history of the event.
Seven teams are ranked in the latest USA Today Super 25 with four -- Oak Hill, Findlay Prep, Huntington Prep and IMG Academy -- in the top nine. Third-ranked Oak Hill, which has played in the event every other year since 2011, has won it each of the three times it has played. The Warriors have three Division I signees, led by Kentucky signee Keldon Johnson.
Huntington Prep lost to Oak Hill in the 2015 championship, while IMG Academy and Findlay Prep are making their first trip .
All eyes on Bol Bol
One of the marquee names in this year’s event is Findlay Prep’s Bol Bol.
The Oregon commit is the son of late NBA player Manute Bol and transferred to the Findlay Prep, located in Las Vegas, before the start of the season. Bol is a five-star recruit and ranked No. 3 in Rivals’ 2018 rankings.
The 7-foot-3 Bol has a pair of 30-point games this season and is averaging 19.6 points, 9.9 rebounds and 1.9 blocks a game.
Can Cam Reddish continue success?
Westtown’s Cam Reddish is off to a strong start.
Last week, the Duke signee moved to 247Sports No. 1 spot for the Class of 2018 and turned heads earlier this month at the National Hoops Festival in Washington, D.C.
Reddish averaged 43.5 points in those two games, including a 53-point game against Georgetown Prep (Md.).
Rock Chalk Jayhawks
Kansas Jayhawks will definitely have a big presence in this year’s event with three signed players.
The three rank in Rivals; Top 25: Providence Day’s Devon Dotson, IMG Academy’s Silvio De Sousa and Oak Hill’s David McCormack.
Palmetto State powers
In the 15 previous years of the event, five Palmetto State teams have won championships. Lower Richland, Gray Collegiate, Porter-Gaud and Keenan will look to add to that.
All four teams are in the American bracket and will play each other Wednesday. Lower Richland and Porter-Gaud play at 7, followed byGray Collegiate against Keenan.
Gray Collegiate, Keenan and defending 4A champion Lower Richland are all ranked in the SC Coaches Polls with GCA No. 1 in Class 2A.
Porter-Gaud is the two-time defending SCISA 3A title and features Division I signees Aaron Nesmith (Vanderbilt), Jake Lanford (Yale) and junior prospect Josiah James.
Players to Watch
Class of 2018
No. 3 Bol Bol (Findlay Prep) – Committed to Oregon
No. 4 Cameron Reddish (Westtown) – Signed with Duke
No. 9 Jordan Brown (Prolific Prep)
No. 12 Reggie Perry (Thomasville) – Signed with Miss State
No. 17 Devon Dotson (Providence Day) – Signed with Kansas
No. 18 Keldon Johnson (Oak Hill) – Signed with Kentucky
No. 25 Silvio De Sousa (IMG Academy) – Signed with Kansas
No. 25 David McCormack (Oak Hill) – Signed with Kansas
No. 41 Khavon Moore (Westside)
No. 47 Will Richardson (Oak Hill) – Committed to Oregon
No. 53 Brandon Slater (Paul VI) – Committed to Villanova
No. 60 Darius Days (IMG Academy) – Signed with LSU
No. 73 Rechon “Leaky” Black (Cox Mill) – Signed with North Carolina
No. 81 Jairus Hamilton (Cannon)
No. 98 Jamie Lewis (Findlay Prep) – Signed with Wake Forest
No. 100 Keyshawn Emery (IMG Academy) – Signed with Arkansas
No. 114 Keyontae Johnson (Oak Hill) – Commited to Florida
No. 119 Aaron Nesmith (Porter Gaud) – Signed with Vanderbilt
No. 133 Jeenathan Williams (Prolific Prep) – Commited to Buffalo
No 142 Jake Forrester (Westtown) – Signed with Indiana
No. 148 Reggie Chaney (Findlay Prep) – Arkansas
Class of 2019
No. 12 Chol Marial (IMG Academy)
No. 20 Christian Brown (Lower Richland)
No. 28 Josh Green (IMG Academy)
No. 31 Josiah James (Porter Gaud)
No. 32 Wendell Moore (Cox Mill)
No. 51 Juwan Gary (Gray Collegiate)
No. 57 Marvin Price (Huntington Prep)
No. 69 Jahmius Ramsey (IMG Academy)
No 77 DJ Burns 6’8 (York Prep)
No. 106 Anthony Harris (Paul VI)
No. 107 Deuce Dean (York Prep)
No. 130 Michael Christmas (Huntington Prep)
Class of 2020
No. 12 Jeremy Roach (Paul VI)
No. 16 Noah Farrakhan (IMG Academy)
No. 44 Jaemyn Brakefield (Huntington Prep)
No. 47 Noah Collier (Westtown)
Chick-fil-A Classic Schedule
Tickets are $12 and all general admission. No advance tickets will be sold.
DEC. 20
TIME | LOCATION | OPPONENTS |
x-(1) 6:30 PM | Aux Gym | A.C. Flora (SC) vs York Prep (SC) |
(2) 7:00 PM | Main Gym | Lower Richland (SC) vs Porter Gaud (SC) |
x-(3) 8:00 PM | Aux Gym | Blythewood (SC) vs Richland Northeast (SC) |
(4) 8:30 PM | Main Gym | Gray Collegiate (SC) vs W.J. Keenan (SC) |
DEC. 21
TIME | LOCATION | OPPONENTS |
(5) 12:00 PM | Main Gym | Providence Day (NC) vs Westside (GA) |
(6) 1:30 PM | Main Gym | Cox Mill (NC) vs Corner Canyon (UT) |
(7) 3:00 PM | Main Gym | Huntington Prep (WV) vs IMG Academy (FL) |
x-(8) 4:30 PM | Aux Gym | United Faith Academy (NC) vs Blythewood (SC) |
(9) 4:40 PM | Main Gym | Findlay Prep (NV) vs Paul VI (VA) |
x-(10) 6:00 PM | Aux Gym | York Prep (SC) vs Thomasville (GA) |
(11) 6:10 PM | Main Gym | Cannon (NC) vs Oak Hill (VA) |
x-(12) 7:30 PM | Aux Gym | Hammond (SC) vs A.C. Flora (SC) |
(13) 7:40 PM | Main Gym | Prolific Prep (CA) vs Westtown (PA) |
9:00 PM | Main Gym | 3 PT & Slam Dunk Contests |
DEC. 22
TIME | LOCATION | OPPONENT |
(14) 1:50 PM | Aux Gym | Loser Game 5 vs Loser Game 6 |
x-(15) 2:20 PM | Main Gym | Thomasville (GA) vs Hammond (SC) |
(16) 3:20 PM | Aux Gym | Loser of Game 11 vs Loser of Game 13 |
(17) 3:50 PM | Main Gym | Winner of Game 5 vs Winner of Game 6 |
(18) 4:55 PM | Aux Gym | Loser of Game 7 vs Loser of Game 9 |
(19) 5:25 PM | Main Gym | Winner of Game 7 vs Winner of Game 9 |
x-(20) 6:25 PM | Aux Gym | Richland Northeast (SC) vs United Faith Academy (NC) |
(21) 7:00 PM | Main Gym | Winner of Game 11 vs Winner of Game 13 |
(22) 8:00 PM | Aux Gym | Loser of Game 2 vs Loser of Game 4 |
(23) 8:30 PM | Main Gym | Winner of Game 2 vs Winner of Game 4 |
DEC. 23
TIME | LOCATION | OPPONENT |
(24) 12:30 PM | Aux Gym | Loser of Game 18 vs Loser of Game 16 |
(25) 12:30 PM | Main Gym | Loser of Game 14 vs Loser of Game 22 |
(26) 2:00 PM | Aux Gym | Winner of Game 14 vs Winner of Game 22 |
(27) 2:00 PM | Main Gym | Winner of Game 18 vs Winner of Game 16 |
(28) 3:40 PM | Main Gym | Loser of Game 17 vs Loser of Game 23 |
(29) 5:10 PM | Main Gym | Loser of Game 19 vs Loser of Game 21 |
(30) 6:45 PM | Main Gym | National Division Championship Game |
(31) 8:30 PM | Main Gym | American Division Championship Game |
This story was originally published December 19, 2017 at 2:47 PM with the headline "Bol Bol and other players to watch, plus story lines for Chick-fil-A Classic."