It’s about that time of year again when the nation’s top high school players, regardless of class, converge on the asphalt to play in the annual Elite 24 Game.
In the past, it has served as a springboard for dozens of future NCAA and NBA stars to show out, old school style, on the outdoors at either the legendary courts at Rucker Park in Harlem, NY or Venice Beach, California.
Over the past decade, we’ve seen players like Brandon Jennings, Kevin Love, Kemba Walker, and more recently Michigan sophomore Mitch McGary, who famously shattered the backboard, and incoming Kentucky freshman Julius Randle win last year’s dunk contest.
In addition to changing sponsors from Boost Mobile to Under Armour last year, this year’s contest is also changing venues back to the East Coast in Brooklyn, New York at the old Tobacco Warehouse, directly under the famed Brooklyn Bridge.
This year’s dunk contest is slated for Friday evening with the actual Elite 24 Game set to go live on ESPN on Saturday night. So check back with THD for a full listing of rosters and coaches prior to the game.
But before that, current and past competitors of the Summer showcase come together for what is called the Elite 24 Midnight Open Run, which regularly gives us a preview of what to expect at this weekend’s festivities.
The 2014 Open Run had plenty of action and featured former NCAA star Jay Williams of Duke, Kemba Walker of the Charlotte Bobcats, as well as current HS prospects like John Wall clone Emmanuel Mudiay, forward Chric McCollough, and big man Goodluck Okonoboh, who is the 2nd coming of former HS teammate Nerlens Noel.
Top 5 Plays From 2014 Elite 24 Midnight Run:
Allen Moll has been a lifelong NBA and NCAA College Basketball fan who watches and studies games religiously, and coaches youth basketball in his native Lehigh Valley region of Pennsylvania. Allen has also provided content to Bleacherreport.com, Upperdeckblog.com, Cleveland.com, CSN Philly.com, Buckets Magazine, in addition to being a tenured NBA and NCAA columnist for TheHoopDoctors.com.
