Holiday Invitational

Holiday Invitational field features three top five players from Class of 2016

The top two players from the Class of 2016, according to Rivals.com, will be in Raleigh in December to play in the HighSchoolOT.com Holiday Invitational.
Posted 2014-10-02T05:46:15+00:00 - Updated 2014-10-30T15:53:20+00:00

The top two players from the Class of 2016, according to Rivals.com, will be in Raleigh in December to play in the HighSchoolOT.com Holiday Invitational.

In the Class of 2016, Thon Maker (Orangeville Prep) and Harry Giles (Wesleyan Christian) are ranked No. 1 and No. 2 respectively. Both will lead their teams in the Holiday Invitational.

Maker transferred to Orangeville Prep in Ontario, Canada, during the off season from Carlisle School in Virginia. Maker stands a 7-foot and 200 pounds. He has offers from Arizona, Duke, Florida, Georgetown, Indiana, Kansas, Louisville, LSU, Memphis, Missouri, NC State, Virginia and Virginia Tech.

Orangeville Prep also features 6-foot-4 shooting guard Jamal Murray, a four-star prospect according to ESPN. 

Giles will lead the Wesleyan Christian Academy team again this season after helping it win the state championship last year. Giles is a 6-foot-10, 220-pound power forward with offers from Duke, Kansas, Kentucky, NC State, North Carolina, Ohio State, Texas, UNLV, and Wake Forest, among others.

Kwe Parker, a four-star prospect according to ESPN, transferred from Trinity Christian in Fayetteville to Wesleyan Christian this summer. Parker played in the Holiday Invitational last year and has offers from Boston College, Clemson, Virginia Tech and Wake Forest.

Liberty Christian will travel to Raleigh from Tavares, Fla., for the tournament. The team features 7-foot-5 Tacko Fall, a four-star player, according to ESPN. A member of the Class of 2015, Fall has offers from Florida, Florida State, Georgetown, Georgia Tech, Purdue, Stanford, Vanderbilt, and Wake Forest.

Trinity Christian returns to the tournament again this season after making it to the championship game last year, the first time the school had every played in the Holiday Invitational. Trinity features guard Dennis Smith, Jr., the No. 5 player from the Class of 2016. Standing at 6-foot-2 and 170 pounds, Smith has offers from Charlotte, Duke, Florida, Florida State, Kansas, NC State, North Carolina, VCU and Wake Forest. He helped lead his Trinity team to a state title last season.

Virginia Episcopal School will leave Lynchburg for Raleigh in December for the tournament. The school features 6-foot-10 forward Sacha Killeya-Jones, a three-star prospect, according to Rivals.com. Killeya-Jones has offers from Charlotte, East Carolina, Old Dominion, Richmond, Virginia, VCU, Virginia Tech, and Wake Forest, among others.

Other private schools attending the tournament include Carlisle School (Martinsville, Va.), Ravenscroft and Word of God.

Carlisle features 6-foot-6 small forward Kaleb Johnson, who averaged 16.1 points per game last season.

Ravenscroft will be led by 6-foot-6 senior David Reynolds, but he will get help from other players like Ian Dubose and Michael Okauru. Meanwhile, Word of God is undergoing a coaching change. The Holy Rams should still be very talented with players like Demetrius Troy, Jaylen Fornes, Jalen Harris and Jordan Whitfield.

Field features a strong group of public schools

Two defending N.C. High School Athletic Association state champions will be participating in the Holiday Invitational this season – Apex and Kinston.

Apex won the 4-A state championship last season, beating Lake Norman in the final, 62-59, capping off a 23-7 campaign. This year, the Cougars return the Most Valuable Player from the state championship game – junior Ian Boyd.  Boyd is also a high-major prospect in football.

Kinston features one of the top players in the nation from the Class of 2015 in Brandon Ingram. According to ESPN, Ingram is the top player in North Carolina from his class and the No. 12 player in the country. Standing at 6-foot-8 and 180 pounds, the small forward is considering offers from Duke, Kansas, Kentucky, NC State, North Carolina and UCLA.

Millbrook will be attending the HighSchoolOT.com Holiday Invitational this season after advancing to the 4-A regional final last year before losing to Apex. The Wildcats put together a 24-5 overall record and return point guard Chris Clemons, a recent Campbell commit. 

Host school Broughton returns to the field again this season, featuring Boston College commit Jerome Robinson. Standing at 6-foot-4 and 170 pounds, Robinson is a three-star prospect, according to Rivals.com. The Capitals posted a 20-7 record during the 2013-2014 season.

Garner is also making a return trip to the Holiday Invitational. The Trojans will be led by senior point guard Julius Barnes, who stands at 5-foot-8 and 150 pounds. According to ESPN.com, Barnes is a three-star prospect. Last year, freshman Thomas Allen (now a sophomore) made a name for himself as a prolific scorer.

Knightdale will be in the Holiday Invitational this season after a 19-6 campaign last year. The Knights return a lot of talent from a team that had many underclassmen.

Another team with a lot of underclassmen last season was Leesville Road, and the Pride will play in the Holiday Invitational this season. Leesville Road features junior Ben Zemonek who has been picking up college interest since the spring and summer, and sophomores Alex Hunter and Jonathan Mebane.

There is also an out-of-state public school team in the field this year – Brighton High School out of Salt Lake City, Utah. Brighton features 6-foot-5 shooting guard Brock Miller who averaged 17 points per game last season. He has committed to Utah State.

Boys team list

Apex (Apex, NC)
Orangeville Prep (Ontario, Canada)
Brighton (Salt Lake City, Utah)
Broughton (Raleigh, NC)
Carlisle School (Martinsville, Va.)
Garner (Garner, NC)
Kinston (Kinston, NC)
Knightdale (Knightdale, NC)
Leesville Road (Raleigh, NC)
Liberty Christian Prep (Tavares, Fla.)
Millbrook (Raleigh, NC)
Ravenscroft School (Raleigh, NC)
Trinity Christian School (Fayetteville, NC)
Virginia Episcopal School (Lynchburg, Va.)
Wesleyan Christian Academy (High Point, NC)
Word of God (Raleigh, NC)

The HighSchoolOT.com Holiday Invitational will be played Dec. 26, 27, 29 and 30 at Broughton High School in Raleigh. Match-ups and brackets for the tournament will be released at a later date.

Follow Nick Stevens on Twitter @NickStevensHSOT

 

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