ESPN, in conjunction with Paragon Marketing Group, will present the 2010-11 ESPN RISE High School Basketball Showcase, 14 high school boy’s basketball games to be featured across ESPN, ESPN2 and ESPNU Thursday, Dec. 16, through Saturday, Feb. 12. The 24-hour college sports network, ESPNU, will air nine of the telecasts, ESPN will have three and ESPN2 will present two games. ESPN3.com will simulcast all games aired on ESPN and ESPN2. The series of regular-season games will include teams from 13 states, including 19 teams currently ranked in the FAB 50 ESPN RISE Team Rankings. Presenting sponsors for the ESPN RISE High School Basketball Showcase include Gatorade, Nike and U.S. Marine Corps.

The ESPN RISE High School Basketball Showcase is highlighted by games that will include the top five teams currently ranked in the FAB 50 ESPN RISE Team Rankings and seven of the top 10 teams:

• No. 1 Findlay Prep (Nev.), No. 2 Oak Hill (Va.) and No. 4 St. Patrick (N.J.) will each be featured twice.
• ESPNU will air Findlay Prep and St. Patrick as they take part in Naismith Memorial Hall of Fame Spalding Hoophall Classic, from Springfield College, on Monday, Jan. 17. Top-ranked Findlay Prep will face Lincoln (Texas) at 3 p.m. ET and St. Patrick will play No. 9 Bishop Gorman (Nev.) at 1 p.m.
• Findlay Prep also plays at No. 27 Yates (Texas) on Thursday, Dec. 16, at 9 p.m. on ESPN in a matchup of the 2009 and 2010 FAB 50 ESPN RISE National Champions. St. Patrick plays at No. 11 Winter Park (Fla.) on Friday, Jan. 14, at 7 p.m. on ESPN2.
• No. 2 Oak Hill (Va.) will also be shown twice – home vs. No. 3 Milton (Ga.) on Saturday, Jan. 15, at 8 p.m. on ESPNU and at No. 29 Christ School (N.C.) on Friday, Feb. 11, at 7:30 p.m. on ESPN2.
• No. 5 St. Anthony’s (N.J.) hosts No. 14 DeMatha (Md.) on Saturday, Jan. 15, at 4 p.m. on ESPN.

The Naismith Memorial Hall of Fame Spalding Hoophall Classic consists of four games to be played on Martin Luther King, Jr. Day, Monday, Jan. 17, from Springfield, Mass., home of the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame. ESPNU will air the games from Springfield including No. 32 Westchester Country Day (N.C.) vs. No. 8 Christ the King (N.Y.) at 11 a.m. and Academy New Church (Pa.) vs. No. 18 Boys and Girls (N.Y.) at 5 p.m.

The ESPN RISE High School Basketball Showcase will highlight 19 players ranked in the ESPNU 100 Class of 2011. Players expected to participate in the showcase series include – No. 1 Austin Rivers, SG, Winter Park HS (Fla.); No. 2 Anthony Davis, PF, Perspectives Charter School (Ill.); No. 3 Michael Gilchrist, SF, St. Patrick HS (N.J.); No. 4 Quincy Miller, PF, Westchester Country Day School (N.C.); No. 7 Bradley Beal, SG, Chaminade College Prep HS; No. 9 Myck Kabongo, PG, Findlay College Prep (Nev.); No. 11 Rakeem Christmas, C, Academy of the New Church (Pa.); No. 12 LeBryan Nash, SF, Lincoln HS (Texas); No. 15 Branden Dawson, SF, Lew Wallace HS (Ind.); No. 20 B.J. Young, PG, McCluer North HS (Mo.); No. 23 Nick Johnson, SG, Findlay College Prep (Nev.); and No. 25 Quinn Cook, PG, Oak Hill Academy (Va.).

ESPNU will supplement the game schedule with a weekly studio show, ESPNU Recruiting Insider, which evaluates the top high school basketball recruits and their classes based on research and analysis provided by ESPN’s Scouts, Inc. The show will air Thursdays at 5:30 p.m. throughout the season with ESPNU anchor Lowell Galindo hosting alongside analyst Paul Biancardi.

ESPN will also air postseason high school basketball coverage, including:

• PowerAde JamFest on Monday, March 28, at 7:30 p.m. on ESPN2
• McDonald’s High School All-American Girls Game on Wednesday, March 30, at 7:30 p.m. on ESPNU
• McDonald’s High School All-American Boys Game on Wednesday, March 30, at 10 p.m. on ESPN
• Jordan Brand Classic on Saturday, April 16, at 8 p.m. on ESPN2
• ESPN RISE National High School Invitational Thursday, March 31 through Saturday, April 2 on ESPN ESPN2 and ESPNU

2010-11 High School Basketball Showcase Schedule (All ESPN & ESPN2 games simulcast on ESPN3.com; schedule subject to change)

About ESPN RISE
ESPN RISE represents ESPN’s commitment to engage and elevate high school athletes by providing them with recognition, resources, information and inspiration that can motivate them to improve their skills and achieve their goals to be the best athletes they can.  ESPN RISE assets include ESPN RISE, GIRL, Hardwood and Gridiron magazines; ESPNRISE.com, and more than 160 high school events including Elite 11, 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 high school athletes and the company’s core fans with compelling high school sports content across all ESPN platforms.

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