Slam Dunk 2016 at a glance
With high school hoops around the bend, tournament organizers Nov. 9 announced a loaded, international field of 20 teams for this year’s edition of Slam Dunk To The Beach, scheduled for Dec. 27-29 at Cape Henlopen High School. The 2016 lineup features squads from eight states and Canada, including five teams ranked in USA Today’s preseason poll and several other national powers. No. 10 The Patrick School (N.J.), No. 11 Westtown (Pa.), No. 16 Gray Collegiate (S.C.), No. 17 St. Benedict’s (N.J.) and No. 25 Neumann-Goretti (Pa.) headline the 18-game slate. They are joined by St. Michael’s (Canada), Sagemont (Fla.), Paul VI (Va.), Bishop Loughlin (N.Y.), Our Savior New American (N.Y.), St. Raymond (N.Y.), Roselle Catholic (N.J.), Bishop McNamara (Md.), Baltimore Poly (Md.), Eleanor Roosevelt (Md.), Archbishop Wood (Pa.) and Smyrna, Sanford, Mount Pleasant and host Cape Henlopen, all from Delaware.
As usual, the Slam Dunk will showcase loads of future Division talent and a few kids who’ll see the NBA hardwood sooner than later. Among the blue chips slated to attend are 6-foot-9 Mohamed Bamba of Westtown, ESPN’s fourth-ranked senior and a likely NBA lottery pick, and 6-foot-11 Nick Richards of The Patrick School, ranked 12th nationally. Jet-quick point guard Quade Green of Neumann-Goretti, ranked 22nd in the senior class, returns to the Slam for a third straight year, while Gray Collegiate offers up North Carolina commit Jalek Felton, ESPN’s No. 24 senior. Other nationally ranked players who’ll make the trip to Cape’s Big House are Westtown senior Brandon Randolph (No. 40, committed to Arizona), St. Raymond senior Isaiah Washington (No. 96, committed to Minnesota), Westtown junior Cameron Reddish (No. 4), Roselle Catholic junior Nazreon Reid (No. 10), Paul VI junior Brandon Slater (No. 39), and Gray Collegiate sophomore Juwan Gary (No. 12).
The Cape Vikings, who will look to ride the inside play of forwards Randy Rickards and Ian Robertson to a banner season, will square off with in-state foe Mount Pleasant on the opening night of the tourney before a clash with Eleanor Roosevelt, the defending Maryland 4A state champions, Thursday, Dec. 29.
Slam Dunk To The Beach 2016 schedule:
Dec. 27 - Smyrna (Del.) vs. Bishop McNamara (Md.), 12 p.m.; The Patrick School (N.J.) vs. St. Raymond (N.Y.), 1:30 p.m.; Bishop Loughlin (N.Y.) vs. Baltimore Poly (Md.), 3 p.m.; Archbishop Wood (Pa.) vs. Roselle Catholic (N.J.), 6 p.m.; Neumann-Goretti (Pa.) vs. Paul VI (Va.), 7:30 p.m.; Cape Henlopen (Del.) vs. Mount Pleasant (Del.), 9 p.m.
Dec. 28 - Eleanor Roosevelt (Md.) vs. St. Michael’s (Canada), 12 p.m.; Our Savior New American (N.Y.) vs. Bishop McNamara (Md.), 1:30 p.m.; Bishop Loughlin (N.Y.) vs. Paul VI (Va.), 3 p.m.; Archbishop Wood (Pa.) vs. Sanford (Del.), 6 p.m.; Sagemont (Fla.) vs. St. Benedict’s (N.J.), 7:30 p.m.; Westtown (Pa.) vs. Gray Collegiate (S.C.), 9 p.m.
Dec. 29 - Mount Pleasant (Del.) vs. St. Michael’s (Canada), 11 a.m.; Sanford (Del.) vs. Smyrna (Del.), 12:30 p.m.; Sagemont (Fla.) vs. Baltimore Poly (Md.), 2 p.m.; Our Savior New American (N.Y.) vs. Westtown (Pa.), 6 p.m.; Gray Collegiate (S.C.) vs. St. Benedict’s (N.J.), 7:30 p.m.; Cape Henlopen (Del.) vs. Eleanor Roosevelt (Md.), 9 p.m.
