ESPN RISE National High School Invitational

The McDonald's All-American Game took place last night, but for eight of the country's best high school basketball teams, the most important games have yet to be played. The ESPN RISE National High School (Basketball) Invitational kicks off this afternoon at Georgetown High School in Bethesda, Maryland. The tournament is designed to crown a high school basketball "national champion" of sorts, as some of the country's best teams are set to attend. Each team will play three games over the weekend, and all of these games will be televised by ESPNU. Each of the teams in the tourney are filled with college level talent and they will be sure to put on quite the show. The RISE Invitational has quickly become one of the nation's most prestigious tournaments due to its national appeal. Only ESPN could pull off something this big at the high school level. Here's a preview of the seeds and each team's best players...

(1)Montrose Christian Academy - Rockville, Maryland 
Tyrone Johnson (Senior) - #71ESPNU, Committed to Villanova
Justin Anderson Jr. (Junior) - #51ESPNU

(2)Oak Hill Academy - Mouth of Wilson, Virginia
Quinn Cook (Senior) - #39ESPNU, McDonald's All-American, Committed to Duke
Damien Wilson (Junior) - #49ESPNU
A.J. Hammons (Junior) - #54ESPNU

(3)Findlay Prep - Henderson, Nevada
Myck Kabongo (Senior) #9ESPNU, McDonald's All-American, Committed to Texas
Nick Johnson (Senior) #23ESPNU, Committed to Arizona
Amir Garrett (Senior) #95ESPNU, Committed to St. John's

(4)Winter Park HS - Winter Park, Florida
Austin Rivers (Senior) #1ESPNU, McDonald's All-American, Committed to Duke

(5)Boys and Girls HS - Brooklyn, New York
Mike Taylor (Senior) Committed to Rutgers
Antione Slaughter (Senior) New York City PSAL Championship MVP

(6)Dwyer HS - Palm Beach Gardens, Florida
Joell James (Junior) #33ESPNU
Jacoby Brissett (Senior) Committed to Florida to play football [QB]

(7)United Faith Christian Academy - Charlotte, North Carolina
Braxton Ogbueze (Junior) #43ESPNU 
Peter Jurkin (Senior) Committed to Indiana
Paris Roberts-Campbell (Senior) Committed to East Carolina

(8)John Carroll HS - Bel Air, Maryland
Malcolm McMillan (Senior)
Ronald Scott (Senior)

The first game tips off today at 2pm...be sure to tune in!!!

State Farm College Basketball 3-Point and Slam Dunk Contest

The Final Four has long doubled as the NCAA's equivalent to NBA All-Star Weekend. Sometimes the performances in the college three point shoot-out and dunk contest are even more impressive than what a casual fan will see at "All-Star Saturday Night". There probably wont be anyone dunking over a Kia in Houston on Thursday night, but expect a lot of creativity from the dunk contestants and some impressive shooting from the three-point marksmen. This event is one of the hidden gems of the events leading up to the Final Four. The event will not be shown live, but will be aired at 9pm on ESPN2. Here is a list of this year's participants.

THREE-POINT CONTEST
Dwight Hardy - St. John's
LaceDarius Dunn - Baylor
Andrew Goudelock - College of Charleston
Ravern Johnson - Mississippi State
Mickey McConnell - St. Mary's
Brady Morningstar - Kansas
Jacob Pullen- Kansas State
Chris Warren - Ole Miss

SLAM DUNK CONTEST
Justin Burrell - St. John's
Gilbert Brown - Pittsburgh
Will Coleman - Memphis
Jacob Tucker - Illinois College
Justin Tubbs - East Tennessee State
Billy White - San Diego State
Darnell Wilks - Cincinnati
John Williams - UNC Asheville