2008 Tournament Teams
American Heritage HS (Plantation, Florida), 19-9: Kenny Boynton, HoopScoop’s No. 2-rated junior, had a 61-point game at last year’s COP, and is joined by pint-sized Ray Taylor.
Arlington Country Day (Jacksonville, Florida), 22-6: Apaches have won four consecutive state championships and boast 6-9 Wally Judge, Rivals.com’s 26th-rated junior.
Briarcrest HS (Memphis, Tennessee), 22-12: Leslie McDonald, HoopScoop’s 15th-rated junior, teamed with fellow juniors Johnny Williams and Gregg Wooten to win state title.
Dunbar HS (Fort Myers, Florida), 21-8: Tigers reached 3A state tourney behind sophomore David Paulk & juniors Melvin German, Dontel Singleton and Jeffrey Evans.
Duncanville HS (Duncanville, Texas), 36-2: Shawn Williams and Roger Franklin, both national top-75 juniors, are 75-2 with only one in-state loss during the past two seasons.
Fayette County HS (Fayetteville, Georgia), 23-10: Tigers rode 6-6 consensus top-30 junior Noel Johnson (25 ppg, 9 rpg, 3.6 apg) all the way to the Class AAAA state-title game.
Fort Myers HS (Fort Myers, Florida), 26-4: Green Wave reached Class 5A regional semis and will build around junior big men Josh Nicholas (6-11) and Steve Spline (6-7).
Lincoln HS (Brooklyn, New York), 28-4: Lance Stephenson, HoopScoop’s No. 1-rated junior, has led the Railsplitters to three consecutive city championships.
Mater Dei HS (Santa Ana, California), 35-1: Monarchs could be nation’s preseason No. 1 team, led by 6-9 brothers David & Travis Wear, who have committed to North Carolina.
Olympia HS (Orlando, Florida), 24-3: Titans won Tampa Hoops Classic and are state’s top young team, led by juniors Dexter Fields, William Green, Jamel Marshall and Martell Blue.
Roman Catholic HS (Philadelphia, Pennsylvania), 19-6: Cahillites, upset in the Catholic playoffs after a 14-0 regular-season, boast HoopScoop’s No. 11 junior, Malik Wayns.
St. Patrick HS (Elizabeth, New Jersey), 25-5: Kevin Boyle’s Celtics will make record eighth City of Palms appearance, powered by consensus top-10 junior Dexter Strickland.
Westchester HS (Los Angeles, California), 28-5: Comets will put their 14-0 City of Palms record on the line, led by national top-5 sophomore Dwayne Polee.
Wheeler HS (Marietta, Georgia), 30-3: Highly touted juniors Ari Stewart and Richard Howell will be trying to give Coach Doug Lipscomb his fifth state title in 16 seasons.
Winter Park HS (Winter Park, Florida), 28-2: Wildcats won first 21 games and return national top-25 freshman Austin Rivers, son of Boston Celtics coach Glenn “Doc” Rivers.
2008 Sunshine Teams
Bishop Verot HS (Fort Myers, Florida), 16-11: Host school loses a lot of size, but return juniors Brennen Melvin and Ettiene Effenberg, plus sophomore Jacquard Hagan.
Dwyer HS (Palm Beach Gardens, Florida), 24-4: Panthers return 14 of 15 players, including 6-1 junior Ramon Galloway and 6-3 freshman Jacoby Brissett.
Montverde Academy (Montverde, Florida), 24-5: Nationally regarded Eagles program will build around 6-11 Ruslan Pateev and 6-foot Dmitry Zimin, both juniors.
North Port HS (North Port, Florida), 20-7: Shaun Noriega is widely regarded as Southwest Florida’s top junior, and will lead the Bobcats to their first-ever City of Palms.
For Tournament and Ticket Information Call:
Ron Riley, Executive Director, 239-671-9347
Kristi Hurd, Event Coordinator, 239-850-1707
For Tournament Team Information (Coaches) Call:
Donnie Wilkie, VP, 941-456-9388
The 36th annual City of Palms Classic wrapped up on Tuesday, after which the all-tournament team was announced. It was no surprise that super sophomore Austin Rivers (Winter Park, FL) who has committed to Florid, was named tournament MVP. He helped lead his team to a 3rd place finish after knocking off nationally ranked Duncanville, TX and Westchester, CA.
