NEW YORK — The Under Armour Elite 24 game is set for Saturday night in Brooklyn (ESPNU, 7 p.m.), but injuries and absences have made a dent in the star-studded affair.
During Thursday’s first practice, the injured crew of Isaiah Briscoe (foot), Derryck Thornton (hand), Cheick Diallo (back) and Ivan Rabb (foot) sat in chairs on the sideline and were unable to play.
“It’s a big bummer, but at least I get to come out here and support my guys,” the 6-foot-10 Rabb out of Oakland (CA) Bishop O’Dowd told SNY.tv in this interview. “I have a lot of friends and people who are here.”
Thomas Bryant and Malik Monk, both of whom are on Team Liberty (Green), were not in attendance and are not expected to play in the game.
Jaylen Brown, the No. 1 player in the Class of 2015 according to Scout.com, missed Thursday’s practice but was expected to arrive for Friday’s second practice. Derrick Jones, Thon Maker and Malik Newman also were expected Friday.
**The event also features a Dunk contest, Skills contest and Three-Point contest that will take place on Friday (tonight) that will be carried live on ESPN3 and will re-air on ESPNU on Saturday at noon ET.
**Emmanuel Mudiay and Kemba Walker both attended the practice Thursday. Mudiay, who committed to SMU at last year’s game but is now going overseas to play in China, only appeared briefly before practice and did not speak with the media. Walker, who played in the Elite 24 game in 2007, worked out a little at the end of the practice.
**New Louisville commit Donovan Mitchell, who is on the Team Freedom (Blue) roster, told me he’s recruiting Antonio Blakeney (pictured), P.J. Dozier and Jones to Louisville. The 6-foot-3 Mitchell committed to Louisville earlier this month on his visit.
**Of the 26 players on the rosters for the game (24 plus Briscoe and Thornton, who were known to be injured), only two are committed to colleges: Mitchell to Louisville and Chase Jeter to Duke.
As expected, Kentucky is involved with many of the top uncommitted 2015 players in the game, including Brown, Newman, Diallo, Blakeney, Jones, Rabb, Brandon Ingram and Stephen Zimmerman. Many of them are expected to visit Kentucky for Big Blue Madness Oct. 17.
**Seven players who just won gold with the USA U17 team at the World Championship in Dubai are in the game: Newman, Rabb, Tyus Battle, Terrance Ferguson, Jayson Tatum, Harry Giles and Josh Jackson.
**Four — Briscoe, Brown, Jeter and Zimmerman — also won gold with the USA U18 team in June at the FIBA Americas U18 Championship in Colorado Springs, CO.
Photo: Kelly Kline
