Two schools situated less than 10 miles apart in North Jersey traveled to Florida to play each other.
Garden State power The Patrick School (Hillside, N.J.) and Hudson Catholic (Jersey City) both advanced at the prestigious City of Palms Classic on Friday and will meet at 3:40 p.m. on Sunday.
Paced by 20 points apiece from Minnesota signee Jamir Harris and undeclared junior Jordan “Shifty” Harris, The Patrick School took out Sagemont School, 80-62.
Junior forward Valdir Manuel added 12 points and 7 rebounds and Monmouth-bound guard Marcus McClary had 11 points and 4 rebounds. Kentucky-bound big man Nick Richards had just 2 points and 4 rebounds in nine minutes. His two points came on this alley-oop dunk.
.@valdir_ngule to @iamnickrichards #CityofPalms pic.twitter.com/AtpLl02U9e
— CityofPalmsClassic (@CityOfPalmsBKB) December 16, 2016
The Patrick School, co-coached by former Rutgers coach Mike Rice and Chris Chavannes, features five Division 1-bound seniors and is the favorite to win the state’s Tournament of Champions. For more on Rice, read my New York Times profile here.
Meantime, junior guards Luther Muhammad (24 points) and Jahvon Quinerly (16) combined for 40 points as Hudson Catholic beat Maret School (GA), 65-51.
On recruiting, Quinerly told FloHoops.com in this video that Arizona, Seton Hall, Villanova and Stanford “are probably working the hardest right now.”
“They’re just prioritizing me,” he said. “I see them about every two weeks they come into my school. They somehow show that interest that a lot of other schools don’t show, so that’s a great feeling.”
Lou King is here to dominate ? @CityOfPalmsBKB #CityofPalms @HCHawkNationBSK pic.twitter.com/kamrhB9g3A
— Overtime (@overtime) December 16, 2016