St. Patrick’s first game in the City of Palms Classic will be against John Wall, the No. 1 player in the Class of 2009 according to Rivals, and his Word of God teammates on Saturday at 3:30.
St. Patrick, the Elizabeth, N.J. school ranked No. 4 in the USA Today and PrepNation.com Polls, may have to play the game without North Carolina-bound guard Dexter Strickland, suspended for minor disciplinary reasons.
“I’m going to try to talk to the assistant principal to let me play that game,” Strickland told me. “He’s trying to teach me a lesson in life. I’m just going to learn from my mistakes. Hopefully, I can convince him to let me play the first game.”
Wall and Word of God (N.C.) advanced Thursday by way of a 63-61 victory over Plantation American Heritage, which features Florida-bound guard Kenny Boynton, who scored 61 points against Dunbar in last year’s City of Palms tournament. Boynton scored 19 against Word of God.
Wall blocked Boynton’s long jumper with 1.7 seconds left to seal the win. He added 15 points in the win.
“I made a couple of mistakes at the end, not controlling the ball and being a leader,” Wall told NaplesNews.com, “so I felt like I had to come down and play defense.”
Wall is considering Baylor, Duke, Memphis, Kansas, N.C. State and Oregon.
(Photo courtesy Jennifer Whitney, NaplesNews.com)
