Featuring 52 teams, from 21 states and Canada
Springfield, Mass. – The Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame today announced the field of teams and game schedule for the 2015 Spalding® Hoophall Classic, an annual basketball tournament hosted by Springfield College, games will be played at the Blake Arena January 15-19th during Martin Luther King, Jr. weekend. The nation’s premier basketball event will once again showcase the top high school basketball teams across the country. This year’s elite matchups include Montverde Academy (FL) vs. Bishop Gorman (NV), Huntington Prep (WV) vs. Our Savior New American (NY), Stevenson High School (IL) vs. Findlay College Prep and Oak Hill Academy (VA) vs. Villa Angela St. Joseph (OH).
Numerous games from the 2014 Spalding Hoophall Classic will be broadcast nationally. Information on these broadcasts will be available shortly. Other top schools scheduled to participate include St. Anthony (NJ), Christ the King (NY), Simeon (IL) and DeMatha Catholic (MD) along with strong New England preps Brewster Academy (NH) and Northfield Mount Hermon (MA) among many others.
The Spalding Hoophall Classic will continue its tradition by hosting some of the nation’s top talent, this year it will feature standouts: Jaylen Brown (Wheeler H.S., GA), Ben Simmons (Montverde Academy, FL), Thon Maker (Orangeville Prep, Ontario), Ivan Rabb (Bishop O’Dowd, CA), Cheick Diallo (Our Savior New American School, NY) Chase Jeter (Bishop Gorman), Stephen Zimmerman (Bishop Gorman) and Jayson Tatum (Chaminade, MO). A total of 34 players out of the ESPNU Top 100 in the Class of 2015 will participate including six of the top 10 seniors as well as the nation’s top junior.
“The 2015 Spalding Hoophall Classic will once again showcase the nation’s best high school basketball programs, as well as some of the countries top student athletes,” said John L. Doleva, President and CEO of the Basketball Hall of Fame. “We look forward to welcoming each team to this exciting event and to the basketball Hall of Fame in January.”
Last year’s games were highlighted by Jahlil Okafor (Duke), Cliff Alexander (Kansas), Stanley Johnson (Arizona), Kelly Oubre (Kansas) and Karl Towns (Kentucky). In addition, 12 players who participated in past Hoophall Classic events were selected in the 1st round of the NBA Draft – including Andrew Wiggins and Jabari Parker.
“The Spalding Hoophall Classic continues to be the top high school basketball event of the season,” said Paul Sullivan, Senior Vice President of Spalding Brand. “Spalding is proud to serve as the title sponsor of this great event and looks forward to the continued partnership with the Basketball Hall of Fame.”
An associated youth tournament, the Junior Hoophall Classic, will return this year with details located at www.basketbull.org. Last year, more than 60 youth teams from around New England competed in this two day addition to the Hoophall Classic weekend.
MassLive.com, the online home of the Republican, will provide extensive coverage of the 2015 Spalding Hoophall Classic including game stories, videos, stats, photos and player interviews. Log on to MassLive.com/HoophallClassic for complete coverage.
Supporting sponsors for the Hoophall Classic are Nike, MassMutual, Marines, Gatorade, Springfield College, Florence Bank, MassLive and The Republican. Tickets for the 2015 Hoophall Classic are now on-sale. To purchase tickets, log onto tickets.hoophall.com or call the Hall of Fame during business hours (413-781-6500).
For more information on the 2015 Spalding Hoophall Classic, please visit the official web site, www.thehoophallclassic.com.
About Spalding: Russell Brands, LLC, owner of the Spalding® trademark, is the largest basketball equipment supplier in the world. Spalding is also America's first baseball company. Spalding® is the official basketball of the National Basketball Association (NBA) and Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA), the official backboard of the NBA and NCAA, the official baseball of the Little League World Series and the official volleyball of the King of the Beach Volleyball Tour. In addition to being the leading producer and marketer of basketballs, footballs, volleyballs and soccer balls, Russell Brands, LLC produces softballs under the Dudley® brand, which has more state adoptions than any other softball brand and is America’s premier softball company. For more information, visit www.spalding.com.
About the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame: Located in Springfield, Massachusetts, the birthplace of basketball, the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame promotes and preserves the game of basketball at every level – professional, collegiate, men and women. For more information on these and other upcoming events, please visit our website at www.hoophall.com or call 1-877-4-HOOPLA.
For more information:
Visit us on the web: www.halloffametipoff.com
… onFacebook: www.facebook.com/halloffametipoff
… on Twitter: @HOF_Tipoff
… or call 1-877-4-HOOPLA