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Three Villanova commits have been selected to participate in the prestigious Mary Kline Classic, the organization announced Wednesday morning.
Great Valley's (PA) Mikal Bridges (#81 on ESPN's), Mount St. Joe's (MD) Phil Booth (#67 on Scout) and Salesianum's (DE) Donte DiVincenzo (#80 on Rivals) were selected for the upperclassmen and underclassmen games. Bridges and Booth will be playing on the same team, dubbed "Team Courage." The event will also have a dunk contest and three-point shootout.
In recent years, the event - which raised $27,000 for cancer research- featured St. John's' Rysheed Jordan, Syracuse's Tyler Ennis, Kansas' Wayne Selden and Arizona's Rondae Hollis-Jefferson to name a few.
Alex Kline, the event's organizer and national recruiting analyst, spoke highly of this year's rosters including the Wildcat hopefuls.
"I think they're like any one of Jay Wright's recruits," Kline said on Wednesday morning."They are great people with a lot of character and obviously they are very talented. Donte is a great scorer, who is sneaky athletic and shoot it from anywhere. Mikal is very versatile. He can put it on the floor, he can go inside, he can drive, shoot midrange and outside he can do everything and he will benefit Villanova in the long haul. Playing with Phil would be great for him. Phil is a combo guard who can score, play both positions, shoots it a little and is just an amazing person."
Outside of multiple Villanova prospects, the event will be highlighted by Karl Towns (McDonalds & Jordan Brand All-American/Kentucky commit), Isaiah Whitehead (McDonalds & Jordan Brand All-American/Seton Hall commit), Romelo Trimble (McDonalds All-American/Maryland commit), Brandone Francis (Top-25 Senior/Florida commit), Dwayne Morgan (Top-20 Senior/UNLV commit), Ben Simmons (Top-5 Junior/LSU commit) and multiple underclassmen prospects.
Seton Hall's heralded 2014 recruiting class (Whitehead, Khadeen Carrington, Angel Delgado and Desi Rodriguez) will also be playing in the all-star game. Maryland, who will meet Villanova in the Jimmy V Classic, also brings in an elite recruiting class (Trimble, Dion Wiley, Jared Nickens and Trayvon Reed that will be participating in the Mary Kline Classic as well.
The Mary Kline Classic will be held on May 31 at West Orange High School in West Orange, NJ and has teamed up with Gatorade, Nike, Skullcandy and more to make the event a success in it's fourth year. And with the focus being on Seton Hall, Villanova and Maryland prospects, Kline said the Wildcats have the unseen talents needed to play in this all-star game.
"That's the thing about these guys," Kline said. "Character was the biggest thing this year and these three really embody that. They will all have really long careers at Villanova and can do it all. They are each stereotypical Villanova basketball players, in the best way possible. Every Villanova alum we've had (from Ryan Arcidiacono to Daniel Ochefu to Josh Hart last year), all have been great guys and that's what this is all about."
Senior Game Rosters
TEAM PERSEVERANCE (HOME)
# | Name | Position | Class | Height | High School | AAU | College |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
0 | Abdul-Malik Abu | Power Forward | Senior | 6'8" | Kimball Union Academy (NH) | Expressions Elite (MA) | North Carolina State Wolfpack |
1 | Shep Garner | Guard | Senior | 6'2" | Roman Catholic (PA) | Team Final (PA) | Penn State Nittany Lions |
3 | Dion Wiley | Shooting Guard | Senior | 6'4" | Potomac (MD) | Team Takeover (DC) | Maryland Terrapins |
5 | Trayvon Reed | Center | Senior | 7'2" | Life Center Academy (NJ) | Each One Teach One (FL) | Maryland Terrapins |
10 | Romelo Trimble | Point Guard | Senior | 6'2" | Bishop O’Connell (VA) | DC Assault (DC) | Maryland Terrapins |
11 | Jared Nickens | Small Forward | Senior | 6'6" | Westtown (PA) | Sports U (NJ) | Maryland Terrapins |
15 | Dwayne Morgan | Small Forward | Senior | 6'7" | St. Frances Academy (MD) | Baltimore Elite (MD) | UNLV Runnin' Rebels |
20 | Ja'Quan Newton | Guard | Senior | 6'3" | Neumann Goretti (PA) | Team Final (PA) | Miami-Florida Hurricanes |
32 | Jared Terrell | Shooting Guard | Senior | 6'4" | Brewster Academy (NH) | Expressions Elite (MA) | Oklahoma State Cowboys |
33 | Ben Bentil | Power Forward | Senior | 6'8" | St. Andrews (DE) | WE R1 (DE) | Providence Friars |
Coaches: Chris Alesi, Doug Martin & Mike Mannix |
TEAM COURAGE (AWAY)
# | Name | Position | Class | Height | High School | AAU | College |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
4 | Wade Baldwin | Guard | Senior | 6'4" | St. Joseph’s Metuchen (NJ) | Sports U (NJ) | Vanderbilt Commodores |
5 | Brandone Francis | Guard | Senior | 6'5" | Arlington Country Day (FL) | Florida Elite (FL) | Florida Gators |
11 | Khadeen Carrington | Guard | Senior | 6'2" | Bishop Loughlin (NY) | New York Lightning (NY) | Seton Hall Pirates |
12 | Angel Delgado | Power Forward | Senior | 6'8" | The Patrick School (NJ) | New York Lightning (NY) | Seton Hall Pirates |
15 | Isaiah Whitehead | Shooting Guard | Senior | 6'4" | Abraham Lincoln (NY) | Juice All-Stars (NY) | Seton Hall Pirates |
20 | Desi Rodriguez | Small Forward | Senior | 6'6" | Abraham Lincoln (NY) | Juice All-Stars (NY) | Seton Hall Pirates |
23 | Phil Booth | Guard | Senior | 6'2" | Mount St. Joe’s (MD) | Team Takeover (DC) | Villanova Wildcats |
24 | Brendan Boyle | Point Guard | Senior | 6'1" | Montverde Academy (FL) | Each One Teach One (FL) | Undecided |
25 | Mikal Bridges | Small Forward | Senior | 6'7" | Great Valley (PA) | Team Final (PA) | Villanova Wildcats |
32 | Karl Towns | Center | Senior | 7'0" | St. Joseph’s Metuchen (NJ) | Sports U (NJ) | Kentucky Wildcats |
Coaches: Kevin Boyle, Matt Pauls & James Barrett |
Underclassman Game Rosters
TEAM INSPIRATION (HOME)
# | Name | Position | Class | Height | High School | AAU | College |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | Bryant Crawford | Point Guard | Junior | 6'2" | Gonzaga College Prep (DC) | Team Takeover (DC) | Undecided |
3 | Payton Pritchard | Point Guard | Sophomore | 6'1" | West Linn (OR) | Team FAST (OR) | Undecided |
4 | Unique McLean | Shooting Guard | Sophomore | 6'2" | Hoosac (NY) | Team Scan (NY) | Undecided |
5 | Donte DiVincenzo | Guard | Junior | 6'4" | Salesianum (DE) | Team Final (PA) | Villanova Wildcats |
13 | Cheick Diallo | Power Forward | Junior | 6'9" | Our Savior New American (NY) | Team Scan (NY) | Undecided |
14 | Kassoum Yakwe | Power Forward | Sophomore | 6'8" | Our Savior New American (NY) | Team Scan (NY) | Undecided |
21 | Tyler Lydon | Forward | Junior | 6'9" | New Hampton (NH) | Albany City Rocks (NY) | Syracuse |
23 | Malachi Richardson | Shooting Guard | Junior | 6'5" | Roselle Catholic (NJ) | Team Final (PA) | Undecided |
25 | Tyus Battle | Guard | Sophomore | 6'5" | Gill St. Bernard’s (NJ) | Team Scan (NY) | Undecided |
31 | Thomas Bryant | Power Forward | Junior | 6'9" | Huntington Prep (WV) | Team Scan (NY) | Undecided |
Coaches: Chad Babel, Aaron Burt & Tim Mannix |
TEAM BRAVERY (AWAY)
# | Name | Position | Class | Height | High School | AAU | College |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | Justin Simon | Point Guard | Junior | 6'5" | Temecula Valley (CA) | Gamepoint Nation (CA) | Undecided |
2 | Mustapha Heron | Shooting Guard | Sophomore | 6'4" | Sacred Heart (CT) | Expressions Elite (MA) | Pittsburgh |
6 | Derrick Jones | Small Forward | Junior | 6'6" | Archbishop Carroll (PA) | We-R1 (DE) | Undecided |
10 | Chris Silva | Power Forward | Junior | 6'8" | Roselle Catholic (NJ) | New Jersey Roadrunners (NJ) | Undecided |
15 | Jessie Govan | Center | Junior | 6'9" | Wings Academy (NY) | New York Lightning (NY) | Undecided |
20 | Rawle Atkins | Shooting Guard | Sophomore | 6'4" | Christ the King (NY) | New Rens (NY) | Undecided |
22 | Sedee Keita | Center | Sophomore | 6'10" | Vermont Academy (VT) | WE R1 (DE) | Undecided |
25 | Ben Simmons | Small Forward | Junior | 6'8" | Montverde Academy (FL) | Each One Teach One (FL) | LSU Tigers |
27 | Jamal Murray | Point Guard | Sophomore | 6'5" | Athlete Institute Academy (CAN) | CIA Bounce (CAN) | Undecided |
35 | Moustapha Diagne | Power Forward | Junior | 6'9" | Pope John XXIII (NJ) | Undecided | |
Coaches: Terrell Myers, Tony McIntyre & Billy Diamond |
Slam Dunk Contest presented by Skullcandy: Wade Baldwin, Derrick Jones, Unique McLean, Abdul-Malik Abu, Justin Simon & Desi Rodriguez
3-Point Shootout presented by Skullcandy: Romelo Trimble, Isaiah Whitehead, Dion Wiley, Jared Nickens, Malachi Richardson, Brandone Francis, Tyler Lydon & Payton Pritchard