2014-15 GEICO ESPN High School Basketball Showcase: 36 Top Recruits, 20 Commitments to College Programs, 11 Ranked Teams

Derek Volner November 25, 2014

11 Games
36 Recruits in the ESPN rankings, including No. 1 Ben Simmons, No. 2 Jaylen Brown, and No. 3 Malik Newman
20 Commitments to Top College Basketball Programs
14 States Represented

ESPNU, ESPN, and ESPN2 will televise 11 premier games in the 2014-15 GEICO ESPN High School Basketball Showcase beginning Monday, Dec. 8 with Lancaster, Texas vs. No. 5 Plano West in Garland, Texas. Two appearances by ESPN 100’s No. 1 recruit Ben Simmons (Montverde, Fla.) highlights a slate involving 11 ranked teams, 14 states, 36 players in the ESPN rankings, and 20 recruits who have committed to Arizona, Auburn, Duke, Florida, Florida State, Illinois, Kentucky, LSU, Memphis, Nebraska, Ohio State, Penn State, Pittsburgh, Syracuse, Texas A&M, UNLV, and Wake Forest.

2014-15 GEICO ESPN High School Basketball Showcase Highlights:

Number 1: No. 1 recruit Ben Simmons, who plays for No. 1 Montverde, Fla., will be televised twice: Friday, Dec. 12 (6:30 p.m. ET, ESPN2) and January 19 (3 p.m. on ESPNU).

Top Recruits: Five players ranked No. 1 at their position in their class will be televised: Seniors PF Ben Simmons (Montverde, Fla.), SF Jaylen Brown (Wheeler, Ga.), SG Malik Newman (Callaway, Miss), C Diamond Stone (Dominican, Wis.) and junior SF Jayson Tatum (Chaminade, Mo.).

Ranked Teams: In addition to No. 1 Montverde, Fla., the showcase features nationally ranked No. 3 Oak Hill Academy, Va.; No. 4 Bishop Gorman, Nev.; No. 5 Plano West, Texas; No. 6 Findlay Prep Nev.; No. 11 Wheeler, Ga.; No. 12 Simeon, Ill.; No. 13 Our Savior New American, N.Y.; No. 16 Bishop O’Dowd, Calif.; No. 17 Sierra Canyon, Calif.; and No. 19 DeMatha, Md. Team rankings are per USA Today (Nov. 24).

Ranked vs. Ranked: Five matchups featuring one ranked team vs. another ranked team:
- 4 Bishop Gorman, Nev. vs. No. 1 Montverde, Fla.
- 16 Bishop O’ Dowd, Calif. at No. 1 Montverde, Fla.
- 19 DeMatha, Md. vs. No. 17 Sierra Canyon, Calif.
- 13 Our Savior New American, N.Y. vs. No. 6 Findlay Prep, Nev.
- 16 Bishop O’Dowd, Calif. vs. No. 11 Wheeler, Ga.

National Showcase: 14 states will be represented across the 11 games: California, Florida, Georgia, Illinois, Maryland, Mississippi, Missouri, Nevada, New York, Ohio, Tennessee, Texas, Virginia, and Wisconsin.

ESPN 100 Participants (Seniors)

Rank and Player	Position (Pos. Rank)*	High School	College
No. 1 Ben Simmons	PF (1)	Montverde, Fla.	LSU
No. 2 Jaylen Brown	SF (1)	Wheeler, Ga.
No. 3 Malik Newman	SG (1)	Callaway, Miss
No. 5 Ivan Rabb	PF (3)	Bishop O’Dowd, Calif.
No. 6 Diamond Stone	C (1)	Dominican, Wis.
No. 7 Cheick Diallo	PF (4)	Our Savior New American, N.Y.
No. 9 Chase Jeter	C (3)	Bishop Gorman, NV	Duke
No. 10 Stephen Zimmerman	C (4)	Bishop Gorman, NV
No. 17 Allonzo Trier	SG (3)	Findlay Prep, Nev.	Arizona
No. 18 Carlton Bragg	PF	Villa Angela St. Joseph, Ohio
No. 20 Tyler Davis	C	Plano West, Texas	Texas A&M
No. 28 Dedric Lawson	PF	Hamilton, Tenn.	Memphis
No. 29 Elijah Thomas	C	Lancaster, Texas	Texas A&M
No. 35 D.J. Hogg	SF	Plano West, Texas	Texas A&M
No. 39 Dwayne Bacon	SF	Oak Hill, Va.	Florida State
No. 40 K.J. Lawson	SF	Hamilton, Tenn.	Memphis
No. 44 Charles Matthews	SG	St. Rita, Ill.	Kentucky
No. 50 D.J. Williams	SF	Simeon, Ill.	Illinois
No. 54 Noah Dickerson	PF	Montverde, Fla.	Florida
No. 55 Horace Spencer	PF	Findlay Prep, Nev.	Auburn (committed)
No. 60 Doral Moore	C	Montverde, Fla.	Wake Forest
No. 61 Daniel Giddens	C	Oak Hill, Va.	Ohio State
No. 62 Ed Morrow	PF	Simeon, Ill	Nebraska
No. 73 Damon Wilson, Jr.	PG	Our Savior New American, N.Y.	Pittsburgh
No. 74 Franklin Howard	SG	Paul VI, Va.	Syracuse
No. 81 Josh Reaves	SG	Oak Hill, Va.	Penn State
No. 94 Davon Dillard	SF	Our Savior New American, N.Y.

ESPN 60 Participants (Juniors)

Rank and Player	Position (Pos. Rank)*	High School	Verbal College Commitment
No. 1 Jayson Tatum	SF (1)	Chaminade, Mo.
No. 10 Derryck Thornton	PG (2)	Findlay Prep, Nev.
No. 16 V.J. King	SF (4)	Paul VI, Va.
No. 26 Justin Jackson	SF	Findlay Prep, Nev.	UNLV
No. 47 Devearl Ramsey	PG	Sierra Canyon, Calif.
No. 60 Zach Norvell	SG	Simeon, Ill.

ESPN 25 Participants (Sophomores)

Rank and Player	Position (Pos Rank)*	High School
No. 9 P.J. Washington	PF (3)	Findlay Prep, Nev.
No. 10 Cody Riley	PF (4)	Sierra Canyon, Calif.
No. 17 DJ Harvey, Jr.	SF (5)	DeMatha, Md.

*only designated if in top 5

2014-15 GEICO ESPN High School Basketball Showcase Television Schedule:
(All Times ET)

Lancaster, Texas vs. No. 5 Plano West, Texas
Monday, Dec., 8: 7:30 p.m. on ESPN2 from Curtis Culwell Center, Garland, Texas
No. 16 Bishop O’ Dowd, Calif. at No. 1 Montverde, Fla.
Friday, Dec.,12: 6:30 p.m. on ESPN2 from Montverde Academy, Montverde, Fla.
No. 12 Simeon, Ill. vs. St Rita, Ill.
Friday, Dec., 19: 6:30 p.m. on ESPN2 from Moraine Valley Community College, Palos Hills, Ill.
No. 19 DeMatha, Md. vs. No. 17 Sierra Canyon, Calif.
Friday, Jan., 2: 4:30 p.m. on ESPNU from Chaparral High School in Scottsdale, Ariz.
No. 13 Our Savior New American, N.Y. vs. No. 6 Findlay Prep, Nev.
Friday, Jan., 2: 6:30 p.m. on ESPNU from Chaparral High School in Scottsdale, Ariz.
No. 3 Oak Hill, Va. vs. Hamilton, Tenn.
Saturday, Jan., 10: 4 p.m. on ESPN from Arlington High School in Arlington, Tenn.
No. 16 Bishop O’Dowd, Calif vs. No. 11 Wheeler, Ga.
Monday, Jan., 19: 11 a.m. on ESPNU from Blake Arena in Springfield, Mass.
No. 3 Oak Hill, Va. vs. Villa Angela St. Joseph, Ohio.
Monday, Jan., 19: 1 p.m. on ESPNU from Blake Arena in Springfield, Mass.
No. 4 Bishop Gorman, Nev. vs. No. 1 Montverde, Fla.
Monday, Jan., 19: 3 p.m. on ESPNU from Blake Arena in Springfield, Mass.
Chaminade, Mo. vs. Paul VI, Va.
Monday, Jan., 19: 5 p.m. on ESPNU from Blake Arena in Springfield, Mass.
Callaway, Miss. vs. Dominican, Wis.
Saturday, Feb., 14: 10 p.m. on ESPNU from Concordia University Wisconsin, Mequon, Wis.

The 2014-15 GEICO ESPN High School Basketball Showcase is produced in conjunction with Paragon Marketing Group.

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Media contact: Derek Volner at 860-384-9986; [email protected] and @DerekVolner