BY Franklyn Calle
New York City will once again play host to some of the elite high school teams in the nation when the Nike Super 6 Showdown takes place on February 13, 2009 at Fordham’s University Rose Hill Gymnasium. Nike has put together a 3 game 6 teams showcase featuring 3 teams from New York, 2 from New Jersey and 1 from Minnesota.
The event will kick off at 5:00pm when Rice takes on Paterson Catholic. Rice, out of Harlem, New York, began the season ranked among the top 15 teams in the country according to ESPN. They feature Durand Scott, a senior guard who has committed to attend Miami in the fall. This will be Rice fifth year participating in the event. As for Paterson Catholic, out of New Jersey, will be competing in the event for the second time. PC features Fordham-bound Lance Brown and junior guard Fuquan Edwin. They began the season ranked among the top 30 teams in the nation. At 7:00pm, Abraham Lincoln will be going up against St. Patrick’s. Lincoln, out of Coney Island, New York, started the season ranked among the top 10 teams in the nation. They are the favorites to win the PSAL city championship in New York City. Lincoln is known as a great program for producing some of the top guards including Stephon Marbury and Sebastian Telfair. Senior guard Lance Stephenson is expected to be the next great one to follow. At 6-6, an argument can be made about him being the top shooting guard in the nation. St. John’s, Kansas, Memphis, USC and now the word out there is that Pittsburgh has gotten in the mix as possible destinations. There is also a buzz out there that he might follow Brandon Jennings rout to Europe. This will be Lincoln’s first year in the Nike Super 6. St. Patrick’s, out of Elizabeth, New Jersey, has a team full of big time prospects which include George Mason- commit Paris Bennet, Michael Gilchrist and North Carolina-bound Dexter Strickland. They started the season ranked among one of the top 5 in the country. This will be the second time that St. Patrick’s compete in the showcase. The last game of the event will be Hopkins vs. Thomas Jefferson. Hopkins, out of Minnetonka, Minnesota, will be participating in the event for the first time. Hopkins who are led by Mike Broghammer, a Notre Dame recruit, began the season among the top 25 teams nationwide. As for Jefferson, they hold one of the top backcourts in NYC with sophomore Davontay Grace and seniors David Coley and Keith Spellman. This will also be their first time competing in the event.
Nike puts together top notch events on the regular basis in regards to featuring some of the top prospects in the nations as well as around the world. Some other notable events put together by Nike include the PrimeTime Shootout held in January and February, Jordan Brand Classic in April, Boo Williams Invitational in April, Memorial Day classic in May, Nike Peach Jam in July, Paul Pierce Skills Academy, Vince Carter Skills Academy, Amare Stoudemire Skills Academy, Steve Nash Skills Academy, LeBron James Skills Academy, all held in June and July, and the Nike Global Challenge held in August.
