Mary Kline Classic jumps off Saturday
By Robert Alfonso Jr.
WEST ORANGE, NJ – For the last five years, some of the nations premier high school players have come to New Jersey to take place in the Mary Kline Classic. It has easily become the event every player wants to be a part of before they go off to play in college or to put an end to a spectacular underclass season.
On Saturday, at 6 pm, players step on the West Orange (NJ) High court for a great cause. There will be a dunk contest, three-point contest
The MKC was started and founded by Alex Kline, who has founded The Recruit Scoop and has been featured in Forbes magazine. He started the tournament in memory of his mother, who passed away when he was 10 years old.
Every year the tournament raises money for cancer research with all proceeds benefiting the National Brain Tumor Society and Brain Tumor Research at Thomas Jefferson University in Philadelphia, PA. The previous four years the event has raised a total of $100,000.
While this seasons roster is loaded with talent, there were some trailblazers before them who helped jumped the event off. The alumni list includes Kentucky’s Karl Towns, Syracuse’s Chris McCullough, Seton Hall’s Isaiah Whitehead, Arizona’s Rondae Hollis-Jeffoerson and a few others.
This year’s roster of players in the underclassman game is filled with memorable names. Iona Prep’s Ty Jerome (2016) , St. Benedict’s Prep Trevon Duval (2016), 22 Feet Academy’s Sedee Keita (2016), Stepanic’s Jordan Tucker (2017), Blair Academy’s Kodye Pugh and Putnam Science Academy’s Hamidou Diallo to just name a few.
The senior All-Star game features a roster of players who will make an impact at the next level. Notre Dame commit Matt Ryan (Iona Prep), UCLA’s signee Prince Ali, Louisville’s Donovan Mitchell and UNLV’s Derrick Jones (Archbishop Carroll) are just some of the names of note.
While the all-star games is the feature of the MKC many look forward to seeing the three-point and dunk contest. Last year, Unique McLean (McDuffie School) won the dunk contest in ESPN Top 10-esque.
So, do yourself a favor get a ticket and watch some of the best talent in the country. It could easily be the cheapest ticket you will ever purchase to see this kind of talent in one building.
Here are the rosters.
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SENIOR GAME |
||
| Name | High School | College |
| Justin Jenifer | Milford Milll, MD | Cincinnati |
| Matt Ryan | Iona Prep, NY | Notre Dame |
| Kenny Williams | L.C. Bird, VA | North Carolina |
| Jalen Adams | Brewster Academy, NH | Connecticut |
| Prince Ali | Sagemont School, FL | UCLA |
| Rayjon Tucker | Northside Christian Academy, NC | Florida Gulf Coast |
| Myles Stephens | St. Andrews, DE | Princeton |
| Malik Ellison | Life Center Academy, NJ | St. John’s University |
| Davon Dillard | Our Savior New American, NY | California-Berkley |
| Aaron Faizon | Northfield Mt. Heron, MA | Northwestern |
| Moustapha Diagne | Pope John XXII, NJ | Syracuse |
| Crew Angie | Kmball Union, NH | Undecided |
| Josh Sharma | Northfield Mt. Heron, MA | Stanford |
| Chris Clarke | Cape Henry Collegiate, VA | Virginia Tech |
| Terrence Mann | Tilton School, NH | Florida State |
| Steve Enoch | St. Thomas Moore, CT | Connecticut |
| Chris Silva | Roselle Catholic, NJ | South Carolina |
| Derrick Jones | Archbishop Carroll, PA | UNLV |
|
UNDERCLASSMAN GAME |
||
| Name | Year | High School |
| Breein Tyree | 2016 | St. Joseph of Metuchen, NJ |
| Curtis Jones | 2016 | Huntington Prep, WV |
| Jagan Mosely | 2016 | St. Anthony, NJ |
| Matt Coleman | 2017 | Maury, VA |
| Kodye Pugh | 2017 | Blair Academy, NJ |
| Hamidou Diallo | 2017 | Putnam Science Academy, CT |
| Bruce Brown | 2016 | Vermont Academy, VT |
| Matthew Moyer | 2016 | Gahanna Lincoln, OH/Syracuse committ |
| Sedee Keita | 2016 | 22 Feet Academy, SC |
| Ty Jerome | 2016 | Iona Prep, NY |
| Mamado Diarra | 2016 | Putnam Science Academy, CT |
| DJ Harvey | 2017 | DeMatha Catholic, MD |
| Jordan Tucker | 2017 | Stepinac, NY |
| Unique McLean | 2016 | MacDuffie School, MA |
| Markelle Fultz | 2016 | DeMatha Catholic, MD |
| Trevon Duval | 2017 | St. Benedict’s Prep, NJ |
| Chris Lykes | 2016 | Gonzaga, DC |
| Kyle Guy | 2016 | Lawrence Central, IN/Virginia |
| Michael Porter, Jr. | 2017 | Tolton Catholic, MD |
| Nick Richards | 2017 | The Patrick School, NJ |
| Temple Gibbs | 2016 | Seton Hall Prep, NJ/Notre Dame |
About the Author
Alfonso
Robert Alfonso Jr. is a graduate of Mount Sait Mary College. He has more than 20 years of journalism experience. Alfonso has helped build a basketball web brand in Georgia and has covered high school through college sports for publications in New York, North Carolina, and Georgia. His mission has always been to uplift the athletes who play sports providing them the exposure needed in this new media platform.