Rasul Butler All City Classic Sophomore Game Pre view

The sophomore game will start immediately following the freshmen game. I think this game will be the most exciting game of the night. The class of 2011 in Philadelphia in my opinion is one of the deepest classes in terms of Division 1 talent in recent memory. When I looked at the rosters for the All City Classic this was clearly on display. Players such as Eddie Mitchell (LaSalle), Eric Copes ( Imhotep Charter), Will Wise (Abington Friends), and Ky Howard (Shipley) are not even on the roster and all will be Division 1 players before they finish high school. The rosters were also missing some big time players such as Rakeem Christmass (North Catholic), and last years MVP Trevor Cooney (Sanford, DE). Although some of these players will be missing there will still me a immense of talent on display. In this game it will be all about guard play. The class of 2011 has some of the most electrifying guards you will see in high school basketball. The player I interested to see the most play is John Johnson (Girad College), Johnson is known for his ability to put points on the board in a hurry. He is coming off a excellent high school season which ended with his team winning a state championship. However, during the spring Johnson has not played in that many big time tournaments and has not really been seen much on the AAU scene. It will also be interesting to see how Aquil Younger from West Catholic plays. Younger might be the most underrated guard in this class, two weeks ago in the Bob Gibbons TOC he dropped 30 points on 2011 Indiana commit Matt Carlino. Younger is almost impossible to keep in front but needs to work on his jump shot. Finally it looks like Team Philly will have their whole crew in attendance; Juan'ya Green (Carrol), Lamin Fulton (Neumann-Goretti), Ameen Tanksley (Prep Charter), Shawn Oakman (Penn Wood), Dave Appolon (Imhotep), and Keith Coleman (Cheltenham) will all participate. Team Philly made a name for themselves Memorial Day weekend losing to the Playaz (NJ) in the final four in the TOC. Check Back tomorrow when I will preview the class of 2010 junior game.

Rosters

TEAM ONE
Juan'ya Green, Carroll
Devin Coleman, Friends' Central
Xavier Harris, North Catholic
Isaiah Baker, Episcopal
Aquil Younger, West Catholic
Joey Gripper, Abington Friends
Keith Coleman, Cheltenham
Lamin Fulton, Neumann-Goretti
Jaylen Bond, Plymouth-Whitemarsh
Jabril Trawick, Abington Friends
TEAM TWO
John Johnson, Girard College
Ameen Tanksley, Prep Charter
Shawn Oakman, Penn Wood
Shawn Valentine, Winslow Twp.
Maurice Nelson, Chester
Rashawn Cunningham, Life Center
Aaron Brown, PennWood
Wesley Rines, Abington
Jerrell Wright, Dobbins
Dave Appolon, Imhotep

* Picture is of Carrol's Juan'ya Green