High school talent to be displayed

Prep basketball standouts converging on Lawrence this weekend

About 60 teams of high school basketball players will participate at this weekend’s Jayhawk Invitational Tournament at Allen Fieldhouse, Horejsi Center and Robinson Gymnasium.

The featured 17-and-under portion of the tourney will run from 7:30 p.m. to 10 p.m. today and 8:30 a.m.-10 p.m. Saturday, with the finals slated for 2:45 p.m. Sunday at Allen Fieldhouse.

Some major-college prospects will be here this weekend, including future Texas Tech players Justin Wilkerson (Texas Top Prospects) and Terry Martin (Jackson, Miss., Panthers) and future Oklahoma State player Antonio Hanson (KC Pump N Run).

Also on the recruiting trail, Roderick Fleming of Texas Top Prospects reportedly is favoring Oklahoma State.

Ray Brown of Minnesota’s NC Heat is being recruited by UConn, Minnesota, UCLA, Purdue and others. Marcus Walker of the K.C. Keys, who might switch and play for Rocktown this weekend, reportedly is considering KU, Arizona, Missouri, Oklahoma, Arkansas and others.

J.P. Gavinski, of Wisconsin’s Fox Valley Skillz, is considering Iowa, Iowa State, Minnesota and Wisconsin.

Henry Dugat of Houston Select is a top-75 player reportedly looking at KU, Kansas State, Oklahoma and others.

Brandon Rush, the brother of JaRon and Kareem Rush who played at Mt. Zion Academy in North Carolina last season, could be looking at a direct jump to the NBA. He’ll be a teammate of 6-foot-7 Tracy Smith with Rocktown. Brandon Smith of Howard Pulley is said to be considering several Big 12 Conference teams.

“The field from top to bottom is the best in the (four-year) history of the tournament,” said Eric Bossi of prepstars.com. “There will be some top players participating.”

Here’s a quick look at some of the teams and potential major college players participating.

  • KC Pump N Run: Brady Morningstar, 6-2; Leo Criswell, 6-7; Chris Balham, 6-7; Antonio Hanson, 6-1. Schedule: 10 p.m., today, AF; 12:15 p.m., Sat., HC; 4 p.m., Sat., RG.
  • Houston Elite: Gerald Green, 6-7; Jovan “Wink” Adams, 6-1. Schedule: 8:30 a.m. Sat., HC; 11 a.m., Sat., AF; 2:45 p.m., Sat., HC.
  • Houston Select: Henry Dugat, 6-0; Obi Ikeakor, 6-8; C.J. Clark, 6-7. Schedule: 8:30 a.m., Sat., AF; 11 a.m., Sat., RG; 2:45 p.m., Sat, RG.
  • Rocktown: Brandon Rush, 6-7; Tracy Smith, 6-7; Julius Powell, 6-9. Schedule: 9:45 a.m., Sat, HC; 12:15 p.m., Sat., AF; 6:30 p.m., Sat., HC.
  • Minnesota N.C. Heat: Ross Forman, 6-7; Ray Brown, 6-6; Xavier Crawford, 6-9. Schedule: 7:30 p.m., today, AF; 11 a.m., Sat., RG; 2:45 p.m., Sat., RG.
  • Los Angeles H-Squad: Joe Darger, 6-6. Schedule: 8:30 a.m., Sat., AF; 11 a.m., Sat., RG; 2:45. p.m, Sat., RG.
  • Jackson, Miss., Panthers: Terry Martin, 6-5; Kenny Cooper, 6-10. Schedule: 8:30 a.m., Sat., HC; 11 a.m., Sat., AF; 2:45 p.m., Sat., HC.
  • Pump N Run, Colorado: Dazzmond Thornton, 6-6. Schedule: 10 p.m., today, AF; 12:15 p.m., Sat., RG; 4 p.m., Sat., RG.
  • Texas Top Prospects: Roderick Fleming, 6-5; Justin Wilkerson, 6-8. Schedule: 9:45 a.m., Sat., AF; 12:15 p.m., Sat., RG; 4 p.m., Sat., RG.
  • Springfield (Mo.) Heat: Shane Laurie, 6-1. Schedule: 7:30 p.m., today, HC; 11 a.m., Sat., HC; 2:45 p.m., Sat., AF.
  • Nebraska Bison: Josh Doetzler, 6-1; Matt Hill, 6-9. Schedule: 7:30 p.m., today, HC; 11 a.m., Sat., AF; 2:45 p.m., Sat., HC.
  • Minnesota Howard Pulley: Andy Wills, 6-7; Courtney Tyler, 6-2; Nate Phillips, 6-3; Brandon Smith, 6-5. Schedule: 8:30 a.m., Sat., HC; 11 a.m., Sat., HC; 2:45 p.m., Sat., AF.
  • Wisconsin Fox Valley Skillz: J.P. Gavinski, 6-10, Dells; Ryan Tillema, 6-7. Schedule: 10 p.m., today, AF; 12:15 p.m., Sat., RG; 4 p.m., Sat., RG.
  • Just Us Milwaukee: Quincy Owens, 6-9; Cory Johnson, 6-8. Schedule: 7:30 p.m., today, HC; 11 a.m., Sat., HC; 2:45 p.m., Sat., AF.
  • Kansas City Keys: Marcus Walker, 6-2; Lorenzo Riley, 6-6. Schedule: 7:30 p.m., today, AF; 11 a.m., Sat., RG; 2:45 p.m., Sat., RG.
  • North Texas Rice Owls: Mike Miller, 6-4. Schedule: 9:45 a.m., Sat., HC; 12:15 p.m., Sat., AF; 6:30 p.m., Sat., HC.
  • 16 and under St. Louis Eagles: Ben Hansbrough, 6-3. Schedule: 9:45 a.m., Sat., RG; 4 p.m., Sat., AF; 7:45 p.m., Sat., HC.