Fans of the University of Louisville men’s basketball team can get a look at some of their favorite team’s future players this weekend.
The 42nd annual Derby Festival Basketball Classic, which features 21 of the top boys’ high school hoops players from around the country, will take place at 7 p.m. Saturday night at Freedom Hall. The players will also participate in the Horseshoe Foundation Night of the Future Stars on Friday night at New Albany High School.
The roster for this year’s Derby Classic includes 14 players ranked in the Top 50 nationally, four McDonald’s All-Americans, four UofL recruits and three Indiana University recruits.
Rick Pitino's future Cardinals include 6-3 guard Donovan Mitchell from Brewster Academy in New Hampshire, 6-7 forward Deng Adel from Bradenton, Fla., 6-0 guard Ryan McMahon from Sarasota, Fla. and 6-9 forward Raymond Spalding from Trinity High School. Both Mitchell and Adel are considered Top 40 prospects nationally and should be immediate contributors next season.
The future Hoosiers include 6-10 center Thomas Bryant and 6-7 forwards OG Anunoby and Juwan Morgan. Bryant, a Top 30 recruit nationally from Huntington, W.V., committed to IU earlier this week. He is one of the quartet of McDonald’s All-Americans. The others are Diamond Stone, a 6-10 center from Milwaukee who has signed with Maryland; Jawun Evans, a 6-0 point guard from Dallas who has signed with Travis Ford and Oklahoma State; and Dedric Lawson, a 6-8 power forward from Memphis who has signed to stay at home and play for the Tigers.
Game alums include former UofL stars Darrell Griffith and Pervis Ellison, former UK stars Jamal Mashburn and Rex Chapman and former IU star Isiah Thomas as well as Hall of Famers Moses Malone and Dominique Wilkins.
Ticket prices for the Derby Classic are $50 VIP courtside seats, $18 for lower arena seats and $13 for upper arena seats. Admission to Friday’s Future Stars night, which includes the preliminaries of the slam dunk contest as well as the 3-point and 2-on-2 competitions, is free with a ticket to Saturday’s game. There will also be a 1-hour autograph-signing session after Friday night’s event with a two-item signing limit.
For more information visit kdf.org.
The complete rosters are listed below with name, position, height and college the players will be attending.
WHITE TEAM
Deng Adel, F, 6-7, Louisville; Donovan Mitchell, G, 6-3, Louisville; Ryan McMahon, G, 6-0, Louisville; Raymond Spalding, F, 6-9, Louisville; Prince Ali, G, 6-3, UCLA; Bryant Crawford, G, 6-2, Wake Forest; Jawun Evans, G, 6-0, Oklahoma State; Justin Patton, C, 6-10, Creighton; Danjel Purifoy, F, 6-6, Auburn; Matt Ryan, F, 6-8, Notre Dame; Diamond Stone, C, 6-10, Maryland.
PURPLE TEAM
Thomas Bryant, C, 6-10, Indiana; OG Anunoby, F, 6-7, Indiana; Juwan Morgan, F, 6-7, Indiana; Jalen Adams, G, 6-2, Connecticut; Daniel Giddens, C, 6-10, Ohio State; Austin Grandstaff, G, 6-5, Ohio State; Dedric Lawson, F, 6-8, Memphis; KJ Lawson, F, 6-7, Memphis; Brandon Sampson, G, 6-4, St. John’s; Justin Simon, G, 6-5, Arizona.
Photo courtesy Kentucky Derby Festival Facebook Page
