Nation's best recruits to play in Shootout

ST. LOUIS -- The 21st annual Shootout on Thursday will feature the latest high school player who could jump straight to the NBA, plus a pair of Duke recruits.

A total of 28 NBA teams have requested credentials for the day-long, eight-game event, mostly to check out Amare Stoudemire. The 6-9, 240-pound Stoudemire, of Cypress Creek High School in Orlando, Fla., has orally committed to Memphis, but likely as a fallback option.

Cypress Creek plays in the eighth game against Columbia Hickman, one of Missouri's top teams.

Last year's Shootout had three centers who all became NBA lottery picks. Tyson Chandler was picked second overall and Eddy Curry fourth, both by the Chicago Bulls, and DeSagana Diop was the eighth overall pick. Three other players who played in last year's Shootout were drafted, bringing the total to 57 over the years.

Other headliners in this year's event are Duke-bound 6-9 forwards Shelden Williams of Midwest City, Okla., and Shavlik Randolph of Raleigh (N.C.) Broughton, who averaged 28 points, 13 rebounds and five blocks. Plus there's 5-11 Illinois recruit Dee Brown of Maywood (Ill.) Proviso East, 6-10 Chris Bosh of Dallas Lincoln and 6-6 Kelenna Azubuike of Tulsa (Okla.) Victory Christian.

Azubuike averaged 38 points last season, scoring 50 or more in four games, and is headed for Oklahoma. He entered the year with 2,500 points.

"We have a really strong array of individual talent," meet director Keith Pickett said. "Every game from 2:30 p.m. on has at least one All-American, and it's across all positions."

The marque game shapes up as Midwest City, the Oklahoma large-school champion three of the past four years, against Dallas Lincoln. Each team has two All-Americas.

Teams from seven states will be represented, with a mixture of local and national flavor. Forty bus loads will becoming from Parkway Central, Parkway West and Parkway South, suburban St. Louis schools playing in early games.

Parkway South plays in the lone girls game at 10 a.m. and the Parkway Central and Parkway West boys play at 11:30.