Showcase puts prep hoop talent on display

~ Teams from Missouri, Illinois and Tennessee will bring hot college recruits to the Show Me Center.

Various players with the potential to become the next Michael Jordan or LeBron James will compete in a 14-team Pepsi Showcase at the Show Me Center on Saturday.

That was the message delivered by Show Me Center director David Ross at a news conference Monday to promote the one-day high school shootout event.

"How many of us wish we had seen LeBron James or Michael Jordan play in high school?" Ross said. "That's the kind of talent we are brining in.

"Competitive athletes have a strong desire to compete against the best competition. It is one of our goals to provide regional schools with the opportunity to play top quality opponents in a great basketball environment."

Eleven programs from Missouri are scheduled to take part in the event. Five are from the St. Louis area, including the defending Class 5 state champion, McCluer North, which has three players who have signed to play with Division I college programs.

Two teams will make an appearance from Illinois, while one high school will travel from Tennessee -- White Station -- and bring with it a sophomore and junior who are being heavily recruited.

Local teams include Central, Jackson and Notre Dame, which is led by Ryan Willen, who has committed to play basketball at Lafayette College.

Three recruits to watch from McCluer North will be Anthony Booker and Torres Roundtree -- both of whom have signed to play at Southern Illinois -- and Femi John, who has already signed with Saint Louis University, according to rivals.com.

"Torres Roundtree was the 5A player of the year last year, so he's pretty good," Jackson coach Darrin Scott said. "Femi John is really athletic and can play. And then out of those three though, some people say that Booker is the best player. He's kind of progressed into a top 10 prospect."

McCluer North will play White Station of Memphis, Tenn., at 6:45 p.m.

White Station has a pair of Division I caliber players in 6-foot sophomore Joe Jackson and 6-7 junior Ferrakohn Hall.

Jackson said he has received offers from Memphis and Tennessee, according to Show Me Center media release forms. Hall has received offers from Tennessee, Mississippi and Memphis, according to scout.com,

Other top players who will compete at the Pepsi Showcase include Webster Groves' Drew Hanlen, who has committed to Belmont University, Gateway Tech's Jesse Perry, a 6-8, 200-pound senior who has offers by SLU and SIU, and 7-footer Brett Thompson of Vienna, Ill., who has signed with SLU.

Perry and the rest of the Jaguars will match up against Willen and Notre Dame at 5 p.m. Hanlen and Webster Groves will play Jackson at 8:30 p.m.

Lafayette's Tyler Griffey, another player to watch, has received offers from Missouri, Purdue, SIU, SLU and Wisconsin.

"The Pepsi Showcase will provide area basketball fans with the opportunity to preview the next wave of college basketball players while they're still in high school," Ross said.

"As a competitor and as these athletes play," Ross later added, "they're interested in testing themselves against the best. You always have that question: How good am I? How good are we as a team? And if they can play against other top-flight talent, they get an answer to those questions."