Top hoops prospects, including sensation Mikey Williams, to play in Rock Hill showcase
In a few months, Rock Hill will host the best high school basketball talent around.
The best high school freshman prospect in the country, Jahseem Felton — and arguably the most popular high school sophomore prospect ever, Mikey Williams — are two of the several high-profile players that’ll play in the Battle At The Rock basketball showcase in the Rock Hill Sports and Event Center in the first weekend of December (Dec. 3-5).
Destination marketing organization Visit York County released which teams would play in the third annual event on Twitter Wednesday night.
“It’s just player after player after player, specifically in the class of 2023,” Visit York County CEO Billy Dunlap told The Herald via phone interview, adding, “When we started this event, we had no aspirations for it to be as big as it has turned out to be. But when you’ve been able to have teams like Oak Hill and IMG and Sunrise Christian, and teams that are year-in and year-out top-10 teams… it just adds to the credibility that the event has gotten over the short three-year span.”
In its first two years, the basketball showcase was played in Nation Ford High School in Fort Mill, a site that saw an Allen Iverson appearance when he made the trip from Charlotte to Fort Mill to watch his nephew play in 2018.
This year, the showcase will be played in the Rock Hill sports center — a several-million-dollar facility that hosted numerous youth sports events this summer, which sustained York County’s sports tourism during the bleakest days of the coronavirus pandemic.
Dunlap said Visit York County is partnering with the city of Rock Hill, which ran the tournaments over the summer during COVID-19, to put on this event.
“All of the protocols that Rock Hill has been using at the sports and event center for all their events, we’ll be doing those,” Dunlap said.
Team matchups will be released by Visit York County Oct. 28, according to an event release.
The boys’ showcase will happen the weekend before the girls’ showcase, which will take place Dec. 11-12.
Who are the showcase’s top prospects?
▪ Mikey Williams, the class of 2023’s third-ranked player in the country per ESPN and a combo guard for Lake Norman Christian in Charlotte, will headline the event. The 6-2, 175-pound sophomore has 29 offers from schools across the country, including from blue blood programs Kansas, UCLA, Tennessee and others. Off the basketball court, Williams has 2.6 million followers on Instagram, and last week, he was featured in a video that introduced the newest clothing line from hip-hop icon, Drake.
Williams moved from southern California to Charlotte in September, after a wildly successful freshman season at San Ysidro High in San Diego. In one December game last season, he went viral after scoring 77 points.
▪ Jahseem Felton of Rock Hill’s Westminster Catawba is the No. 1 freshman in the country. And yes: The 6-4 point guard, who already has offers from D1 programs, is a cousin of former Tar Heel and NBA player Raymond Felton.
▪ Kennedy Chandler and Kendall Brown of Sunrise Christian Academy are both top-15 players in the nation for the class of 2021. Chandler — the 6-1, 165-pound, second-best point guard in the country per 247Sports — recently committed to Tennessee. Brown, the 6-8, 205-pound small forward and No. 1 player in Kansas, is committed to Baylor.
▪ Julian Phillips of Blythewood in Columbia is the No. 1 player in South Carolina for the class of 2022. The 6-7, 180-pound junior has offers from Kansas, Ohio State, Florida and other schools, and he’s currently listed as a four-star player on 247Sports’ composite score.
▪ Bryce McGowens, a shooting guard from Legacy Charter in Greenville, is the No. 1 player in South Carolina for the class of 2021. The 6-5, 175-pound senior, who is a five-star prospect according to 247Sports’ composite score, has picked up 24 offers, including from Clemson, Florida and South Carolina.
▪ Malaysia Fulwiley helped lead the Keenan High School girls’ basketball team to its second title in three seasons last year — and she’s now a sophomore. Fulwiley received her first college offer when she was in the seventh grade, and she now has offers from Ole Miss, USC and other schools. 4A’s South Pointe defeated Keenan in the Battle At The Rock event last year.
Notable and local teams in 2020 Battle At The Rock
▪ Sunrise Christian Academy is led by head coach Luke Barnwell and two aforementioned top-15 players in the class of 2021. The Bel Aire, Kan., team was ranked in high school basketball’s top-10 by several outlets, including MaxPreps, for much of the 2019 season.
▪ Dorman High School of Roebuck, S.C., won its fourth straight state championship and ended the 2019-20 season ranked as the No. 2 high school basketball team in the country. The Cavaliers finished last year 30-1 — and their only loss came in the 2019 Battle At The Rock event against high school hoops powerhouse Oak Hill.
▪ Combine Academy of Charlotte is led by head coach Jeff McInnis, a former basketball player for the North Carolina Tar Heels and a 12-year NBA veteran. Combine attended the Battle At The Rock last year and defeated Legion Collegiate and Byrnes handedly.
▪ Other high school programs with robust basketball tradition — including Legacy Early College of Greenville and Hamilton Heights Christian Academy of Chattanooga, Tenn. — will also play in the showcase, too. Legacy competed in the Battle At The Rock last year.
▪ Local boys teams: Nation Ford; Rock Hill; South Pointe; Northwestern; York Prep; Westminster Catawba; Blythewood; Aiken; Byrnes.
▪ Local girls teams: Cardinal Newman; Keenan; South Pointe; Clover; Rock Hill; Legion Collegiate.
This story was originally published October 14, 2020 at 8:10 PM.
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