Back. Better than ever. That’s what they’re saying in high school hoops circles as the 48th Culligan City of Palms Classic just announced the field for this year’s tournament taking place on the campus of Florida SouthWestern State College in Suncoast Credit Union Arena. After a one–year hiatus due to the COVID-19 pandemic, Classic Basketball, Inc. has announced an outstanding field of 26 schools from across the United States and Canada.
Leading the way in the main bracket is Culligan City of Palms Classic defending champion and GEICO Nationals champion, Montverde Academy (Montverde, Fla.), along with Culligan City of Palms Classic runner-up IMG Academy (Bradenton, Fla.). Both schools are fully loaded once again as they look to take home the coveted palm tree trophy that has become synonymous with the Culligan City of Palms Classic.
Montverde is led by the No. 1 senior in the nation according to Rivals, 6’10” Jalen Duren. Along with four other Top-50 seniors and a plethora of ranked underclassmen, the two-time defending national champs hope to make Coach Kevin Boyle a back-to-back COP winner.
IMG Academy may have other plans, though. They bring a senior-heavy lineup back to Fort Myers that includes four Top-50 seniors led by No. 9, 6’7” Jarace Walker. As runner-up in last year’s tournament, they are hoping for revenge and a chance to bring the trophy back up I-75 to Bradenton.
Both Montverde and IMG will likely face a tough road to the finals this year, with eleven other teams in the main bracket that finished in the top two of their respective state tournaments this past season. Powerhouse Milton High School (Alpharetta, Ga.) won the Georgia Class 7A state title and lost in the quarterfinals of the GEICO Nationals, nearly upsetting IMG. They return nearly the same team as last year, led by Ohio State commit, 6’2” senior Bruce Thornton.
Iconic Oak Hill Academy returns to the Culligan City of Palms Classic with legendary coach Steve Smith at the helm. Despite an unusual up and down season for the Warriors last year, they still made it to the GEICO quarterfinals and lost only three players to graduation.
Akron Buchtel makes their COP debut with the No. 4 senior in the country, 6’7” Chris Livingston. In a town where everyone aspires to be the “Next LeBron,” Livingston is a bona fide star. He averaged a double-double for the Griffins last year with 31.1 ppg and 15.8 rpg. He’ll team up with his twin brother Cordell as they hope to make some noise in Fort Myers in 2021.
Check out the teams page on our website https://cityofpalmsclassic.com/teams/ for the rest of the main bracket field.