FORT MYERS, FL -- The City of Palms is one of the premiere pre Christmas tournaments in the country and the 2014 lineup is stacked deep with top teams and top players. The action tipped off on Thursday at Bishop Verot High School and there were a number of storylines that jumped out on opening day.

MAVERICK MAN

As the Dallas Mavericks were making moves on Thursday, another Maverick was making noise at the City of Palms. Cardinal Gibbons (FL) wing Maverick Rowan put on an offensive show, scoring an impressive 35 points in a 63-55 win over Mariner.

Rowan, a Pittsburgh-area native, shined on the big stage with his new Florida team. His turn-around pull-up jumper was a thing of beauty. The 6-foot-6 wing from the class of 2016 was the best offensive player on Thursday. Rowan set the bar pretty high for the rest of the tournament with his offensive flurry.

THIS LION WILL ROAR

Rodney Hunter, Jr. committed to Columbia last week and the 6-foot-4 wing from Mariner (FL) High School looks like he's another Southern steal for the Lions. Hunter, Jr. was matching the offensive punch from Rowan. He was active all over the floor and shined as a perimeter threat, finishing with 31 impressive points and hitting four three-pointers.

Hunter, Jr. follows in the footsteps of current Columbia freshman Kyle Castlin as a college-ready instant-impact player for the Ivy League school. Hunter, Jr. will be a match-up problem the minute he shows up in New York City.

CALL IT A COMEBACK

Archbishop Carroll (PA) looked like it was in total control and taking the nightcap game against Oak Ridge (FL), going into the halftime period with a 14-point lead and Antonio Blakeney hand-cuffed with foul trouble.

Then Oak Ridge got loose. Blakeney was already hot in the first half with several three-pointers but guys like Willy Nunez, a 6-foot-5 senior took care of business from the perimeter as he hit four three-pointers in the second half. Archbishop Carroll only had a four-point lead after three quarters.

The last eight minutes, well, they were just crazy. Carroll had chances to put the game away and looked like they were in control with 1:32 to play with a 65-58 lead. But Nunez struck again from the wing. Derrick Jones and Josh Sharkey, who had both played well for Carroll all game, went 0-4 from the foul line in the final seconds of the game.

Oak Ridge took advantage and NyQwan Murray converted the game-winning bucket with four ticks left on the clock.

Ball game. Oak Ridge wins and moves on in bracket play.

Madness. Welcome to Fort Myers, folks.

RANKINGS? WE DON'T NEED NO STINKIN' RANKINGS

Sierra Canyon (CA) came across the country with a team that is young but talented. So talented, in fact, MaxPreps has the team No. 5 overall in the country.

Louisville (KY) Trinity didn't care too much about that number. The Bluegrass State team knocked off the West Coast program in impressive fashion, collecting a 70-59 win.

Future Louisville Cardinal Raymond Spalding had a quiet but effective day, scoring 12 points, grabbed siz rebounds and blocked three shots in 19 minutes of work. Christian Thieneman, a Marshall signee, scored a team-high 14 points while  Jax Levitch  pumped in 12 and D'Angelo West added 12 for Trinity. 

Cody Riley and Devearl Ramsey were quite the pair for Sierra Canyon. Ramsey was the fastest point guard in the event so far while Riley was the most impressive post player.

In fact, Riley was as physical of a big man we've seen this year. We're talking high school and travel ball. The long armed lefty uses his size and strength to establish the post. He scored at will on the low blocks and punished Spalding in the paint.