2024 Beach Ball Classic Day Day One Notebook
The Beach Ball Classic Top Performers
The 2024 version of The Beach Ball Classic has kicked off and it was an exciting Friday on the coast of South Carolina for some high school hoops. With temperatures maxing out in the 60’s it was not a bad place to be before the New Year. We saw a lot of action and hopefully the rest of the tournament will keep up with the pace set today.
We have a homecoming of sorts with Pace Academy (TX) and Head Coach Raymond Felton making his return to The Beach Ball Classic where he dominated for tiny Latta (SC) High School in the early 2000’s before a career and national championship at North Carolina and the NBA.
There is some other NBA lineage in the stands this weekend too with former player Brandon Bass who is here cheering on his son, Brandon Bass Jr. of Windemere (FL) Prep. 1 of 1 (NC) Prep Academy’s Head Coach Jermaine Jackson also played in the NBA for a couple of seasons.
The BBC is always a great event before the New Year and it has a ton of history with this being the 44th edition.
Let’s take a dive into the top performers from Day One at The Beach Ball Classic.
Gevonte Ware, 1 of 1 Prep Academy - The Rutgers signee was unstoppable in the second half and finished with 18 points and 10 rebounds in the comeback win over Prince George Christian Academy. We have seen Ware a lot on our HoopSeen stage over the years and to see him in his senior season and how much he has progressed is nice to see. His footwork and his aggressiveness has really went up a level. Ware finished the day going 8-10 from the field and had 2 big blocks on the defensive side.
LJ Rush, 1 of 1 Prep Academy - Has to be one of the quickest guards in the region. Rush excels in transition and finishing tough plays at the rim. The junior guard finished with 22 points in the win. He holds a handful of Division One offers and is on my short list of guys that I would want with the ball in their hands as much as possible. Rush was 9-14 from the field and when it mattered the most, he went 4-4 from the FT line.
Neiko Mundey, Prince George Christian Academy - The best guard prospect that I have seen in a few months. You can tell he loves to compete and plays so hard and explosive. He can score from the outside and can kill the defense with his quick-twitch athletic ability that gets him to the rim. Mundey has multiple Division One offers and is still getting more high-major attention. After what I saw today, 6-14 from three, 9-12 from the FT line and finished with 35 points, he deserves all of the attention he is getting.
Brandon Bass Jr., Windemere Prep - The son of NBA player Brandon Bass, the younger Bass has some game as well. The 6-foot-5 point guard is a smooth shooting lefty that can create off the dribble and can make space between him and the defenders. He scored 24 points today in Windemere's loss to Great Crossing (KY). Bass was the bright spot for his team throughout the game. Notre Dame assistant coach Kyle Getter was in attendance to see Bass this afternoon at The Beach Ball Classic.
Vince Dawkins, Great Crossing - The Morehead State signee picked up where he left off last year at the same event. Dawkins, a son of a coach, was the dependable prospect we have seen for a while now. He scored 23 points and grabbed 9 rebounds. What was equally impressive was his shooting. He finished at the 9-15 mark including 4-4 from beyond the three-point line. Dawkins has the size and the skillset that can translate to being named to All-Ohio Valley Conference recognition by his sophomore year.
