Some of the nation’s top men’s college basketball prospects and AAU boys basketball teams will be back in Scranton Saturday and Sunday when Top Tier Events presents the second annual KYDA Invitational, hosted by Riverfront Sports.
Here are some things for fans to know about the event.
The Cause
Proceeds from the KYDA Invitational benefit Keep Youth Dreams Alive, a New York City-area, non-profit agency that features enrichment programs for Grades 3-12 and is designed to keep young people off the streets. Its programs include recreational and travel youth basketball.
Admission
Fans are welcome. Weekend passes are $35 per person and one-day passes are $20. Children under 10 are free.
Please note that debit and credit cards are not accepted on site, but there is ATM access at Riverfront.
Sites
The highest-level games involving the older players are featured on the three courts at Riverfront Sports.
There are also games played at Scranton High School, Holy Rosary Center and the Dunmore Community Center.
Game times
Action starts at 8 a.m. Saturday at Scranton High School. The Riverfront courts are full with starting times from 9:05 a.m. to 7:55 p.m. Saturday, then 8 a.m. through 5:45 p.m. Sunday.
Divisions
There are A and B pools for the 17U, 16U and 14U divisions. All teams compete in the same division on the 15U, 13U and 12U levels.
Top attractions
As of Friday, the following players, all ranked in the top 10 in the nation in their classes by ESPN, were expected to play in the event:
Nassir Cunningham, No. 1 in 2024, New York Rens
Assane Diop, No. 47 in 2023, Colorado Hawks
Baye Fall, No. 16 in 2023, Colorado Hawks
Johnuel “Boogie” Fland, No. 18 in 2024, PSA Cardinals 16U (New York)
Dylan Harper, No. 28 in 2024, New York Rens 16U
Elmarko Jackson, No. 66 in 2023, WeR1 (Delaware)
Ian Jackson, No. 3 in 2024, New York Wiz Kids
Ty Johnson, No. 95 in 2023, New York Rens
Derik Queen, No. 5 in 2024, Team Thrill (Baltimore)
Simeon Wilcher, No. 10 in 2023, New York Rens
In addition, Dwayne Pierce, a 6-foot-6 shooting guard from Christ The King in New York City, who is ranked in the top 50 in the Class of 2024 by Rivals.com, is another New York Rens 16U player.
Local connection
The NEPA Elite and NEPA NXT boys teams, based out of Riverfront, will be in action.
All four NEPA Elite teams – Coyle 17U, Cooper 17U, Joyce 16U and Miller 15U – are entered along with the NEPA NXT Latrella, Piccolino, Pettus, Tanner, Rotell, Tillery, Dempsey and Hopkins teams.
Concessions
A variety of refreshments are available at the Riverfront Sports concession stand and tournament apparel will also be on sale.
News coverage
Fans can follow the event with pre-tournament coverage and daily blog updates at https://toptiereventssports.com/kyda/.
Schedules and scores
Download the Top Tier Events app to access schedule information and scores of completed games.
Livestreams
Streaming of games at Riverfront is available by purchasing an account at www.livebarn.com.
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