Some of the nation’s top college basketball prospects will be in Scranton Friday and Saturday.
Top Tier Events is hosting the third annual KYDA Invitational at Riverfront Sports in Scranton along with three local colleges.
The University of Scranton and Lackawanna College in Scranton and Clarks Summit University will also be sites for the event, which will have 111 teams playing in close to 200 total games.
Dylan Harper, Ian Jackson and Naasir Cunningham are all back at the KYDA Invitational for the second straight year.
Harper and North Carolina commit Jackson are ranked second and third in the nation among prospects in the Class of 2024, according to ESPN’s Top 60. Cunningham is ranked 19th by ESPN and higher by others who analyze recruiting.
Tyler Betsey, Malachi Palmer, Syracuse commit Elijah Moore and Quinfang Pang are other nationally ranked prospects scheduled to play in the event.
The KYDA Invitational is the joint creation of Riverfront Sports and NEPA Elite AAU club owner Kevin Clark and Oz Cross from Keep Youth Dreams Alive, a New York City-area, non-profit agency.
They met when Clark was playing and Cross was serving as an assistant coach at St. John’s University.
Each year, the event has drawn some of the top AAU clubs in the country, including those funded by the major sneaker companies.
Among the teams joining the local NEPA Elite entries in the KYDA divisions for 17U, 16U and 15U boys teams are the New York Rens EYBL, the Rens United, Skook United, Marston Elite, East Coast Power, New York Rising Stars, New York Gauchos, WeR1 UAA, LABC, PPA Elite, Utica Select, New Jersey Bulldogs, Dream Canada, New York Wiz Kids, K-Low Elite 3SSBand Philly Pride.
Harper, a 6-foot-4 point guard from Don Bosco Prep in Ramsey, N.J., plays for the Rens along with Cunningham, a 6-foot-7 small forward from West Orange, N.J., who spent the past season in the Overtime Elite program in Atlanta.
Jackson, a 6-5 small forward from Cardinal Hayes in Bronx, N.J., plays for the Wiz Kids.
The top prospects will generally be found in games on the main court at the John Long Center at the University of Scranton.
The event also features 8th, 7th, 6th,5th and 4th Grade Divisions for boys and 7th, 6th,and 4th-5th Grade Divisions for girls.
Starting times Saturday range from 8 a.m. to 7:05 p.m. Sunday game times go from 8 a.m. to 3:20 p.m.
MORE TO COME
Return to www.toptierevents.com before, during and after the event for more information on the KYDA Invitational.
