With the college basketball season underway, the Championship Rounds of the TicketCity Legends Classic begin on Nov. 19 at the IZOD Center with Vanderbilt facing NC State at 6:30 p.m. and Texas squaring off with Oregon State at 8:30 p.m. Why should you care? Let us tell you:
Future NBA Talent: Vanderbilt’s Jeffery Taylor, John Jenkins and Festus Ezeli were among the 50 players named to the John R. Wooden Award preseason watch list. Only North Carolina with four honorees has more, while Ohio State is the only other team with three. In the last four NBA Drafts, 13 players who have played in the Classic have been selected.
New York State Of Mind: Six players with ties to the New York metropolitan area will play at the IZOD Center: Sterling Gibbs (Texas), Myck Kabongo (Texas), Alexis Wangmene (Texas), Lance Goulbourne (Vandy), Rod Odom (Vandy) and Tyler Harris (NCSU).
Record Breakers: In leading Texas to the title in 2007, A.J. Abrams set eight Legends Classic records that still stand, including points (52), field goals (19) and three-pointers (12) in the Championship Rounds. Despite all that, he wasn’t even named Tournament MVP, with the honors going to his teammate, D.J. Augustin. Will anyone catch fire and break those? My money’s on Texas’ J’Covan Brown or OSU’s Jared Cunningham who can get buckets in a hurry.
On Nov. 21, the consolation game will commence at 6:30 p.m. with the title match at 8:30 p.m. All four games will be televised on ESPN3.
If you’re in the area or want to make the trip, tickets can still be purchased HERE. And while we’ll have all the coverage you need, be sure to also follow the Legends Classic on Twitter and Facebook.
Who are you most excited to see play? Who do you think will win?
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