Tournament History:
Sixth appearance; Runner-Up in 2009, 2011 and 2014
Coach:
Steve Smith
ESPN Ranked Players:
Dwayne Bacon, SG - No. 20 on ESPN 100, Daniel Giddens, C - No. 56 on ESPN 100, Josh Reaves, SG - No. 70 on ESPN 100
Notes:
Oak Hill is a rich basketball program that can lay claim to eight "Mythical" National Championships. Their alumni include Jerry Stackhouse, Rajon Rando, Brandon Jennings, Josh Smith, Steve Blake, Ty Lawson, Kevin Durant and Carmelo Anthony. This season was particularly special for Oak Hill, as their undefeated season of 45 wins set a school record. With a No. 1 national ranking, Steve Smith, who was named Naismith Coach of the Year, and company look to capture their first DICK'S Nationals title.
#2 MONTVERDE ACADEMY (FL)
Tournament History:
Fifth appearance; Runner-Up in 2010 and 2012; Champions 2013 and 2014
Coach:
Kevin Boyle
ESPN Ranked Players:
Ben Simmons, PF - No. 1 on ESPN 100, Noah Dickerson, PF - No. 58 on ESPN 100, Doral Moore, C - No. 68 on ESPN 100
Notes:
Montverde will contend for their third-straight DICK’S High School Nationals Championship with only one loss on the season and a No. 2 national ranking by USA Today. Key wins this season came against Plano West (TX), Bishop O'Dowd (CA) and Bishop Gorman (NV).
#3 BLANCHE ELY (FL)
Tournament History:
Second appearance
Coach:
Melvin Randall
Notes:
Despite not having a single ESPN -ranked player, Ely has put together a historic season becoming the first Broward County public school to go undefeated. Their run included a late-season victory over No. 13 Cardinal Gibbons (FL) which paved the way for their 7A FHSAA State Championship win, the fifth state title for Blanche Ely and the sixth state title for coach Melvin Randall, a Broward County record.
#4 WHEELER HIGH SCHOOL (GA)
Tournament History:
First appearance
Coach:
Douglas Lipscomb
ESPN Ranked Players:
Jaylen Brown, SF - #2 on ESPN 100
Notes:
Wheeler put an impressive season together with notable victories over No. 20-Wesleyan Christian (NC) and No. 2 Montverde Academy, on their way to a 6A Georgia state title and the No. 6 national ranking. Wheeler’s victory this season over the 2014 DICK'S Nationals champions, Montverde, was the defending champion’s only loss in the last two seasons.
#5 HUNTINGTON PREP (WV)
Tournament History:
Second appearance
Coach:
Arkell Bruce
ESPN Ranked Players:
Thomas Bryant, C - No. 22 on ESPN 100, Ted Kapita, PF - No. 40 on ESPN 100, Miles Bridges, SF - No. 7 on ESPN 60 (class of 2016), Curtis Jones, SG - No. 53 on ESPN 60
Notes:
In recent years, Huntington Prep has risen to become one of the premier basketball programs in the country.. Despite losing former head coach Rob Fulford to the University of Missouri, first year head coach Arkell Bruce, has maintained a high level of play and led the team to a No.7 national ranking.
#6 FINDLAY PREP (NV)
Tournament History:
Seventh appearance; Champions 2009, 2010 and 2012.
Coach:
Andy Johnson
ESPN Ranked Players:
Allonzo Trier, SG - No. on ESPN 100, Horace Spencer, PF - No. 59 on ESPN 100, Derryck Thornton, PG - No. 11 on ESPN 60, Justin Jackson, SF - No. 30 on ESPN 60, P.J Washington, PF - No. 14 on ESPN 25 (class of 2017)
Notes:
Findlay Prep is the only team to appear in all seven DICK'S Nationals, and is the most-decorated team in the event's history. Andy Johnson is the fourth head coach at Findlay in as many years, but throughout that time, has continued to maintain a consistent top 10 national ranking. Findlay alums who have participated in the Tournament include NBA Players Tristan Thompson, Avery Bradley, Corey Joseph, Anthony Bennett and Nick Johnson.
#7 GREENSBORO DAY (NC)
Tournament History:
First appearance
Coach:
Fred Johnson
Notes: Coming into the tournament with the No. 17 national ranking, this will be the first appearance in the DICK'S Nationals for Fred Johnson and the Bengals. Greensboro Day avenged a mid-season loss to No. 20 Wesleyan Christian, when they defeated the Trojans to take the North Carolina Independent Schools Athletic Association 3A Championship. Coach Johnson, who has been with the program for 38 years, picked up his 900th win earlier this season.
#8 WINGS ACADEMY (NY)
Tournament History:
First appearance
Coach:
Billy Turnage
ESPN Ranked Players:
Jesse Govan, C - No. 65 on ESPN 100
Notes:
Wings got over some significant hurdles by beating nationally ranked Jefferson and then defending champ Cardozo to win the New York City PSAL championship. They are lead by Georgetown bound center Jesse Govan, who had 17 points and 17 rebounds in the PSAL final.
Girls Teams
#1 DILLARD HIGH SCHOOL (FL)
Tournament History:
Third appearance
Coach:
Marcia Pinder
Notes:
Dillard has appeared in the tournament previously in 2010 and 2013, where lost in the first round both times. The Panthers look to have a better showing this year, as the highest ranked team in the girls field; No. 3 nationally. On the way to the FHSAA Class 5A state championship, they outscored their opponents in the semifinal and finals by a combined sixty points.
#2 MIAMI COUNTRY DAY (FL)
Tournament History:
First appearance
Coach:
Ochiel Swaby
Notes:
Miami Country Day won their second consecutive FHSAA Class 3A state championship in convincing fashion, beating their final two opponents by a combined 54 points. Sophomore guards Channise Lewis and Kelsey Marshall lead the way for the Spartans as the two leading scorers. Notable wins this season came against Elizabethtown (KY) and Long Beach Poly (CA)
#3 GONZAGA PREP (WA)
Tournament History:
First appearance
Coach:
Mike Arte
ESPN Ranked Player:
Otiona Gildon, F - No. 38 on ESPN 100
Notes:
Gonzaga Prep will be the first girls team from the state of Washington to compete in the tournament. They won their second straight WIAA Class 4A state championship and will carry a 50-game wining streak to New York. Laura Stockton, daughter of John Stockton - former Utah Jazz great and NBA hall-of-famer; was the Seattle Times' girls state basketball player of the year.
#4 SOUTH SHORE HIGH SCHOOL (NY)
Tournament History:
First appearance Coach:
Anwar Gladden ESPN Ranked Player:
Brianna Fraser, F - No. 15 on ESPN 100 Notes:
After five appearances in the New York City PSAL finals in the past seven years, South Shore can finally call themselves champions. They defeated Grand Street in the PSAL AA finals 42-30; with 22 points, seven rebounds and six blocks from McDonald's All American and Maryland bound Brianna Fraser.
DICK'S Nationals History
DICK’S Sporting Goods High School National Tournament History
The National High School Invitational (NHSI) launched in 2009 at Georgetown Prep in Bethesda, Md. The event was created by Paragon Marketing Group to provide a platform for top nationally ranked high school basketball teams to compete against one another in a season ending tournament.
The 2009 boys tournament was won by Findlay Prep (Nev.) with the girls tournament won by Seton Keough (Md.). The second annual tournament was held at Coppin State University’s Physical Education Complex in Baltimore with Findlay Prep retaining the boys title and the Peddie School (NJ) claiming the girls title. In 2011, Montrose Christian (Md.) won the boys title in double overtime while Dr. Phillips (Fla.) won the girls
championship. Findlay Prep recaptured the NHSI boys title in 2012 with an overtime victory, and Riverdale Baptist (Md.) took the girls championship trophy. Last year Montverde (FL) won its first NHSI boys title, and Dr. Phillips won their second girls title.
The event moved to New York City in 2014, thanks to title sponsor DICK'S Sporting Goods and the host venue for the Championship games, Madison Square Garden. Montverde (FL) boys and Riverdale Baptist (MD) girls were crowned champions for the 2nd time. The DICK'S Nationals will return to NYC for its 7th season on April 2-4, 2015.
Paragon Marketing Group, an engagement marketing consultancy, owns and operates the DICK'S Sporting Goods High School National Tournament. We develop marketing platforms grounded in sports, entertainment, music, arts, cause and media partnerships. These platforms are created to develop engaged, sustainable relationships with our clients’ target audiences. Additionally, we are committed to creating a culture that delivers a great place to work and engenders long-term, healthy business partnerships.
Since our inception in 1995, we have grown from 3 people to over 50 marketing professionals, all of whom have a passion for sponsorship marketing. Our core competencies include sponsorship targeting/identification, evaluation, negotiation, activation, execution and measurement. Additionally, many of our clients have trusted Paragon to deliver value in the areas of event creation, mobile marketing, digital/social marketing platforms and television/digital content production.
In 2002, we secured the rights to put LeBron James, Cleveland’s then star high school basketball player, on ESPN2. Their subsequent broadcast of the game against Oak Hill Academy garnered the highest ratings ever for the channel and created a new
television category — live national broadcast of high school athletics. Since then, our relationship with ESPN has grown into a strategic partnership showcasing the top high school football and basketball teams and players to a national audience each season.
To date we have partnered with ESPN to televise over 350 high school football and basketball contests featuring teams from 35 states. Games featured some of the biggest names in sports including Kevin Durant, Dwight Howard, Kevin Love, Derrick Rose, Kyrie Irving, Anthony Davis, Tim Tebow, Jadeveon Clowney, Julio Jones, AJ Green and Jameis Winston.
DICK'S Sporting Goods, Inc.
Founded in 1948, DICK'S Sporting Goods, Inc. is a leading omni-channel sporting goods retailer offering an extensive assortment of authentic, high-quality sports equipment, apparel, footwear and accessories. As of November 1, 2014, the Company operated more than 595 DICK'S Sporting Goods locations across the United States, serving and inspiring athletes and outdoor enthusiasts to achieve their personal best through a blend of dedicated associates, in-store services and unique specialty shop-in-shops dedicated to Team Sports, Athletic Apparel, Golf, Lodge/Outdoor, Fitness and Footwear. Headquartered in Pittsburgh, PA, DICK’S also owns and operates Golf Galaxy, Field & Stream and True Runner specialty stores. DICK'S offers its products through a content-rich eCommerce platform that is integrated with its store network and provides customers with the convenience and expertise of a 24-hour storefront. For more information, visit the Press Room or Investor Relations pages at www.DICKS.com.
Paragon partners with ESPN on the following live properties
GEICO ESPN High School Kickoff
13 live telecasts on the opening weekend of high school football in August
GEICO ESPN High School Football & Basketball Showcase
24 live telecasts (12 football, 12 basketball) of nationally ranked high school teams, rivalries and top prospects from across the country
DICK'S Sporting Goods High School National Tournament
8 boys teams and 4 girls teams compete for a postseason basketball championship with all 10 games televised live on ESPN networks
tournament news
Eight of the Top-Ranked Boys Teams and Four of the Top-Ranked Girls Teams in the Country Set to Compete in the DICK'S Sporting Goods High School Nationals Basketball Tournament in New York City
LIVE coverage of all games on ESPN, ESPN2 and ESPNU April 2 – 4
Featuring the best high school basketball talent in the country, The DICK’S Sporting Goods High School Nationals returns to New York City for the second-consecutive year. This year, all eight of the boys teams and three of the girls teams that were selected to play in the seventh-annual high school basketball tournament are ranked in the USA Today Super 25 national rankings. This year’s pool will also include a total of six state champions.
In the boys field, undefeated and No. 1 Oak Hill Academy (VA) and the defending 2014 tournament champion No. 2- Montverde Academy (FL) will both compete. Three teams that earned state titles this year, including, Ely High School (FL), Wheeler High School (GA) and Greensboro Day School (NC) along with New York City Public Schools Athletic League Champion Wings Academy (NY) will also face-off for the tournament title.
The girls field includes three different state champions, Dillard (FL), Miami Country Day (FL) and Gonzaga Prep School
(WA), along with New York City Public Schools Athletic League Champion South Shore (NY)
"At DICK'S, we believe that sports make people better and serving as the title sponsor of this great event for the secondstraight
year gives us the chance to provide these players and their fans with a first-class experience," said Mark Rooks,
Vice President of Sports and Community Marketing, DICK'S Sporting Goods. "The field of teams you'll see play this year
is one of the most-talented groups in the tournament's history, and we're excited to watch them compete next month in
New York City."
New York, NY
