Highly-touted John Hugley (2020) in action on Day 1 of NEO Youth Elite Christmas Classic
The big match-up of the first day of the Boys NEO Youth Elite Christmas Classic features one of the premier post prospects the state of Ohio.
John Hugley, a 6-8 junior, who is one of the top prospects in the prephoops.com Class of 2020, leads the undefeated Brush Arcs as they face highly-touted Warrensville Heights at 6 p.m. at Garfield Heights High.
Hugley, ranked No. 6 overall in the state in the Class of 2020 by prephoops.com, has started since his freshman year. An impressive performance this summer at an invitation-only shoe camp landed him on the radar of many big-time schools and reportedly has earned him nearly 20 Division I college offers.
A prototype power-forward type, Hugley has a wide body and has added more athleticism and explosiveness to his game.
Thursday (Dec. 27) is the first day of the four-day tourney, which features 18 boys games from Dec. 27-through Dec. 29 with girls’ games slated for Dec. 30.
Brush is undefeated and has an impressive early-season win over St. Edward. Hugley is averaging 13.8 points and 12.8 rebounds.
It’s not just a one-man team
Brush point guard DJ Dial (2019) can take over a game with his scoring and playmaking ability. The 5-9 Dial is averaging 15.6 points per game and 11 assists a contest. Fellow Senior guard Andre Harris is off to tremendous start to his year averaging 8.4 rebounds a game, 4.4 steals and scoring the rock at a clip of 20.6 points per contest. He committed to Wright State earlier this year.
The Arcs will be tested by a Warrensville Heights team that features Farleigh Dickinson recruit Brandon Rush (2019), a 6-2 guard, and Ramelle Arnold, , another really good backcourt player in the class of 2021.
Other games on tap
Cleveland Heights takes on Cleveland Central Catholic at 4:15 p.m. while Euclid and its standout guard Garvin Clarke (2020) takes on Shaw at 12:45 p.m. and Elyria Catholic takes on Canton Glen Oak at 2:30 p.m. Solon and Green wrap up the action at 7:45 p.m. The 11 a.m.
Games run from 11 a.m. until the scheduled final tip each night at 7:45 p.m. from Dec. 27-29. Dec. 30 features a full slate of girls’ games.