A powerhouse basketball academy from Florida aims to win its third high-school national championship in a row this coming weekend, and Syracuse basketball fans will have an opportunity to watch an Orange recruiting target play on national TV in the country’s most prestigious event.
The 2023 GEICO Nationals will take place from Thursday, March 30, until Saturday, April 1, at the Suncoast Credit Union Arena in Ft. Myers, Fla. It’s an eight-team tournament featuring some of the best high-school squads around the country, and all of the games that are part of this year’s GEICO Nationals will air on ESPN channels.
The No. 1 seed and favorite to prevail at the 2023 GEICO Nationals is the Montverde Academy in Montverde, Fla. The Eagles have won the past two GEICO Nationals. On the Montverde Academy roster is Curtis Givens III, a 2024 four-star point guard who received a scholarship offer from Syracuse basketball in mid-February.
In this week’s ESPN top-25 rankings, the Eagles (23-2) are No. 1 across the country. On Thursday, March 30, in the quarterfinal round of the 2023 GEICO Nationals, the Montverde Academy will take on the No. 8 seed, the Sunrise Christian Academy in Bel Aire, Kan.
A Syracuse basketball 2024 four-star target will compete in this weekend’s GEICO Nationals.
Sunrise Christian (21-7), rated No. 17 in this week’s ESPN top 25, is led by 2023 five-star guard/wing Matas Buzelis. Buzelis held a ‘Cuse offer during his recruiting process and is committed to the NBA’s G-League Ignite.
The Montverde Academy and Sunrise Christian are scheduled to tip off this Thursday at 6 pm on ESPNU.
Should the Eagles prevail in their first game, they will move on to the semifinals, which will transpire on Friday, March 31, at 2:30 pm and 4:30 pm on ESPN2.
The championship contest of the 2023 GEICO Nationals will occur on Saturday, April 1, beginning at noon on ESPN.
Other invitees to this weekend’s GEICO Nationals are No. 2 seed Long Island Lutheran High School in Brookville, N.Y., No. 3 seed Prolific Prep in Napa Valley, Calif., No. 4 seed Link Academy in Branson, Mo., No. 5 seed St. Paul VI Catholic High School in Chantilly, Va., No. 6 seed IMG Academy in Bradenton, Fla., and No. 7 seed AZ Compass Prep School in Chandler, Ariz.
By the way, Orange head coach Adrian Autry, a while back, served as an assistant coach at St. Paul VI Catholic High School.
The 6-foot-3 Givens, who is from Memphis, Tenn., transferred to the Montverde Academy prior to the current 2022-23 term getting underway. Previously, he suited up for the Memphis University School.
Besides Syracuse basketball, Givens’ offer sheet also includes teams such as Memphis, Ole Miss, LSU, Illinois, Tennessee, Florida, Maryland, Nebraska, Georgetown, St. John’s, Mississippi State, Missouri, Texas A&M, Wake Forest and Xavier.
All of the primary recruiting services rate him as a top-100 national player in the junior cycle. Several recruiting Web sites rank Givens as a top-60 prospect and a top-10 point guard in the 2024 class.
The Montverde Academy, a member of the loaded 10-team National Interscholastic Basketball Conference (“NIBC”), has a stacked roster that includes 2023 five-star power forward Kwame Evans Jr. and 2024 five-star power forward/center Derik Queen.
Both Evans and Queen received Syracuse basketball offers in October of 2021. Evans is committed to Oregon, while the Orange doesn’t appear to be a contender for Queen.
I’ll certainly keep close tabs on how Givens and the Montverde Academy fare at the 2023 GEICO Nationals in the Sunshine State.