NEW YORK CITY, NY – Saturday night, the Gray Jerseys defeated the White Jerseys by a score of 127 - 126 in front of a crowd of 6,436 at the inaugural Jordan Classic, held at Madison Square Garden.
Andray Blatche (undecided) of Connecticut's South Kent Prep School (Syracuse, NY) and Tyler Hansbrough (North Carolina) of Poplar Bluff High School (Poplar Bluff, MO) were named the game's MVP’s. Hansbrough led the Gray Jerseys to victory with 24 points and nine rebounds, while Blatche scored 26 points with 16 rebounds to pace the White Jerseys.
The game capped a week of exciting activities for the players and coaches including an autograph signing at Foot Locker with hip hop artists Lil’ John and TI, a private dinner with Michael Jordan, Spike Lee and Terrell Owens at the Michael Jordan Steakhouse, a special listening session with Fat Joe at Sirius Satellite Radio headquarters and a private meeting with Michael Jordan prior to the Jordan Classic.
Martell Webster (Washington) of Seattle Preparatory School in Washington chipped in 22 points for the White Jerseys and Louis Williams (Georgia) of South Gwinnett High School in the Peach State added 20 points to lead the Gray Jerseys to the win.
Prior to the National Game, the top 20 players from the New York City metropolitan area squared off in the Regional Game. In the game, the Suburban team defeated the City Team by a score of 104-89. The game's MVP’s were Craig Austrie (Massachusetts) of Trinity Catholic High School (Stamford, CT) who had 23 points and Alvin Mofunanya (Saint Joseph's) of Dwight Morrow High School (Englewood, NJ) who recorded 17 points.
Over the past three years, the Jordan Classic has included current NBA stars LeBron James and Carmelo Anthony, as well as NCAA standouts J.R. Giddens (Kansas), Shannon Brown (Michigan State) and Linas Kleiza (Missouri).