High School

All-Star Weekend 2025 high school style: Bay Area to host 4 of top 14 nationally-ranked teams; O'Dowd seeks revenge

Refurbished Henry J. Kaiser Center takes center stage as No. 2 Montverde Academy, No. 9 Utah Prep, No. 10 Dynamic Prep and No. 14 Link Academy are part of three-day NBA All-Star event

Mitch Stephens

Montverde Academy's Hudson Greer, a Creighton signee, scored 16 points to lead the area’s No. 1-ranked team to a 51-48 victory against CIA Bella Vista (Calif.) in the Montverde Academy Invitational Tournament championship game.
Montverde Academy's Hudson Greer, a Creighton signee, scored 16 points to lead the area’s No. 1-ranked team to a 51-48 victory against CIA Bella Vista (Calif.) in the Montverde Academy Invitational Tournament championship game. / Montverde Academy

OAKLAND, CALIFORNIA — The NBA hasn't forgot about Oakland completely.

As part of the NBA All-Star weekend, three days of high school basketball action will take place at beautifully refurbished Henry J. Kaiser Center, starting Thursday with a doubleheader of Bay Area powers as Oakland Bishop O'Dowd girls (14-7), ranked 12th in the region by the San Francisco Chronicle, take on No. 10 Oakland Tech (17-8) at 6 p.m.

The opener of the three day event, called ASW25 Future Game, sponsored by Nike, could be a preview of a Northern California regional contest. It takes place roughly the same time NBA All-Star Game festivities are taking place across the bay at the Chase Center in San Francisco.

That will be followed at 7:30 by O'Dowd boys (14-10) seeking revenge against Alameda (18-6) at 7:30 p.m. Alameda won the first meeting in the West Alameda County League Foothill game 54-53 on a halfcourt shot at the buzzer by O'Dowd transfer Jack O'Marra.

"They got us the first time," Bishop O'Dowd coach Lou Richie said. "Let's see what we can do this time around."

O'Dowd is coming off an 85-43 win over San Leandro when senior guard Josh Green scored a school record 47 points. He made 10 of 19 three-pointers and had 19 points in the first quarter.

The biggest night nationally takes place Friday when four nationally-ranked academy powers tangle, opening with Montverde Academy, Fla. (18-4), ranked second by SBLive/High School on SI, playing No. 14 Link Academy, Branson, Mo. (17-8) at 4:30 p.m., followed by No. 9 Utah Prep, Hurricane, Utah (18-8) versus No. 10 Dynamic Prep, Irving, Texas (24-4) at 8:30 p.m.

Among the top national prospects in the country from the Class of 2025d are Utah Prep's 6-foot-9 wing AJ Dybantsa, the nation's No. 1 recruit headed to BYU, along with teammates, fellow BYU-bound 6-11 post Xavion Staton (No. 32 national rank), and 6-1 Washington-bound point guard JJ Mandaquit (No. 62).

Top national recruits from Montverde Academy:

  • No. 22 6-6 SF CJ Ingram (Florida commit)
  • No. 41 6-4 CG Dante Allen (Villanova signee)
  • No. 56 6-6 SF Hudson Green (Creighton signee)
  • No. 65 6-7 PF Trent Sisley (Indiana signee)

Top national recruits from Link Academy:

  • No. 7 6-10 C Chris Cenac Jr. (Houston signee)
  • No. 45 6-3 CG Jerry Easter (USC signee)
  • No. 46 6-8 PF A'mare Bynum (uncommitted)
  • No. 50 6-5 SG Davion Hannah (Alabama signee)
  • No. 73 6-9 C John Clark (Texas signee)

Top national recruits from Dynamic Prep

  • No. 37 6-9 C Jaden Toombs (SMU signee)
  • No. 127 6-5 SF Jermaine O'Neal Jr. (SMU signee)
  • No. 130 6-7 PF Chris Nwuli (Rutgers signee)

Saturday's action is a doubleheader of TCAL Rock Division finals, almost certainly will feature a pair of teams from Salesian.

The Salesian boys (24-2) are the defending Northern California Open Division champions which are ranked 10th in the state by SBLive/High Schools on SI. The Salesian girls (18-11) are ranked 11th in the Bay Area and state Division 1 champions from 2021.

Salesian boys are led by the trio of Yale-bound guard Alvin Loving and top junior recruits Elias Obenyah and Carlton Perrilliat. Salesian girls rely largely on twins Janiya Sawyer and Jamia Sawyer.

High school boys basketball: Salesian high school
Salesian's Carlton Perrilliat (21) goes baseball en route to his 20 point night. / Photo: Greg Jungferman
SBLive January Photos of the Month
Guard Elias Obenyah of Salesian (Calif.) finishes a two-handed dunk against St. Joseph in the Crush in the Valley showcase in Napa. / Photo by Greg Jungferman
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Mitch Stephens
MITCH STEPHENS

Mitch Stephens is a senior editor at SBLive Sports for California, a state he's covered high school sports since 1984. He won multiple CNPA and CPSWA writing awards with the Contra Costa Times, San Francisco Chronicle and MaxPreps.com before joining the SBLive staff in 2022. He's covered the beat nationally since 2007, profiling such athletes as Derrick Henry, Paige Bueckers, Patrick Mahomes, Sabrina Ionescu, Jayson Tatum, Chiney Ogwumike, Jeremy Lin and Najee Harris as preps. You can reach him at mitch@scorebooklive.com.

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