Fans were going to get to see the two biggest names in high school basketball on Saturday in Fort Worth.
That will no longer be the case, as LeBron James’ son won’t be attending The Battle Basketball Showcase. But it will still be a star-studded event, and fans at Dickies Arena will still get to see Emoni Bates, the No. 1 recruit in the nation in the Class of 2022.
There will also be several high-profile recruits on the court for the first game of Saturday’s doubleheader, which will feature Plano John Paul II and iSchool of Lewisville.
LeBron James Jr. (known as Bronny) and teammates Amari Bailey (a five-star recruit) and Chance Westry (a four-star recruit) from Sierra Canyon High School in California were scheduled to play for the California Basketball Club (CBC) at 8 p.m. Saturday in a game that was going to be nationally televised on FS1. They were scheduled to face Michigan’s Ypsi Prep Academy and Bates, a five-star Michigan State pledge who is considered one of the best high school prospects since LeBron James.
Event organizers said Thursday that CBC won’t be able to attend because of COVID-19 issues. Sierra Canyon officials said their school isn’t allowed to travel right now because of COVID-19 restrictions.
Bates and Ypsi Prep — who will play as Bates Fundamentals (their club team name) — is now scheduled to face Nevada’s Coronado High School, whose roster had included five-star guard Jaden Hardy, ranked as the fourth-best player in the nation in the Class of 2021 by 247Sports. Hardy released a statement Thursday saying he won’t be playing Saturday and will no longer be playing high school basketball.
Coronado will play under its club name, Air Nado.
There will be no Emoni Bates vs. Jaden Hardy matchup this weekend. A statement from Hardy regarding the remainder of his high school season. pic.twitter.com/IXj4sIVeQC
— Krysten Peek (@krystenpeek) January 8, 2021
Bates has already played in the Dallas area once this season, scoring 28 points as Ypsi Prep lost 79-65 to Duncanville — the No. 1-ranked Class 6A team in Texas — in the Thanksgiving Hoopfest in November at American Airlines Center.
James, the son of a four-time NBA champion and 16-time All-Star, is already a household name as a sophomore. The five-star recruit is rated the fourth-best combo guard in the nation in the Class of 2023 by 247Sports and holds an offer from Kentucky.
The 6 p.m. game Saturday will match defending TAPPS 6A state champion John Paul II against iSchool of Lewisville. John Paul II has two of the top four recruits in Texas in the Class of 2021 with five-star Texas A&M signee Manny Obaseki and four-star Texas Tech signee Jaylon Tyson.
Keyonte George, a five-star guard who transferred from Lewisville to iSchool of Lewisville in the offseason, is ranked by 247Sports as the No. 1 recruit in Texas in the Class of 2022.
John Paul II played in the Thanksgiving Hoopfest and got a combined 29 points from Obaseki and Tyson in a 61-56 win over Lancaster, the top-ranked team in the state in 5A. John Paul II also has wins over state-ranked Highland Park, Kimball and Lincoln.
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