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Galena High's Luke Babbitt will play in his first national all-star basketball game this summer and it almost assuredly won't be his last before his senior year is over.
Babbitt, who will be a senior and has committed to the the University of Nevada, has been selected to play in the second annual Boost Mobile Elite 24 Hoops Classic. The game is presented by RISE Magazine, one of the nation's leading high school sports magazines.
Twenty-four of the nation's top high school players regardless of class or sneaker affiliation have been chosen for the event. Babbitt is ranked among the top overall players in the class of 2008 by many national recruiting services and is ranked No.19 overall in the class of 2008 by RISE.
Babbitt will have a chance to play on arguably the country's most legendary basketball playground, Harlem's Rucker Park, when the event takes place on August 24. Among those who have played at Rucker Park are Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Wilt Chamberlain, Kobe Bryant, Allen Iverson and Julius Irving.
Among others to be featured in this year's event are Jrue Holiday of Campbell Hall in North Hollywood, Calif., ranked No. 3 in the class of 2008 by RISE; Samardo Samuels of St. Benedict's Prep in Newark, N.J., ranked No. 5 in the class of 2008; and Lance Stephenson of Lincoln in Brooklyn, N.Y., ranked No. 2 in the class of 2009.
Last year's inaugural event featured Kevin Love, ranked by many recruiting services as the No. 1 player in the class of 2007, who will play at UCLA, Michael Beasley, who will play at Kansas State and Donte Greene, who will play at Syracuse. NBA stars Steve Nash and Kenyon Martin also attended last year's event.
Players will participate in various activities in the three-day event, including an open run practice session. For more information, go to www.risemag.com.