NEO Youth Elite Christmas Classic Preview

<!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>The NEO Youth Elite Christmas Classic features five games on Thursday December 22nd and six games on Tuesday December 27th all hosted at Garfield Heights High School. In this article I'll take a look at what you need to know heading into the event.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:heading --> <h2>Game 1: Parma Vs East Tech, Thursday 12:45 P.M.</h2> <!-- /wp:heading --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Parma, in it's last season as a high school takes on Cleveland Senate League squad East Tech in what should be a competitive battle. Parma already holds wins over Padua and Buckeye so far this season. East Tech is 4-2 in the Senate League with their only conference losses coming to Rhodes and Glenville.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:heading --> <h2>Game 2: Berea Midpark Vs Benedictine Thursday 2:30 P.M.</h2> <!-- /wp:heading --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Benedictine is a program I've already seen this season at the Cleveland Basketball Classic and they have a young squad, junior [player_tooltip player_id='2286922' first='Kris' last='Smith'] was their most impressive player as the Bengals look to pick up a signature win over Berea Midpark. The Titans are led by two sport stud Devyn Zahursky, Zahursky is one of the leading rebounders in the entire state.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:heading --> <h2>Game 3: Euclid Vs Maple Heights Thursday 4:15 P.M.</h2> <!-- /wp:heading --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Maple has one of the most talented backcourts in NEO with [player_tooltip player_id='1340513' first='Darius' last='Davis'] and [player_tooltip player_id='1052786' first='Xavier' last='Peterson'] leading the Mustangs attack. I'm also intrigued by [player_tooltip player_id='1432061' first='Dave' last='Aniton'] as a younger forward prospect with some athleticism and shot-blocking upside. Euclid has had a solid start to the season with a back-and-forth battle with Lutheran East showing that they can compete with anybody. Xavier Vann is one of a few players to watch for the Panthers in this one.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:heading --> <h2>Game 4: Cleveland Heights Vs Lutheran East Thursday 6:00 P.M.</h2> <!-- /wp:heading --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>The battle for Cleveland Heights, Lutheran East comes into this game unbeaten with marquee prospects like [player_tooltip player_id='867939' first='Cody' last='Head'], [player_tooltip player_id='1222354' first='Jesse' last='McCulloch'], [player_tooltip player_id='1705953' first='Tj' last='Crumble'] and more. The Falcons have answered every question asked of them so far this season with wins over some of the strongest Division III teams in the state. Next comes city rival Cleveland Heights who will be hungry after a tight loss to Olentangy Orange at the Ohio PBP Classic. Heights has a mix of young and experienced pieces with seniors like [player_tooltip player_id='1352455' first='Shemarion' last='Hardy'] and [player_tooltip player_id='1421391' first='Rayvelle' last='Duncan'] and Sophomores like [player_tooltip player_id='1432029' first='Braylyn' last='Irby'] and [player_tooltip player_id='1432059' first='Jayquan' last='Stubbs']. This should bring out one of the best crowds all season in NEO.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:heading --> <h2>Game 5: Gilmour Vs Lutheran West Thursday 7:45 P.M.</h2> <!-- /wp:heading --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>A battle of two of the top Division II teams in NEO, Gilmour is hoping to recreate some of their late season magic with seniors [player_tooltip player_id='1163471' first='Brandon' last='Rose'] and [player_tooltip player_id='1163470' first='Desh' last='Molton']. The Lancers have lost some games to top opposition but still have the talent to make a run. On the Lutheran West side, they have some huge wins over Saint Ignatius and Ottawa Glandorf but a loss to Holy Name means the Longhorns will be laser focused. Look for [player_tooltip player_id='1477054' first='Jayson' last='Levis'] and [player_tooltip player_id='1352458' first='Derek' last='Fairley'] to have a big impact in this game, but the size advantage for the Longhorns could be the difference with the Meyer twins.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:heading --> <h2>Game 7: CCC Vs Shaw Tuesday 12:45 P.M.</h2> <!-- /wp:heading --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Cleveland Central Catholic takes on Shaw in what should be a competitive battle. The Ironmen are led by sweet shooting wing [player_tooltip player_id='2304808' first='Arnell' last='Edmonds'] while Shaw counters with a balanced attack featuring Ryan Bowling and Ken Ward.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:heading --> <h2>Game 8: Revere Vs Elyria Tuesday 2:30 P.M.</h2> <!-- /wp:heading --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Elyria has a great 1-2 scoring punch with [player_tooltip player_id='1201866' first='Ryan' last='Walsh'] and [player_tooltip player_id='1491457' first='Jayden' last='Crutcher']. Walsh is an experienced point guard who can score at the rim or with the pull-up while Crutcher is one of the elite wing shooters in Ohio's 2025 class. Revere has an experienced team with point guard [player_tooltip player_id='2306392' first='Carson' last='Banks'] setting the table for a variety of shooters.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:heading --> <h2>Game 9: Shaker Heights Vs VASJ Tuesday 4:15 P.M.</h2> <!-- /wp:heading --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Shaker Heights will always have a scrappy team under head coach Danny Young and star senior guard [player_tooltip player_id='922604' first='Kellon' last='Smith'] has been getting busy this season. VASJ has a marquee win over Benedictine so far this season and are led by Junior Quandell Wright and Sophomore [player_tooltip player_id='2438772' first='Sean' last='Shenker'].</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:heading --> <h2>Game 10: Garfield Heights Vs Glenville Tuesday 6:00 P.M.</h2> <!-- /wp:heading --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>The host Bulldogs will take on Senate League power Glenville in what should be an exciting game. Garfield Heights is led by star freshman [player_tooltip player_id='1705948' first='Marcus' last='Johnson'] and Juniors [player_tooltip player_id='1222346' first='Calvin' last='Little'] and [player_tooltip player_id='1421143' first='Deandre' last='Jones']. Glenville is led by Domareyan Oliver and freshman Theodore Castro. The Tarblooders have many players from their football team that won the OHSAA Division IV championship this fall.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:heading --> <h2>Game 11: Richmond Heights Vs Brush Tuesday 7:45 P.M.</h2> <!-- /wp:heading --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>In the finale of the event Richmond Heights takes on Brush in what should be an exciting contest. Richmond Heights is the prohibitive favorite in Division IV with talent all across their starting line-up. Guards [player_tooltip player_id='1432006' first='De'Erick' last='Barber'] and [player_tooltip player_id='1432015' first='Dorian' last='Jones'] are considered the elite of the elite prospects in their class. Brush has a more experienced squad led by Marlon Barnes and [player_tooltip player_id='814555' first='Tyler' last='Williams']. Look for the Arcs to try and use their strength and experience to give the Spartans a new challenge.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph -->