The 2020 Empire Invitational
THE BRONX, NEW YORK CITY: On Saturday January 12th, ten of the east coasts’ best teams came together for the 2020 Empire Invitational hosted by Pat Lawless.
Many fans came in attendance to see the top players in the country like Andre Jackson, Posh Alexander,Franck Kepnang, R.J Davis, Kyle Cuffe Jr, Jaylen Blakes, and Trey Patterson.
Pat Lawless awards the game MVP award to Blair Academy’s Kyle Cuffe Jr. photo courtesy of MAKIKO KOBAYASHI / SORU
Due to all the talent on display, Kentucky Coach John Calipari made an appearance along with many other scouts and coaches.
The day was kicked off with Blair Academy (NJ) vs Cushing Academy (MA). This matchup was nothing short of spectacular as Blair Academy was able to overcome a daunting 32-17 hole after one half of play. Blair was able to turn things around with the help of the dynamic duo of Kyle Cuffe Jr, and Jaylen Blakes. The two nearly scored half their team’s points (28), helping Blair outscore Cushing 20-7 in the fourth quarter. Both Blakes and Cuffe are exciting prospects who have continuously helped Blair win games while their star Forward Jabri Abdur- Rahim is sitting out due to injury.
Trey Patterson of Rutgers Prep came to play at the Empire Invitational. He was the main reason they were victorious vs Stepinac. Photo courtesy of MAKIKO KOBAYASHI / SORU
Another notable matchup from Sunday’s slate of games was Rutgers Prep vs Stepinac.
This game had a lot of hype as the #43rd player in the class of 2021 Trey Patterson (ESPN top 60) faced off against UNC commit R.J Davis in a star studded matchup. Rutgers Prep’s pesky defense and efficient passing helped propel them to a comfortable 81-68 win against a very talented team. Patterson finished the game with 25 points and 10 rebounds landing him with the game MVP. Patterson is currently undecided on where he’ll attend college, but his impressive scoring and rebounding can help any college program make the jump to the next level.
With over 2,000 points in his career Stepinac’s RJ Davis looked ready for war. Photo courtesy of MAKIKO KOBAYASHI / SORU
Westtown vs Our Savior Lutheran was one of the highly anticipated games of the night. John Calipari and fans waited eagerly as 5 star big man Franck Kepnang took the court against St John’s commit Posh Alexander. The game lived up to the hype as Westtown was able to use their size to get easy points in the paint and get Kepnang monstrous dunks. The tide would change in the second half as Our Savior Lutheran’s trap led to a dunk fest off 16 steals and 10 turnovers from Westtown. Although Westtown did not come out on top, Kepnang did not disappoint and now we look to see if the 6’10 big man will receive an official offer from Kentucky.
*** A huge thank you goes out to MAKIKO KOBAYASHI / SORU for providing all of the visuals for this article. Go follow her on IG. She is one of the best in the business.