Washington Snags MVP Honors at Allen Iverson Roundball Classic

PORTSMOUTH, Va. – For the second consecutive week, a Kentucky men’s basketball signee won most valuable player honors at a high-profile high school all-star game.

P.J. Washington earned MVP honors for his team at the inaugural Allen Iverson Roundball Classic on Friday night in Portsmouth, Virginia. Washington scored a game-high 37 points for Team Honor, which defeated Team Loyalty 198-152.

Washington was joined on Team Loyalty by Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, who scored 21 points. Gilgeous-Alexander shared MVP honors last week at the Kentucky Derby Festival Basketball Classic after recording a game-high 29 points, nine rebounds and six assists in just 19 minutes in Louisville. 

Not to be outdone, UK signee Quade Green posted 32 points.

All told, the Kentucky signees combined for 90 points. 

This year was the inaugural Allen Iverson Roundball Classic. The all-star game brought together some of the nation’s best high school talent. Iverson, who was inducted into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame, is an 11-time NBA All-Star, a four-time NBA scoring champion and the 2001 NBA MVP.

Washington, measured at 6-8, 229 pounds, is rated as high as the No. 11 overall prospect in the class of 2017 rankings by ESPN. Scout and Rivals tab him at No. 14 overall and 247Sports ranks him No. 18. The five-star prospect was a member of the 2016 USA Men’s U18 National Team that won a gold medal at the 2016 FIBA Americas U18 Championship over the summer. He started all five games and averaged 10.0 points and 4.0 rebounds. Washington also represented the U.S. at the 2015 FIBA 3×3 U18 World Championship.

Gilgeous-Alexander will come to Kentucky out of Hamilton Heights Christian Academy in Chattanooga, Tennessee. Originally from Canada, Gilgeous-Alexander was a member of the 2016 Canadian Men’s U18 National Team that captured the silver medal at the 2016 FIBA Americas U18 Championship over the summer. He averaged 7.8 points, a tournament-best 5.4 assists and 3.0 steals per game. The 6-foot-5, 185-pound guard is considered a consensus top-50 prospect in the 2017 class and is ranked as high as No. 19 overall by 247Sports. He capped his senior season by averaging 18.4 points, 4.4 rebounds and 4.0 assists per game.

Green is considered a five-star point guard prospect by Rivals, Scout and ESPN. Rivals ranks him as high as the No. 21 overall prospect in the class, Scout has him at No. 22, ESPN tabs him at No. 25 and 247Sports list him at No. 30. Green just closed out a prolific high school career that saw him capture four state championships, including a 22-point, eight-assist and two-steal performance to lift Neumann-Goretti to the title. Green, who was named the 2016 Pennsylvania Class 3A Player of the Year as a junior, was a part of the 2016 FIBA Americas U18 Championship team that won a gold medal in Chile. He averaged 18.7 points, 4.2 rebounds and 3.8 assists in leading Neumann-Goretti High School to the Pennsylvania state championship in 2015-16.

UK’s current recruiting haul is considered the No. 1 class in the country by all of the major recruiting services. In every season in the John Calipari era, the Wildcats have signed either the nation’s No. 1 or No. 2 recruiting class.