One of Beach Ball Classic’s mega stars to miss tournament with injury
The Beach Ball Classic holiday basketball tournament has lost one of its star attractions.
According to USA Today, Zion Williamson of Spartanburg Day School will miss the Dec. 26-30 tournament to nurse a deep foot bruise that has kept him sidelined and in a walking boot for the last month.
Williamson is considered one of the best high school players in the nation.
His absence means spectators at the Myrtle Beach Convention Center won’t get to see an anticipated second-round matchup between Williamson and Montverde Academy (Fla.) star R.J. Barrett, a Duke signee who is ranked No. 1 overall in the ESPN 100. Williamson is ranked No. 2 overall.
“He has not been released by his doctors yet and they want to make sure the foot is healed before doing so,” Beach Ball Classic executive director John Rhodes said. “As of right now it is doubtful but then again you never know.”
Despite the loss of Williamson, the 2017 Beach Ball Classic is still chock full of potential.
In addition to Spartanburg Day, six other defending state champions will participate in this year’s event.
Back for a second helping is Imhotep Charter (Pa.), which followed up a Beach Ball Classic title by going back home and winning a state championship. Other champions set to show off their wares include Albany Academy (N.Y.), Bishop Gorman (Nev.), Cox Mill (N.C. ), Lanett (Ala.) and Long Island Lutheran (N.Y.).
A trio of state finalists — Lone Peak (Utah), Moeller (Ohio) and Clark (Nev.) — will also look to pad their resumes.
DeMatha Catholic (Md.) also is back on the docket, set to make its 11th appearance — second only to Archbishop Molloy’s 12 showings at the Beach Ball Classic. Of those opportunities, the Stags have left with the championship on four occasions, their last coming in 2005.
Scott County (Ky.), Fairland (Ohio) and tournament mainstays Myrtle Beach and Socastee will be joining them.
“We still have so many good players still coming in. This doesn’t rule out our tournament at all,” Rhodes said. “We have seven defending state champions, four runner-ups, we have the No. 1 player in the country, R.J. Barrett, we have Cox Mill’s Leaky Black, who is headed to North Carolina, and we have Wendell Moore [of Cox Mill], one of the top juniors in the country.
“We’ve got teams with a lot of great players and that should make for a great tournament, but Zion would have been the exclamation point.”
Williamson’s highlight dunks and blocks have resulted in multiple appearances on ESPN SportsCenter’s Top 10 plays and have created a national reputation.
He is expected to return to the court early in 2018.
“It’s hard not to be out there with my bros,” Williamson told USA Today’s Jason Jordan. “I’ll be back in January though. I have a lot of confidence in my team and I know that they’re gonna give it everything they’ve got every game.”
This story was originally published December 22, 2017 at 5:09 PM with the headline "One of Beach Ball Classic’s mega stars to miss tournament with injury."