RECRUITING ROUNDUP
Five-star wide receiver Christian Green of Tampa won’t be making his decision until sometime after the New Year, according to his father.
Rumors have swirled that a decision was imminent from Tampa Catholic High’s star quarterback. Not so.
“Nothing is about to happen,” said Hiram Green, the players’ father and a [...]
Scout.com rated Georgia quarterback Joe Cox a 4-star recruit coming out of Charlotte-Independence High. He and nine other [...]
Lassiter's Hutson Mason rolls out to pass during his record-setting playoff game against South Gwinnett. He threw for 545 yards and 8 TDs that night. (AJC photo by [...]
Time to catch up on what’s going on here, there and everywhere. Some afternoon links and notes . . .
It looks like defensive end Brandon Willis of Duncan, S.C. — one of the subjects in the Tennessee hostess flap — is considering backing out on the Vols to commit [...]
UPDATED 3 P.M. WEDNESDAY . . .
Here’s your first sign of what life has been like for Nick Marshall since his MVP performance in the Class A state championship game — the Wilcox County star ran out of minutes on his cell phone he has taken so many calls.
[...] 
OK, I finally got T.J. Stripling cornered long enough to talk to him about all this chatter going on about him.
Southwest DeKalb's T.J. Stripling insists he's still very [...]
Georgia commitment T.J. Stripling refuted a report by JacketsOnline.com that he’s visiting Georgia Tech this weekend.
The 6-foot-6, 220-pound defensive end from Southwest DeKalb confirmed that in a text to me a little while ago. But he’s in school today and couldn’t talk. However, he spoke with UGASports.com’s Kipp Adams [...]
Grayson running back Ean Pemberton agreed to accept a scholarship offer from Austin Peay this morning, coach Mickey Conn said.
Grayson's Ean Pemberton,' [...]
UPDATED (YET AGAIN) . . .
RECRUITING ROUNDUP
Georgia commitment T.J. Stripling refuted a report by JacketsOnline.com that he’s visiting Georgia Tech this weekend.
The 6-foot-6, 220-pound defensive end from Southwest DeKalb confirmed that in a text to me a little while ago. But he’s in school today and couldn’t talk. However, [...]
Well, this Tennessee story just keeps better and better, doesn’t it?
I’m not sure how many of you caught the latest updates over the weekend. If not, I’ll catch you up this morning.
When last we left the story, the players and coaches at Byrnes High in Duncan, S.C., were telling everybody [...]
RECRUITING ROUNDUP
LaMarcus Joyner, generally considered the top cornerback prospect in the country, chose Florida State this week over Florida and Ohio State. His commitment was followed a day later by St. Thomas Aquinas teammate Cody Riggs, who picked Florida over Tennessee on Thursday. Both cornerbacks considered Georgia at one point, [...]
If Georgia Tech had a scholarship to offer, Darius Robinson might flip on Clemson and commit to the Yellow Jackets today.
That wasn’t his words exactly but it certainly was the inference of this dynamic defensive back from Atlanta’s Westlake High.
“It’s really interesting because Georgia Tech is one of my favorite [...]
First things first. Telvin Smith will not be visiting Georgia this weekend as has been widely reported by various recruiting services. But he said Bulldogs’ fans shouldn’t read anything into that.
“Nah,” said Smith, a three-star linebacker from Valdosta’s Lowndes County High School. “I’m playing basketball so I’m not going to [...]
You may have noticed of the 10 schools in the Georgia High School Association state championship games this weekend at the Georgia Dome, half are from schools south of Macon and half are from north of that. However, the majority of “blue-chip recruiting prospects” participating in the state finals are [...]
North Gwinnett coach Bob Sphire confirmed that NCAA investigators will be at his school on Thursday to interview senior offensive lineman JaWuan James and his parents about possible recruiting violations committed by Tennessee and hinted that the inquiry may be focusing on the Vols’ use of social media in recruiting.
James, [...]
UPDATED 9 P.M. . . .
It wasn’t necessarily the clinching point for Quayshawn Nealy, but it surely didn’t hurt that he was in Raymond James Stadium in Tampa in person to witness the Yellow Jackets’ historic win over Clemson in the ACC Championship Game this past weekend.
On Tuesday, the 6-foot, [...]
For Adrian Hubbard, his commitment to Alabama on Tuesday had little to do with the Crimson Tide’s resounding defeat of Florida Saturday or the 22nd SEC Championship or the impending shot at a 13th national title.
For him, the decision to commit to Bama was about comfort and the feeling of [...]
Hutson Mason might know where he is going to play college football very soon. However, he may not let us know until well into January.
[...] On second thought, Mike Thornton is going to give this recruiting thing a little more time.
The Stephenson defensive lineman, considered one of the top uncommitted prospects in the state of Georgia, had planned on making his college decision about now. He was going to graduate from high school early and [...]
Greetings everybody. Sorry just getting a blog out to you this week but I’ve been out of the loop until now.
What a weekend it was, what with the Georgia high school playoffs deciding the 10 finalists that will play in the Georgia Dome this week, the SEC Championship Game deciding [...]
Alexander Ogletree got an unexpected phone call late Saturday morning.
Alec Ogletree, the bigger and better known of the Ogletree twins that star for Newnan High, was on the horn with Georgia head coach Mark Richt when he summoned his brother into the room.
“Coach Richt wants to talk to you,” Alec [...]
ESPN has updated their Class of 2010 rankings and Georgia is among six SEC teams ranked in the Top 15. The Bulldogs’ group is currently ranked No. 4 in the country behind No. 1 Florida (that’s right, in recruiting, too), No. 3 Alabama and ahead of No. 6 Tennessee, No. [...]
I’M RECASTING THIS BLOG FROM WEDNESDAY MORNING BECAUSE IT WASN’T UP A FULL HOUR BEFORE NEWS BROKE OF HUTSON MASON GETTING AN OFFER FROM UGA, THEN THE DEFENSIVE COACH FIRINGS. SO IN CASE YOU MISSED IT . . .
Georgia coaches, banned from recruiting Carver-Columbus by coach Dell McGee back in [...]
One of the top basketball prospects in the Class of 2011 plans to leave the state.
Shannon Scott, a 6-foot-2, 170-pound point guard from Alpharetta’s Milton High School, committed to Ohio State at the end of the Thanksgiving week. Scott is rated the No. 12 prospect in America and is a [...]
Touchdown catches like this one over a Jefferson County defender last week is what has everybody abuzz about Calhoun wide' [...]
In retrospect, Georgia's Washaun Ealey looks pretty good in that No. 24 jersey. (Photo by Brant Sanderlin)
I was wrong about Washaun Ealey.
I’ve never been afraid to admit a mistake and me [...]
I asked Newnan safety Alec Ogletree only Monday if he’d heard anything about Willie Martinez possibly being on his way out as Georgia’s defensive coordinator and secondary coach. Ogletree told me he had heard rumors to that effect but that whatever eventually happened would not affect his decision to [...]
It has been a whirlwind week for Hutson Mason.
Last Friday, Lassiter’s record-setting quarterback was feeling about as low as one can get. His five-interception, no-touchdown night was a major factor in the Trojans’ quarterfinal playoffs loss to Colquitt County. By Wednesday he was feeling on top of the world after [...]
Last Saturday’s loss to Georgia hurt future Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets almost as much as it did the current ones.
Most of Tech’s 12 commitments for the signing class of 2010 were in attendance as the Bulldogs pulled off a 30-24 upset of the then-No. 7-ranked Yellow Jackets.
“I was surprised,” said [...]
Gainesville wide receiver Tai-ler Jones has already had one change of heart in recruiting. Could another one be afoot in the wake of Charlie Weis‘ dismissal at Notre Dame?
Not yet at least.
The AJC Super 11 selection said Tuesday morning he remains committed to the Fighting Irish. However, he may be [...]
Alec Ogletree showed this past Friday night why Georgia is so excited to have had the big safety committed since this summer, and so thankful that he remains that way.
The 6-foot-3, 215-pound senior, an AJC Super 11 selection, was practically a one-man show as the Cougars recorded a dramatic 9-7 [...]
It was hardly the senior season Mack Brown envisioned. In fact, it was about a third of the season Brown envisioned.
M.L. [...]
Depending on which side of the rivalry one sits, there has been a lot of horn-tooting and rationalizing going on since the Georgia-Georgia Tech ended Saturday night. That’s only natural after a rivalry game nicknamed “Clean Old Fashioned Hate.” But the perspective is decidedly different for prospects being recruited by [...]
We’re comparing everything else between Georgia and Georgia Tech this week so we might as well compare recruiting, as hard as that can be.
As everyone knows, these two schools — and especially their fans — are bitter rivals. But while they go head-to-head every year on the gridiron, they don’t [...]
There is good news and bad news for Georgia coming out of Kissimmee, Fla., where the Bulldogs have two commitments playing football at Osceola High School.
The good news is “athlete” Marc Deas has been fantastic for the Kowboys, playing both quarterback on offense and linebacker and defensive back on defense. [...]
With 4,244 yards passing and 54 touchdowns, Lassiter's Hutson Mason is finally starting to generate recruiting interest from ACC and SEC schools. [...]
You may or may not have noticed that the SEC Defensive Player of the Week named on Monday was Kentucky linebacker Sam Maxwell. It should be further noted that the Wildcats’ senior is from Hartwell.
[...] It’s going to be a busy, compressed week, what with the Thanksgiving holiday coming, Georgia Tech and Georgia getting ready to tee off and the quarterfinals of the state high school playoffs upon us.
To get us started for the week I’m just going to give you a quick rundown of [...]
Ask Georgia Tech commitment Barry “B.J.” Bostic to describe the small town of Louisville (pronounced Lewis-vill) from which he hails and you can feel the smile come through the telephone.
“Not too many big places around here,” Bostic said of Jefferson County’s seat, population 2,700. “There aren’t many towns that don’t [...]
Sorry but I got pulled off on the Uga VII story. But in case you didn’t see it, five-star power forward Tobias Harris signed with Tennessee over Georgia Tech and five other schools (Kentucky, Louisville, Maryland, Syracuse and West Virginia).
Following is an account from the Baltimore Sun:
Tobias Harris, the five-star [...]
Tobias Harris, the highly-touted forward from New York who is considering Georgia Tech among his finalists, will announce his college decision on live television today at 6 p.m.
Harris, a 6-foot-8, 220-pound high school senior, signed a scholarship with either Tech, Tennessee, Kentucky, Louisville, Maryland, Syracuse or West Virginia yesterday, the [...]
Bama all the way, says Gainesville's electrifying quarterback Blake Sims. (AJC photo)
VIDEO ADDED BELOW
The answer to the question was delivered politely and succinctly.
I asked Gainesville quarterback Blake Sims – arguably the best overall player in the' [...]
You’ve got to love basketball recruiting.
Tobias Harris, a 6-foot-8 power forward from New York and the No. 2-rated player at his position in America, signed a scholarship with somebody on Wednesday, the final day of the early signing period. And that somebody might have even been Georgia Tech, which welcomed [...]
Union County’s Blake Gowder lives slap-dab in the middle of Georgia’s Chattahoochee National Forest. It’s a beautiful area surrounded by 4,000-foot mountain peaks and clear, swift-flowing streams. It’s known for its great hiking and camping and outdoor activities but not so much for football.
[...] Baseball took center stage in the state on Tuesday as both Georgia and Georgia Tech received signed letters-of-intent from major prospects during the early signing period.
The Yellow Jackets won out in a battle over Tatnall Square Academy baseball and football star DeAndre Smelter. Smelter is a 6-2, 205-pound right-handed pitcher [...]
Auburn and Georgia are in a tug-of-war over Warner Robins defensive tackle Jeffrey Whitaker (55). (AJC photo by Jason Getz)
His senior high school football season is over. But [...]
Hutson Mason is a star.
Forget that football stuff. The dude’s on television.
Mason, the Lassiter High quarterback who made headlines this past weekend for breaking the all-time Georgia record for passing yards in a single season (3,714), also plays a quarterback on TV. But he’s not acting.
[...] It was not long after lunch when I reached Deon Rogers on Monday and by then it had already been for him a very long day.
It began about 4 a.m. when he and Treasure Coast High School teammate Jeff Luc arose in an Athens hotel room for the ride to [...]
UPDATED WITH GEORGIA TECH INFO AT 1:45 P.M. . . .
Jelan Kendrick, the top basketball player in Georgia and one of the 10 best college prospects in America, shocked the recruiting world this past weekend when he called a press conference at the Peabody Hotel in Memphis on Saturday to [...]
It can be a bit of a dice roll when you put as much stock in one recruiting weekend as Georgia did when it played host to Auburn.
The Bulldogs had around 100 prospects on campus for the game, including some of their most coveted remaining targets. And it must have [...]
The early signing period for college athletics — all sports other than football — continues through Wednesday but let’s take a moment to get everybody up to date.
There have been several other players sign since my initial report on Wednesday, the first day of the weeklong early period. Here’s [...]
A staggering number of prospects will converge on Athens and Sanford Stadium this weekend as Georgia plays host to Auburn.
Bulldogs coach Mark Richt couldn’t say exactly what will be the number, which includes recruits and their family and guests. But in general such weekends can range from 250 to 400.
“We’ve [...]
Georgia got the fifth and final official visit from Marcus Lattimore, the No. 1 running back prospect in the country, according to Scout.com.
Lattimore told Scout’s Chad Simmons that he definitely intends to make an official visit to Athens on Jan. 29 (subscription required), the last weekend before national signing [...]
By all accounts, Stephenson defensive tackle Mike Thornton will choose between Georgia and Auburn sometime between now and Christmas. So surely he plans to be at their game this Saturday at Sanford Stadium.
Guess again.
“I don’t know if I’m going up there or not,” the 6-foot-2, 280-pound senior said. “Probably not. [...]
As you may or may not know, today (Wednesday, Nov. 11) is the first day of the early signing period in college athletics. Of course, the most notable of the sports to participate in this process is basketball.
So far there hasn’t been much in the way of surprises. Those who [...]
T.J. Stripling knew what the question was even before it was delivered. So he was laughing when he answered.
Georgia Tech [...]
Whatever it is Lane Kiffin is selling, JaWuan James is buying it.
James, a senior tackle at North Gwinnett and the top uncommitted offensive lineman in the state, committed to Tennessee Tuesday night. A one-time Alabama commitment, he chose the Vols over Georgia and UCLA.
“It’s a blessing to be recruited like [...]
Mack Brown ran for most of his 160 yards against Union Grove this past weekend in the second half. But he credits his performance to something that happened earlier in the week.
Plagued by hamstring problems in both of his legs this season, Brown underwent an accupunture procedure three days before [...]
On the eve of the early signing period, Georgia Tech got its first basketball commitment for the Class of 2010 from Lakeville, Conn., guard Jason Morris.
The 6-foot-4, 190-pound shooting guard is rated the No. 84 player in the country by Rivals.com and the No. 18 player at his position by [...]
The college football coach that ends up with Adrian Hubbard on his team come national signing day in February will need to send a thank you note to senior class at Norcross High School.
Why? Because, ultimately, they were the ones that allowed Hubbard to return to the football field after [...]
Georgia commitment Deon Rogers will be among an all-star cast of prospects making official visits with the Bulldogs this coming weekend and he confirmed that his five-star teammate is coming with him.
Jeff Luc, a 6-foot-1, 240-pound linebacker at Treasure Coast High in Port St. Lucie, Fla., will be traveling to [...]
Michael Dyer, one of the top-ranked tailbacks in America, committed to Auburn on Friday.
Dyer (5-foot-8, 200), from Little Rock Christian in Little Rock, Ark., is considered the No. 1 running back in the country by ESPN, and No. 3 by Scout.com and Rivals.com. He chose the Tigers over Arkansas, Tennessee, [...]
Jordan Akins plays quarterback, wide receiver, defensive back and kick returner at Union Grove High. Georgia offered him as a wide [...]
Three members of Georgia Tech’s 2010 recruiting class were selected this week to play in the Offense-Defense All-America Bowl.
AJC Super 11 quarterback/athlete B.J. Bostic of Jefferson County, DT Shawn Green of Grayson and DT Denzel McCoy of Northview were invited to play in the high school all-star game Jan. 2 [...]
Eduardo Clements, one of Georgia’s few remaining running back targets for 2010, is now off the market.
The 5-foot-10, 185-pound tailback at Miami’s Booker T. Washington High committed to the Miami Hurricanes this week. His decision came just days after Loganville’s Storm Johnson decided to commit to “The U” this past [...]
It seemed a simple-enough question.
I asked Da’Rick Rogers, whose name I had heard pronounced a half-dozen different ways and had said at least a few different ways myself, “what is the correct pronunciation of your first name?”
[...] Georgia State basketball coach Rod Barnes landed another Atlanta-area player for 2010 recruiting class.
Javonte Maynor, a 6-foot, 170-pound shooting guard from South Gwinnett High in Snellville, committed to the Panthers earlier this month. Maynor is the third commitment and second Atlanta-area player for next season’s incoming class. He joins point [...]
Apparently Chad Simmons of Scout.com and I are on the same wave length.
The respected Southeast region recruiting analyst put up a report this morning on Calhoun wide receiver Da’Rick Rogers, a five-star prospect, AJC Super 11 selection and a University of Georgia commitment.
It just so happens that I am [...]
You have to like Avery Walls’ proactive approach to recruiting.
A junior defensive back at Union Grove, he already has landed an offer from Oklahoma because he and his parents sent a “recruiting packet” they put together that included personal information, video highlights and academic information. They did the same [...]
Former Auburn coach Tommy Tuberville, now a college football analyst for ESPN, said bad fortune has [...]
A third Buford football player is headed to the Southeastern Conference to play football.
Du’Von Millsap, a 6-foot-5, 330-pound offensive lineman, committed to South Carolina late last week, Wolves coach Jess Simpson confirmed. Millsap chose the Gamecocks over Ole Miss, Oklahoma State, Clemson and several others.
“Yeah, he’d been up there a [...]
With Saturday’s 41-17 win over Georgia, Florida has beaten the Bulldogs by the aggregate score of 90-27 over the last two seasons. Based on the recruiting rankings of the last four or five years, there was nothing to suggest that the Gators would be so dominating at this juncture.
After the [...]
Storm Johnson landed nicely after LSU reneged on him this summer. The Loganville tailback committed to Miami on Sunday.
It was only fitting that a guy named Storm would end [...]
Pope offensive lineman Thomas O’Reilly received an official scholarship offer from Georgia Tech on Friday. And the Yellow Jackets made quite a splash in doing so.
Tech didn’t simply mail O’Reilly an offer letter. It was hand-delivered by assistant coaches Brian Bohannon and Todd Spencer.
“They came in and gave me a [...]
Two more Stephenson players are heading to Kentucky.
Linebacker Jabari Johnson and tight end Ronnie Shields each committed to the Wildcats on Friday. They join teammate Raymond Sanders, a running back who has been pledged to Kentucky since this summer.
Johnson and Shields are the fourth and fifth seniors to lock down [...]
About the time Da’Rick Rogers got a coveted fifth star added to his recruiting ranking, the Calhoun wide receiver and University of Georgia commitment also got an impromptu visit from Tennessee.
Ed Orgeron, Lane Kiffin’s right-hand man in recruiting, dropped in at Calhoun High to try to get a foot in [...]
First-year Georgia basketball coach Mark Fox received his first verbal commitment for the 2009-10 recruiting class on Thursday.
Cady Lalanne, a 6-foot-8, 225-pound forward from Orlando, gave the Bulldogs the news Thursday morning.
“I’d been thinking about it for a while so I was ready to do it,” said Lalanne, who visited [...]
Georgia coach Mark Richt and Florida coach Urban Meyer have been asked a lot about the impact of this week’s game on recruiting. I, for one, am not sure the outcome has much of a bearing on that.
How else can you explain Georgia’s recent success in the Sunshine State? The [...]
Lost in the all of college football recruiting talk of the past week is the fact that coach Andy Landers’ Lady Dogs’ basketball program at Georgia is having a big year on the recruiting trail.
This past week Landers got a major commitment from shooting guard Khaalidah Miller of Douglass High [...]
They just don't make 'em like Herschel Walker anymore. (AJC photo)
Much has been made this week about the fact that the next touchdown scored by Florida’s Tim Tebow will break Herschel Walker’s SEC career record for rushing [...]
Justin Tukes, a 6-foot-5, 225-pound tight end and defensive end at Worth County High School, has committed to UCF.
Tukes had offers from UAB and Georgia State. Coach Scotty Ward thinks BCS schools’ missed on him.
“He’s kind of under the radar, I’d guess you’d say,” Ward said. “I mean, we had [...]
Rajion Neal has rushed for 1,055 yards and scored 22 TDs for Sandy Creek. (AJC photo)
Mississippi State felt strong enough about Rajion Neal to offer him a scholarship this past summer. Now [...]
The text messages started hitting Garrison Smith’s phone while he was still in Tuscaloosa on the Alabama campus.
“Are you really at Alabama?” he was asked. “Are you there on a visit?”
The answers were “yes” and “yes.” But the five-star defensive tackle from Douglass High, one of the prize commitments in [...]
Tonight’s contest between classic Atlanta powers Southwest DeKalb and Marist will be a game chocked full of college prospects, but the most star-studded contest of the weekend might be tomorrow night’s matchup between Stephenson and Union Grove.
The Jaguars have gotten publicity aplenty for their roster of a dozen-plus prospects and [...]
Jordan Akins, early on one of the best kept recruiting secrets in Atlanta, received a scholarship offer this week from Georgia Tech, according to Union Grove coach Steven Collins.
The 6-foot-3, 180-pound Akins is a multi-skilled, two-sport athlete who plays wide receiver, quarterback, defensive back and kick returner for Union Grove. [...]
UPDATED 4:25 P.M. . . .
Grayson linebacker Terry Williams has been arguably the most dominant force on one of the most dominant defenses in Class AAAAA. Yet when it came to recruiting, he waited and waited for a major scholarship offer to come.
Alas, an ACC or SEC team never came [...]
I waited at the Stephenson buses for Raymond Sanders to exit the field of play at Hallford Stadium this past Friday night and it was a good long while before he finally emerged.
The postgame, as it turns out, was nearly as eventful as the in-game for the Jaguars’ star running [...]
Wide receiver Tai-ler Jones recently committed to Notre Dame. He said he grew up a Georgia Bulldogs’ fan. So says linebacker A.J. Johnson, who committed to Tennessee last week. Safety Daunte Carr lists “Georgia” as a school of interest on his recruiting profile but committed to Stanford this summer. Quarterback [...]
Gainesville quarterback Blake Sims grew up dreaming of becoming a Georgia Bulldog but has been committed to Alabama since April. (AJC photo)
Georgia is making a major [...]
Tennessee’s high-flying recruiting tactics didn’t wow everybody.
Georgia Tech commitment Denzel McCoy of Northview High was not impressed by Tennessee's high-flying act and' [...]
Just came from the Stegeman Coliseum Practice Facility at UGA. New Georgia basketball coach Mark Fox was holding what he calls “Media Madness” in which us media types are put through the (modified) paces of one of the Bulldogs’ practices.
I considered it an overwhelming personal success, mainly because I’m not [...]
Uncertainty over the future of Georgia defensive coordinator Willie Martinez is causing a commitment to waver.
Nickell Robey, a cornerback from Frostpoof, Fla., who committed to the Bulldogs in August, has reopened his recruitment because of the uncertainty of Martinez’s future. The four-star athlete, who also stars as a kick returner [...]
Tennessee coaches arrive at M.L. King-Stephenson game in a rented helicopter this past Friday. (AJC photo by Curtis Compton)
Tennessee coach Lane Kiffin is neither the only coach nor the [...]
For the most part it has been a quiet season for AJC Super 11 safety Alec Ogletree. But the 6-foot-3, 215-pound Georgia commitment made a lot of noise Friday night in Newnan’s biggest game of the season.
Ogletree was all over the field on both sides of the ball in the [...]
Georgia commitment Brent Benedict, one of the top offensive line prospects in the country, suffered what was described as a “catastrophic knee injury” in a game Friday night in Jacksonville.
Benedict, a 6-foot-6, 290-pound offensive tackle who stars for The Bolles School, reportedly injured the knee when he was simply running [...]
I’ve written a lot the last couple of weeks about all the true freshmen and first-year players making contributions for Tech and Georgia. But they’ve got nothing on Georgia Southern.
Heading into Saturday’s game against South Dakota State, the Eagles feature 15 freshmen — including 10 true freshmen — on the [...]
Carver-Columbus High juniors Gabe Wright and Isaiah Crowell, two of the state’s top prospects for the Class of 2011, both list the University of Georgia among their leaders and intend to make unofficial visits sometime this fall.
This is significant for two reasons: One, they’re both exceptional players that are being [...]
The state of Georgia is well represented on the roster for the 2010 Under Armour/ESPN High School All-American Game, which will be played January 2 in Orlando.
Currently there are 11 Georgians among the 79 slated to play in the annual all-star contest, which is gradually turning into the preeminent event [...]
