The Jordan Brand Classic annually serves as a showcase for the country's top high school basketball talent, and Friday's exhibition at Barclays Center in Brooklyn, New York, was no different.In an up-and-down contest that featured plenty of high-flying dunks and an abundance of athletic buckets, Jordan Eastdefeated Jordan West, 131-117, as Kentucky Wildcats commits De'Aaron Fox and Malik Monk shared MVP honors with 23 and 22 points, respectively.Slam Magazinesnapped a shot of Fox and Monk with Jordan Brand ambassador and New York Knicks superstar Carmelo Anthony following the game:Duke commit Jayson Tatum continued to tear up the high school All-Star circuit. A week after scoring 14 points and grabbing five rebounds at the Nike Hoop Summit in Portland, Oregon, Tatum tallied 18 pointsfor Jordan East alongside Fox.The No. 4 player in 247Sports' composite rankings for the 2016 class, Tatum flashed stellar inside and outside chops while blowing past opponents in transition, per NBC Sports' Ed Isaacson:Based on the lineage of players who have lined up at forward in Jordan Brand Classics past, Tatum has a chance to continue a proud tradition, per ESPN College BBall:Foxwho is the top-ranked point guard in the 2016 class, per 247Sportsremained a blur on both ends of the floor as he looked to state his case to be named Tyler Ulis' heir apparent.In addition to blowing past defenders for 11 points in the first half, Fox hustled his way to three offensive boards during an impressive opening stretch on the Barclays Center hardwood.Not to be outdone, Monk put on a show as he attempted to single-handedly keep Jordan West within striking distance as their opponents established a double-digit edge for portions of the first half.Fifteen of Monk's 22 points came in the first half as Wildcats galore threw down some highlight-reel slams, as ESPN College Bballdocumented:Jordan West was also buoyed by the uber-athletic Michigan State-bound Miles Bridges,who piled up 11 first-half points by flashing some trademark bounce, per the Jordan Brand Classic:However, Markelle Fultz, the second-ranked combo guard in the 2016 class, was not to be outdone when it came to wowing spectators by rising above the rim, as ESPN College BBallshowed:Unfortunately, the exhibition was also marred by a couple of scary injury-induced moments.Midway through the first half, Connecticut recruit and star point guardAlterique Gilbert fell to the floor after suffering an apparent shoulder injury and eventually left in a wheelchair, as SB Nation's Andrew Jerell Jones documented:Minutes later, Duke commit Frank Jackson was helped off the floor and taken to the locker room with the assistance of two trainers after appearing woozy.Slam Magazineprovided an update on both players' statuses:But those two incidents aside, the Jordan Brand Classic lived up to its billing as one of the most eye-opening high school All-Star showcases of the season.While the dunks, threes, acrobatic layups and emphatic blocks were all encouraging, the biggest takeaway was that the nation's most prestigious college programs are in good hands moving forward.Whether it's Fox and Monk at Kentucky; Tatum at Duke; Bridges in East Lansing, Michigan; or Fultz at Washington, the stars of tomorrow have the future of college basketball looking bright.Postgame ReactionShortly after the game ended, Kentucky head coach John Calipari congratulated several future Wildcats on their performances:"It was my first time in New York and this is the basketball side of the United States," Fox said, per USA Today's Jim Halley. "I just came out and performed for this crowd and it was ridiculous. We have fans like that in Texas, but theyre football fans."As it turns out, though, the highlight of the night for Fox and Monk may not have been earning co-MVP honors. Rather, it was having a moment to chat with the game's namesake."I was shocked, couldn't even speak really," Monk said of meeting Michael Jordan, per SNY's Adam Zagoria and Josh Newman."It was a dream come true, for real. He didn't really speak on basketball, we were just asking him a bunch of questions.""That was pretty cool," Fox added of the encounter, per Zagoria and Newman. I don't want to down Melo, but we met Mike before the game. We got to ask him questions, he gave us little tidbits of what he really went through when he played basketball."
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