Glaxo to Offer Great Hoops Again This Year

   This year's GlaxoSmithKline Holiday Invitational will (so far) feature seven of the top 75 members of the Class of 2010, based on rankings from Scout.com
   Bill Sewell, the tounament director, told HighSchoolOT.com that the tournament field has one spot left, but it is already looking very strong.
   The Apex Cougars will return to the Glaxo field next season, featuring senior Weston Murphy who is expected to draw interest from Division 1 schools by the end of his senior year.
   Millbrook will join Apex as one of the local teams. The Wildcats will be led by senior Jarrick Brown, who missed the postseason after injuring his wrist.
   Wake Forest commit Melvin Tabb will lead the Enloe Eagles into the GSK for the second straight season. The 6'8" power forward is a four-star prospect, according to Scout.com, and had offers from Baylor, Clemson, East Carolina and South Carolina before he committed to the Demon Deacons.
   Enloe will also bring guard Emanuel Chapman to the tournament. Chapman was a big part of the team's playoff run to the NC High School Athletic Association's 4-A regional semi-finals.
   Chapel Hill will also participate in the Glaxo this year. The Tigers will look to senior Denzel Robinson-the son of North Carolina assistant coach John Robinson.  Denzel Robinson is a 6'3" small forward, and ranks as a two-star prospect, according to Scout.com.
   Word of God will also be in attendance this season. After losing the nation's top point guard in John Wall, the Holy Rams will return with other talent.
   Senior C.J. Leslie will be the headline prospect on this season's Word of God squad, but he will also be joined by other prospects, like Bishop Daniels.
   Leslie committed to N.C. State as a freshman, but recently withdrw that commitment to reopen his recruiting process.
   Once again, the GSK field will also feature Kinston. The Vikings feature North Caorlina commit Reggie Bullock. Kinston has a long history with the Glaxo, and Bullock has been one of the headline prospects at the tournament for the last several seasons.
   Flora McDonald will play in the field this year, bringing with it uncommitted power forward Luke Cothron.  Cothron is the No. 5 ranked power forward in his class, according to Scout. com, and is listed as a five-star prospect.  The 6'8" Cothran has offers from Alabama, Arkansas, Connecticut, Louisville, Mississippi State, NC State, Oklahoma, UAB and West Virginia.
   P.J. Hairston will join Greensboro Dudley this year at the tournament. Dudley was one of the state's top teams last season, and Hairston contributed a lot to the program.  The 6'5" shooting guard is a four-star prospect, according to Scout.com, and is lethal from the three-point range. He currently has offers from Arizona, Wake Forest and Florida, but is also expressing strong interest in North Carolina.
   Some of the out-of-state schools include Rice (NY), Courtland (VA), Atlantic Shores Academy (VA) and Walton (GA).
   Courtland and Atlantic Shores Academy feature Duke commits: Josh Hairston and Andre Dawkins. Walton will bring with it NC State commit Ryan Harrow.
   Other North Carolina schools include Cardinal Gibbons, Garner and Greenfield.
   The four girls' teams will be Apex, Broughton, Northern Durham and South Central.
   Sewell confirmed that the tournament will be a four-day event again this year, with games being played December 26-30. It will feature a pair of eight-team boys' tournaments and a single four-game girls' tournament.  Like last year, it will be held at Broughton's Holliday Gymnasium.
   Last year the tournament had one of its best field in history, featuring several sellout games, which left hundreds of people outside Broughton High School waiting to get in for some of the premier games.