All State Sugar Bowl Classic - Prep Basketball Tournament - Jan 4-7,2023
Basketball fans are always excited to ring in the new year with one of the top basketball tournament in the state as the Sugar Bowl Tournament is back for the 12th Annual National Prep Basketball Classic. This years event is scheduled for January 4th-7th, 2023 at the at the Alario Center in Westwego, LA. This years event will represent 11 of our current top 25 teams in the state as well as 5 programs form out of state! We'll take a look into each bracket breaking down first round matchups giving predictions and players to watch!
The top bracket is the Platinum bracket and it's loaded with 16 teams that bring a lot of hardware to the table. Really impressed with the lineup the Sugar Bowl has put together for us this year and looking forward to watching all of these games as even the consolation brackets will be loaded with good teams and good talent!
Platinum Bracket kicks off on the 2nd day of the tournament (Thursday Jan 5th)
1st Round Matchups
Kenwood (Chicago, IL) vs. Vandebilt Catholic
Thursday 3:30pm - Blue Court
Kenwood (Chicago,IL) comes into the tournament with a record of 12-2 and ranked #12 in Illinois according to Max Preps and Vanderbilt Catholic with a record of 12-2 and ranked #2 Division II-Non Select. Kenwood on paper seems to be a smaller teams similar to Vandebilt Catholic so this should be a good match up as big size seems to be the one the Vandebilt seems to have problems with.
Prediction: Initially when looking into this matchup I thought the favorite would be Kenwood but the more we peel back the layers and the match up I think Vandebilt has a real chance to pull of the upset here. I believe Vandebilt Catholic is one of the more underrated teams in the state and they take advantage of this opportunity behind a huge game from Makayla Charles and they advance to the second round!
Players to Watch:
Kenwood (Chicago, IL)
Danielle Brooks - Class 2026
Natasha Barnes - Class 2023
Vandebilt Catholic
Gabby Campbell - Top 40 ranked guard 2024 class
Makayla Charles - Top 10 ranked G/F 2025 class
Tyrian Johnson - Top 50 ranked guard 2025 class
Makensie Charles - Top 50 ranked forward 2025 class
Sparkman (Alabama) vs. Lafayette
Thursday 3:30pm - Green Court