Saturday's City of Palms Extra: Future Eagle soars; Paul VI hits road; Slam dunk and 3 list

News and notes about the teams and personalities from Saturday at the 2022 City of Palms Classic.

Imhotep’s Barno excited about joining FGCU next year

FGCU first-year coach Pat Chambers, who spent last season as an assistant coach at LaSalle University in Philadelphia, picked up a key addition from the city when Imhotep senior guard Rahmir Barno signed with the Eagles in November.

“We’ve got a good bond going on,” Barno said of his relationship with Chambers. “He just welcomed me in with open arms and just kept everything real with me and told me his plans for me when I come here. I just felt like it was a family-like bond with him and the coaching staff. That’s why I felt so good about my decision.”

Barno, a three-star guard, helped lead Imhotep to a 29-4 record and a Class 5A Pennsylvania state championship. He had 15 points, five assists and four steals in the Panthers’ 73-49 win Saturday over Isidore Newman in the City of Palms Classic’s opening round.

City of Palms Day 2: Imhotep, Paul VI advance after easy wins

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Barno said he was familiar with FGCU’s Dunk City heyday, watching highlights of the Eagles’ run to the Sweet Sixteen in 2013 on YouTube.

Starting next fall, he’s hoping to create some highlights of his own for FGCU.

Paul VI starts season enjoying tea and crumpets

When Nike and the Basketball Hall of Fame ask you to go play in London, Paul VI coach Glenn Farello said the only response is yes.

The Panthers started their season on Dec. 2 and 3 playing across the pond in the inaugural Basketball Hall of Fame London Showcase. Paul VI won the four-team tournament, beating New York’s Christ the King 56-31 and California’s Mater Dei 75-47.

"I mean, it was a great experience," Paul VI junior Darren Haris said. "Once in a lifetime, for sure. Most of us haven't been out of the country yet, so to get to do it, you know, do what we love, play basketball against some of the top two teams was really fun."

Considering Paul VI is ranked No. 3 in the country by MaxPreps and has a roster of Division I recruits like Deshawn Harris-Smith, who signed with Maryland, and Harris, who is committed to Duke, they are an attraction. Big trips are starting to become the norm for the Panthers as they played a tournament in Hawaii last year.

"It's a blessing, but it comes with work, too," Harris said. "We know we got to earn it every day. Like all the gear we get, all the trophies we get. It doesn't come free, we got to earn it. And no matter where we are going, it's always been a business trip. We got to take care of business stuff."

Farello said although his team took care of business on the court, his players also absorbed the culture and used it as a learning opportunity.

"What I really appreciated too, was how the kids were really excited to go on the tours and get a little a little flavor of London culture," the coach said.

"A really funny story is when we were on the flight on the way over, I heard from one of the flight attendants who told me that they had 15 orders for tea. All the players ordered tea because they wanted to be on the plane on the way over just to get acclimated to the way of life in London."

Back in the states, the Panthers played one more tournament before heading to Fort Myers. Last Saturday at the National High School Hoopfest at DeMatha, Paul VI beat Baltimore power Mount St. Joseph 87-52 and then beat City of Palms Signature Series participant Patrick School 72-57 Sunday.

The Panthers players said traveling to tournaments does help them bond but that they are like a big family and are always in packs at home and on the road which translates on the court.

"We have a really good chemistry just overall," Panthers junior Garrett Sundra said. "So being out in the hotel and just hanging out, it just brings us even closer than we already are which you can see it on the court because we share the ball very well. And we get the whole team involved."

Slamming and swishing

The City of Palms 3-point and slam dunk contests will be held Sunday night as some of the nation's most talented players get to showcase their skills annually in front of an enthusiastic crowd.

The list of participants started to grow Saturday. Charlotte's John Gamble joined the dunk field after throwing down several in the Tarpon's first two games of the tournament. Also confirmed is Paul VI's Isaiah Abraham, who said he practices his dunks sometimes. "I got some stuff in mind," he said.

Abraham's Panthers teammate Darren Harris, a Duke commit, will be in the 3-point contest as will Kentucky signee Reed Sheppard of North Laurel, who hit 4 3s in his team's impressive first-round win.

When asked what to expect from him, Harris said, "Not a lot of misses."

Here is the preliminary list of participants in both events as of Saturday night, which are subject to change.

City of Palms Classic: Players to watch during the tournament -- because college coaches are

Dunk: Jerry Ashley (Canterbury); John Gamble (Charlotte), Jordan Taylor (Charlotte); Ryan Forrest (Link); Sadiq White, Jr (Myers Park); Isaiah Abraham (Paul VI); Kam Wright (The Rock); Alex Lloyd (Westminster); Matthew Vaughn (Winter Haven).

3-Point: Brisun Hammermeister (Canterbury); Ryan Kane (Charlotte); Jordan Attia (Charlotte); Benny Fragela (Columbus); Easton Prodanov (First Baptist); Noah Gergley (Gateway); Colin Alvarez (Gateway); Chris Lockett (Isadore Newman); Canin Jefferson (Isadore Newman); Cameron Carr (Link); Santana Lynch (Myers Park); David Freeman (Newton); Marcus Whitlock (Newton); Reed Sheppard (North Laurel); Darren Harris (Paul VI); AJ Jones (Tampa Catholic); RJ Jones (The Rock); Alex Costanza (Westminster); Kjei Parker (Winter Haven).

Coach sightings

First-year Duke head coach Jon Scheyer, who is in his first full year replacing mentor Mike Krzyzewski, was in the stands Saturday night working. He was seen talking to Lake Highlands head coach Joe Duffield and assistant Richard Johnson, the father of consensus No. 1 junior Tre Johnson. He was also watching Paul VI, which has Blue Devils commit Darren Harris.

Marquette head coach Shaka Smart was also sitting courtside taking in the action.

City of Palms teams produce more than sports stars

The high school basketball powers that comprise this year’s City of Palms Classic feature a number of famous roundball graduates, including NBA stars Kyrie Irving (The Patrick School, NJ) and Joel Embiid (Gainesville’s The Rock). However, the tournament entries also feature of a number of alumni who have achieved success in other arenas. Here's a list of some of the most notable.

Alan Alda (Archibishop Stepinac, NY): Actor best known for his role in the TV series MASH

Morgan Fairchild (Lake Highlands, TX): Actress best known for her role in TV soap Falcon Crest

Chris Harrison (Lake Highlands): Host of TV’s The Bachelor

Michael Lewis (Isidore Newman, LA): Author of The Blind Side, The Big Short and Moneyball

Channing Tatum (Tampa Catholic): Actor best known for film Magic Mike

Jon Voight (Stepinac): Actor and 1978 Academy Award winner for Coming Home

Maxine Waters (Vashon, MO): U.S. Representative for California

This article originally appeared on Fort Myers News-Press: City of Palms: Future FGCU Eagle soars; Paul VI hits road; Slam and 3-point list