South Carolina basketball signees set to play in local showcase game on Thursday

A pair of South Carolina signees will take the floor together in one of the biggest high school basketball tournaments in the Columbia area.

With the Bash showcase kicking off at Ridge View High School, Moravian Prep’s Eli Ellis and Hayden Assemian, both in the Gamecocks’ 2025 signing class, will face Ridge View on Thursday. It will provide an early glimpse into what this new duo will bring before they arrive on campus in Columbia next season.

Moravian, located in North Carolina, is just one of 14 schools to be participating in this event. There will be 12 games played over the next three days, with the tournament lasting through Saturday.

Other teams include Dynamic Prep (TX), Oak Hill Academy (VA), IMG Academy (FL), Huntington Prep (WV), Chambers (NC) and Drive Academy (Finland). Then there are also a handful of in-state teams playing this weekend besides Ridge View. Those schools include Keenan, Legacy Early College, Lancaster, Powdersville, North Augusta and Wilson.

Tip-off for Moravian-Ridge View is at 7:30 p.m. GamecockCentral will be on hand to see two of South Carolina’s future players in action. Here’s what you need to know and watch for.

This duo is still fairly new

After helping Powdersville (SC) High School win a state championship last season, Assemian decided to link up with his future Gamecock teammate Ellis at Moravian for his senior year. The two also play together with the YNG Dreamerz in the Overtime Elite league.

Assemian, rated as a three-star prospect by On3, averaged 15.2 points, 8.6 rebounds, 2.6 blocks and 1.7 assists per game at Powdersville last year. He’s a 6-foot-6, 235-pound forward that brings a lot of tools that head coach Lamont Paris looked for in the recruitment process.

“There’s height and then there’s length. And length is more important in most applicable situations in basketball,” Paris said on ‘Carolina Calls’ with Derek Scott on the Gamecocks Sports Network. “He’s got really good length and he’s got tremendous athleticism too. He’s physically advanced in terms of being game ready. He’s a strong, durable type guy.”

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Ellis, who is Overtime Elite’s all-time leading scorer, won the league’s MVP award after averaging 33.4 points, 6.1 rebounds, 5.1 assists and 1.8 steals per game in 2023-24. He’s a consensus four-star recruit ranked as the No. 3 player in the state of North Carolina.

“If you haven’t seen him, it’s must-watch television,” Paris said. “He’s a YouTube sensation in a lot of ways, big part of it being from a basketball standpoint. What is to be noted most about him is at the foundation of it he’s a good basketball player.

“It’s not just these highlight plays that he makes or all these buckets that he gets. He’s a very smart basketball player. Some guys out there just know the alphabet; he’s fluent in basketball.”

Paris will be in the building

This has been an abnormal week for South Carolina. Since it’s the final exam period, the team won’t play in a midweek game like they have done throughout this season. Their next game is on Saturday against USC Upstate.

With this mini break from game action, it’s allowed for Paris to catch up and spend more time doing other things. And no, this doesn’t include his Christmas shopping. He admitted that’s something he waits to do until the last minute.

Since the schedule is lighter right now, Paris will be in attendance to watch Ellis and Assemian play at Ridge View on Thursday. He’s seen them both play multiple times in the past. But with them now being on the same team, it’ll still be somewhat new for Paris to watch them play together.

“I’ll be at their game. It’s great because sometimes while you’re doing your thing and playing your schedule, it can be hard to carve out time to go watch one of these games,” he said. “That was actually one of the huge reasons that it was even better for us that Hayden went to play with Eli. You can kill two birds with one stone.”

Paris added that he’ll be keeping an eye on some of the “younger players” on Moravian. He didn’t specifically mention who he was referring to but one can assume he was at least talking about Ellis’ younger brother, Issac, a 6-foot guard in the class of 2026.

The third-year head coach also said assistant coach Tanner Bronson and Carey Rich, who serves as the special assistant to the head coach, will both be on hand for the game.

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Another name to keep an eye on

It’s easy for the focus to be on the future Gamecock duo when it comes to the Bash. But there’s also a local product playing in this game with potential to play at South Carolina in the future.

That would be Ridge View guard Korie Corbett, a four-star recruit in the class of 2026. He recently announced that he received an offer from the Gamecocks on Nov. 5. With Ridge View playing two games this weekend, including Thursday’s matchup against Moravian, this serves as a great opportunity for Paris and his staff to see Corbett in action against some of their 2025 guys.

While South Carolina is one of two local schools to offer him, which also includes SC State, it isn’t the only SEC program interested in him. Ole Miss looks to be in the thick of it all with On3 giving the Rebels a 72.7 percent chance to land the 6-foot-4, 185-pound guard.

But with a lot of time left in his high school career, South Carolina will have plenty of of opportunities to make the best impression possible on Corbett. He’s listed as the No. 79 player in his class, No. 21 shooting guard in the country and No. 1 player in the state of South Carolina.

Game schedule

Thursday, Dec. 12

6:00 p.m. – Dynamic Prep (TX) vs. Keenan

7:30 p.m. – Moravian Prep (NC) vs. Ridge View

9:00 p.m. – Oak Hill Academy (VA) vs. Legacy Early College

Friday, Dec. 13

2:00 p.m. – Drive Academy (Finland) vs. Ridge View

6:00 p.m. – Lancaster vs. Dynamic Prep (TX)

7:30 p.m. – Legacy Early College vs. IMG Academy (FL)

9:00 p.m. – Huntington Prep (WV) vs. Wilson

Saturday, Dec. 14

1:30 p.m. – Powdersville vs. N. Augusta

3:00 p.m. – Wilson vs. Drive Academy (Finland)

4:30 p.m. – Dynamic Prep (TX) vs. Chambers (NC)

6:00 p.m. – Huntington Prep (WV) vs. Ridge View 

7:30 p.m. – IMG Academy (FL) vs. Oak Hill Academy (VA)

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