In what has now become an annual revealing tradition during the half-time show of the Toronto Raptors game, the names of the top 24, or in this case, the top 25 high school basketball players selected to participate in the BioSteel All-Canadian Game were announced.
Leading the way are four certified, top class of 2023 prospects. Michael Nwoko, Ibrahim Sacko, Matai Baptiste and Vasean Allette join a stacked group of talented players for the seventh annual and 2023 Biosteel All-Canadian boys game.
Nwoko, a bruising six-foot-ten forward with a developing mid-range game, is one of seven Canadian players already committed to play NCAA college basketball next season. Following a busy 2022 summer with Team Canada and a strong showing at the EYBL circuit with Team CP3, Nwoko committed to Jim Larranaga and the Miami Hurricanes.
J. Addison’s all-star Ibrahima Sacko is the only non-Canadian player selected. The import from Conakry, Guinea has been arguably the best prospect in the Ontario Scholastic Basketball Association (OSBA). The six-foot-seven forward was recently named to the World Team for the upcoming 2023 Nike Hoop Summit in Portland, Oregon.
Baptiste, a relatively unknown national prospect until the start of this season, is a six-foot-nine do it all forward with a throwback afro and an old school, play at your pace game that is hard to miss. The Orangeville Prep standout possesses a combination of raw physical attributes to bang inside and a silky smooth jumper to compliment his bag of tricks.
Currently, sidelined due to a knee injury, Allette, a four-star prospect and the 2022 Team White MVP, is one of only two players (Jimma James) to return from the 2022 BioSteel All-Canadian Game. Pound-for-pound one of the best scoring guards in Canada, the six-foot-three senior bypassed multiple high major NCAA division I offers in order to play with his twin brother Yamari as both committed to the Old Dominion Monarchs.
Vasean, is the second-highest rated player to commit to the Monarchs’ basketball program.
FIBA experience takes court at 2023 BioSteel All-Canadian Game
Fourteen (14) of the twenty-five (25) selected players previously represented Canada internationally in 2022. Eight (8) from the FIBA U18 Americas squad and six (6) from the FIBA U17 World Cup team.
Fort Erie International Academy tops the list with four players selected as Felix Kossaras, Ishan Sharma, Brayden Jackson and Christian Nitu make their first All-Canadian game appearances. Royal Crown Academic School and NBA Academy Latin America also have strong representation, with three names selected.
Seventeen players are from the province of Ontario. Four from Quebec, two from Alberta and one from Nova Scotia.
The top 24 players will be divided into two squads, Team Red and Team White. Team Red has won four of six boys’ games played, including the last two BioSteel All-Canadian contests.
Since 2015 some of Canada’s top high school prospects including current NBA players, Luguentz Dort, Nickeil Alexander-Walker, Oshae Brissett, Andrew Nembhard, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and Jamal Murray have played in Canada’s version of the Mcdonald’s All-American game.
| First | Last | School | Pos | HT | Province | Class | College |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Vasean | Allette | United Scholastic Academy (ON) | G | 6'3" | Ontario | 2023 | Old Dominion |
| Matai | Baptiste | Orangeville Prep (ON) | F | 6'8" | Ontario | 2023 | |
| Bubu | Benjamin | Edge Prep (AB) | F | 6'7" | Alberta | 2023 | |
| Jaiden | Cole | NBA Academy Latin America (MEX) | G | 6'4" | Ontario | 2023 | Towson |
| Jordann | Dumont | Hamilton Heights Christian Academy (TN) | F | 6'8" | Quebec | 2023 | Villanova |
| Jalik | Dunkley-Distant | Orangeville Prep (ON) | F | 6'6" | Ontario | 2024 | |
| Michael | Evbagharu | Royal Crown Academic School (ON) | G | 6'3" | Ontario | 2023 | |
| Dylan | Grant | Michigan Collegiate (MI) | G | 6'7" | Ontario | 2023 | |
| Brayden | Jackson | Fort Erie International Academy (ON) | G | 6'8" | Ontario | 2024 | |
| Jimma | James | Hillcrest Prep (AZ) | G | 6'5" | Ontario | 2023 | |
| Felix | Kossaras | Fort Erie International Academy (ON) | G | 6'5" | Quebec | 2024 | |
| Braeden | MacVicar | Rothesay Netherwood School (NB) | F | 6'11" | Nova Scotia | 2023 | Coastal Carolina |
| Makeer | Makeer | William Academy (ON) | G | 6'7" | Ontario | 2023 | |
| Jovan | Milićević | Dream City Christian School (AZ) | F | 6'9" | Ontario | 2024 | |
| Thomas | Ndong | NBA Academy Latin America (MEX) | F | 6'10" | Quebec | 2023 | Oregon State |
| Kailon | Nicholls | Hargrave Military Academy (VA) | G | 6'0" | Ontario | 2023 | |
| Christian | Nitu | Fort Erie International Academy (ON) | F | 6'11" | Ontario | 2024 | |
| Michael | Nwoko | Prolific Prep (CA) | F | 6'10" | Ontario | 2023 | Miami |
| Baraka | Okojie | DME Sports Academy (FL) | G | 6'0" | Ontario | 2024 | |
| Ibrahim | Sacko | J. Addison School (ON) | G | 6'7" | Guinea | 2023 | |
| Ishan | Sharma | Fort Erie International Academy (ON) | G | 6'5" | Ontario | 2024 | |
| David | Simon | Royal Crown Academic School (ON) | F | 6'10" | Ontario | 2023 | |
| Chris | Tadjo | NBA Academy Latin America (MEX) | F | 6'7" | Quebec | 2024 | |
| Hudson | Ward | Western Canada Prep Academy (AB) | F | 6'7" | Alberta | 2024 | |
| Jahari | Williamson | Royal Crown Academic School (ON) | G | 5'11" | Ontario | 2023 | Valparaiso |
