MaxPreps Martin Luther King Jr. Classic in January

From Mitch Stephens:

19th MaxPreps Martin Luther King Jr. Classic hosted by De La Salle

Where: Haas Pavilion on the campus of Cal (Berkeley, Calif.)
When: Monday, Jan. 18
Sponsors: Muscle Milk, Nike, MaxPreps

The lineup is set for the 19th MaxPreps Martin Luther King Jr. Classic hosted by De La Salle at Cal's Haas Pavilion, and it features new blood. 

Four first-time teams enter the seven-game, all-day boys basketball extravaganza, including Albany Academy for Boys (N.Y.), coming all the way from the other coast.  

It's the farthest any squad has traveled to play in one of California's top one-day events. In fact, no team before has come from any farther than Nevada. 

Talk about a deep 3-pointer.

Albany Academy, which takes on El Cerrito (Calif.), graduated two seniors from its 14-person team that went 17-3 last year. The Cadets should feature perhaps the day's most coveted player, Hameir Wright, a 6-foot-8 small forward and four-star recruit. The lanky junior will likely commit to Maryland, according to 247Sports. 

Another school with the same name, Albany (Calif.) – this one just down the block from Cal — makes its first appearance after going 28-3 last year under highly successful coach Bill Treseler. Albany goes against perennial Bay Area power Newark Memorial (Calif.). 

The other newcomers to the event are Manteca (Calif.) and Orange Lutheran (Calif.), which takes on host De La Salle (Concord, Calif.) in a 5:45 game. 

De La Salle features recent University of San Francisco commit Jordan Ratinho, a 6-5 combo guard who has already been a starter three seasons. The Spartans host an Orange Lutheran squad from Southern California, keeping up the tradition of De La Salle facing a formidable Southern Section squad. 

The best matchup of the day might be the 4 p.m. game between Sacramento (Calif.) and Moreau Catholic (Hayward, Calif.), which will feature two of the state's top senior 6-6 forwards in Solomon Young and Oscar Frayer, a wing headed to Cal. Both these teams could end up in the Northern California Open Division. 

The lineup

10 a.m. — Albany vs. Newark
11:30 a.m. — Manteca vs. Berkeley (Calif.)
1 p.m. — Salesian (Richmond) vs. Sacred Heart Cathedral (San Francisco) 
2:30 p.m. — El Cerrito vs. The Albany Academy 
4 p.m. — Sacramento vs. Moreau Catholic
5:45 p.m. — Orange Lutheran vs. De La Salle
7:30 p.m. — Bishop O'Dowd  vs. Saint Francis (Mountain View)