City of Palms Classic 2012: Teams, Brackets, Schedule Preview and More

It's almost time for Santa Claus to drop through your chimney. That means it's also almost time for one of the most prestigious high school basketball tournaments of the year.

The City of Palms Classic in Fort Myers, Fla. 

The tournament that has been home to Kevin Love, Joe Johnson, Lou Williams and a slew of other NBA stars is set to get started on Dec. 18 and will last until the highly anticipated championship on the night of Dec. 22. 

Let's take a closer look at the tourney that is sure to shake up the national rankings. 

Teams

The field in Fort Myers is truly astounding, and whoever takes home the trophy is likely going to have to put together a flawless week.

Lone Peak (Highland, Utah), which is ranked No. 1 by Max Preps and boasts two top-100 high school recruits in Nick Emery and Eric Mika (both headed to BYU), will be there.

Rondae Jefferson and Chester (Chester, Pa.), owners of a 58-game win streak, will be there. 

Montverde Academy (Montverde, Fla.), led by one of the best unsigned prospects in the country in Dakari Johnson, will be there. The No. 1 seed could potentially match up with arguably the best 2014 prospect in the country in Jahlil Okafor and Whitney Young (Chicago, Ill.). 

And those are just a few that highlight the 16-team field. Seriously, loaded doesn't even begin to describe this tournament.

A full list of teams competing can be found here. 

Bracket

A look at the complete 2012 bracket can be found here.

Schedule Preview

A look at the complete schedule can be found here, but here's a preview of the first round of action:

Team 1	Team 2	Day	Date	Time (ET)
Tift County (Tifton, GA)	Long Beach Poly (Long Beach, CA)	Tuesday	12/18	3 p.m.
Eagle's Landing (McDonough, GA)	Omaha Central (Omaha, NE)	Tuesday	12/18	4:45 p.m.
Bishop Verot (Fort Myers, FL)	St. Thomas Aquinas (Fort Lauderdale, FL)	Tuesday	12/18	8:15 p.m.
Chester (Chester, PA)	Lake Highland Prep (Orlando, FL)	Tuesday	12/18	10 p.m.
Prestonwood Christian (Plano, TX)	Southwind (Memphis, TN)	Wednesday	12/19	2:30 p.m.
Montverde Academy (Montverde, FL)	Winner of Bishop-St. Thomas	Wednesday	12/19	4:15 p.m.
Lone Peak (Highland, UT)	Callaway (Jackson, MS)	Wednesday	12/19	8 p.m.
Lake Wales (Lake Wales, FL)	Paul VI (Fairfax, VA)	Wednesday	12/19	9:45 p.m.

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