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GREENSBORO — Oak Ridge Military Academy and Greensboro Day School boys basketball teams will play appetizer to Raymond Felton and Tyler Hansbrough's main course Sunday when they meet for an early showdown at Time Warner Cable Arena in Charlotte.

Tip-off is 1:30 p.m., followed by the Charlotte Bobcats and the Indiana Pacers at 5 p.m.

The Bobcats have recently started showcasing high school teams from around the state. Players from both schools will get to fraternize with their NBA brethren between games.

"For the players, there's no better stage than an NBA arena," Oak Ridge head coach Stan Kowalewski said.

Even with a two-week head start on public schools, both teams aren't near as polished as they'd prefer to be at this point. Oak Ridge features five players from last year's Northern Guilford team, but perhaps the most pivotal of them, point guard Michael Neal, broke his wrist in four places last weekend and will be sidelined three months.

Earlier in that game, swingman Jay Canty, the former Ragsdale star and recent Xavier signee, sprained his ankle. Two days prior, Joseph Uchebo, the Cadets' 7-foot, N.C. State-bound Nigerian center, also rolled his ankle.

The Cadets led by seven with five minutes remaining when Neal got hurt; they lost by 10, capping an 0-2 opening weekend against a pair of nationally recognized teams.

"On paper, we looked pretty good," Oak Ridge head coach Stan Kowalewski said. "But when you lose three of your top five players in the span of a couple days, it's not good no matter if you're six deep or 20 deep."

Canty could return Sunday, but Kowalewski said the steady play of former Nighthawks Jacob Lawson (adding a perimeter game) and Asad Lamot (averaging 15 points and eight assists) would keep the Cadets competitive regardless.

Greensboro Day is 4-0 but has yet to face a real measuring stick opponent. This game, and Tuesday's at home against Mt. Zion, should give them a better barometer of how well they've done so far moving on without Jay Lewis and Javan Mitchell.

The Bengals return honorable mention All-Area point guard Brandon Dorsett. They have added 6-foot-7 forward Quayshad Williams from Eastern Guilford and are being led in scoring so far by Robert Kleinman's 12.8 points per game.

"We've got a lot of catching up to do defensively," Johnson said.

NORTHERN'S ALLEN IN ARMY GAME: Northern Guilford's Keenan Allen has been chosen to play in the U.S. Army All-American Bowl, the nation's premier high school football all-star game. Army representatives presented Allen, the only North Carolina player listed on either roster, with his game jersey at Northern on Wednesday.

The 10th annual game will be played at the Alamodome in San Antonio, Texas, on Jan. 9.

TIGERS MOVING UP: Ragsdale's baseball team from a year ago is proving to be a treasure trove for programs at the next level. First, Nick McBride was drafted by the Texas Rangers in the 5th round of the MLB Draft in June. On Tuesday, two other critical cogs of the Tigers' 22-3 team committed to bigger and better things, as second baseman Ben Fultz signed with East Carolina and outfielder DeSean Anderson signed with South Carolina.

Fultz, who hit .426 with three homers, 27 RBIs and 28 runs scored last year, had previously committed to Liberty but switched to the Pirates within the last few weeks. Anderson, a wide receiver on Ragsdale's 12-0 football team, topped .400 each of the last two seasons and stole 17 bases in 2008.

In other Ragsdale signing news Tuesday, Briggs Kennington and Jacob Erickson committed to play lacrosse at Lenior-Rhyne.

CRAWFORD STAYS CLOSE TO HOME: There is no offseason for blue-chip athletes, as Dudley's Ray Crawford knows all too well.

The Panthers third baseman took MVP honors and batted nearly .800 at this summer's Black World Series in Greensboro, where his Greensboro Aggies team won the 19-and-under title. He also played in tournaments at Elon, Charleston and UNC-Wilmington, knocking home runs in each.

His defining blow of the summer came over the tall left-field wall at UNC's Boshamer Stadium.

"We were all like, 'Oh my gracious!'" his dad, Ray Crawford Sr. said.

Crawford, a first-team News & Record All-Area selection last season, officially committed to UNCG on Tuesday, finalizing a decision he made months ago.

DUDLEY FOOTBALL DRIVE: The Dudley Hall of Fame will collect canned goods for Greensboro Urban Ministries at Friday's home football game against High Point Central.

Contact Tom Keller at 373-7034 or tom.keller@news-record.com