CHSAA boys basketball beat writer Dylan Butler breaks down Monday’s Hoophall Classic, featuring Christ the King, Boys and Girls and St. Patrick (N.J.).

What: Hoophall Classic

Where: Blake Arena, Springfield College

When: Monday

To follow the interactive live blog, click here

Here’s the schedule:

9 a.m. – St. John’s (Mass.) vs. Perspectives (Ill.)

11 a.m. – Christ the King vs. Westchester Country Day (N.C.)

1 p.m. – No. 3 St. Patrick (N.J.) vs. Bishop Gorman (Nev.)

3 p.m. – Dallas Lincoln (Texas) vs. No. 8 Findlay Prep (Nev.)

5 p.m. – Academy of the New Church (Pa.) vs. Boys and Girls

St. John’s Prep Pioneers

Head coach: Bob Foley

Record: 9-3

Player to watch: Richard Rodgers

Perspectives Wolves

Head coach: Cortez Hale

Record: 3-11

Player to watch: Anthony Davis

Outlook: St. John’s is led by Richie Rodgers, who has made a bigger name for himself on the gridiron. The 6-foot-4, 230-pound senior, the third-ranked prospect in Massachusetts, verbally committed to play football at the University of California. The Pioneers opened the season with three straight losses in the Gonzaga D.C. Classic, but have bounced back to win eight in a row.

Perspectives is all about 6-foot-10 Anthony Davis, one of the top-ranked players in the Class of 2011. The Kentucky-bound forward, who averages 33 points, 20 rebounds and 6.5 blocks per game, grew eight inches from the end of his sophomore year and picked the Wildcats over Syracuse and DePaul. Most teams let Davis get his and still wind up winning.

Christ the King Royals

Head coach: Joe Arbitello

Record: 7-3

Player to watch: Omar Calhoun

Westchester Country Day Wildcats

Head coach: Pat Kahny

Record: 10-8

Player to watch: Deuce Bello

Outlook: Both teams come into this game struggling to meet preseason expectations. An extremely talented team, Christ the King is still trying to mesh together and hasn’t played tough enough defensively yet. Uber-talented junior guard Omar Calhoun is trying to get out of an offensive funk, George Mason-bound point guard Corey Edwards is working himself back after missing a month because of a disciplinary suspension and sophomores Isaiah Lewis, Jon Severe and Jordan Fuchs are striving for consistency.

Westchester Country Day is trying to find itself after Baylor-bound Quincy Miller suffered a season-ending knee injury last month. The Wildcats still have explosive small forward Deuce Bello, who will also play at Baylor, stellar junior guard C.J. Plummer and 6-foot-2 senior guard Ike Nwamu.

The teams have a common opponent – Christ School (N.C.) – that both lost to. The Royals lost to Christ School at the City of Palms Classic, while Westchester Country Day dropped two games to the Greenies.

St. Patrick Celtics

Head coach: Kevin Boyle

Record: 9-0

Player to watch: Michael Gilchrist

Bishop Gorman Gaels

Head coach: Grant Rice

Record: 13-3

Player to watch: Shabazz Muhammad

Outlook: St. Patrick’s brutal weekend continues Monday against Bishop Gorman. On Friday night, the Celtics defeated host Winter Park (Fla.) in a physical and emotional nationally-televised contest, 75-66. The game was billed as a battle between the top two players in the Class of 2011 and it didn’t disappoint as Austin Rivers had a game-high 38 points, outscoring Michael Gilchrist (23 points, 15 rebounds). But the Kentucky-bound senior helped lead the Celtics to a big road win. Western Kentucky-bound Derrick Gordon had 19 points and Dakari Johnson was a beast inside for St. Pat’s, ranked No. 3 in the country by USA Today.

Led by 6-foot-6 junior forward Shabazz Muhammad, Bishop Gorman is tremendously talented, but at the City of Palms, didn’t play with intensity. The Gaels also feature future Division I players Roscoe Allen, a 6-foot-7 sharpshooting junior, 6-foot-7 Ben Carter and 6-foot-7, 275-pound junior Ronnie Stanley, who is being recruited by football programs Penn State, Nebraska, USC, Oregon, Arizona and Arkansas.

Lincoln Tigers

Head coach: Leonard Bishop

Record: 20-1

Player to watch: LeBryan Nash

Findlay Prep Pilots

Head coach: Michael Peck

Record: 18-2

Player to watch: Myck Kabongo

Outlook: Michael Gilchrist and Austin Rivers are considered the best players in the Class of 2011, but LeBryan Nash shouldn’t be slept on. The 6-foot-7 Oklahoma State-bound forward is arguably the most physically gifted senior in the nation and he’s a threat inside and out. While Lincoln has a spectacular player in Nash and West Virginia-signee Keaton Miles, Findlay has special players all around the court.

Findlay already has a big win against a Texas powerhouse, ending Yates’ 66-game winning streak in a nationally-televised game last month. The Pilots feature a major Division I backcourt of Myck Kabango (Texas) and Nick Johnson (Arizona), while St. John’s fans no doubt will be eager to follow Amir Garrett, a 6-foot-6 forward who is part of the Red Storm’s spectacular recruiting class.

Academy of the New Church Lions

Head coach: Kevin Givens

Record: 10-2

Player to watch: Rakeem Christmas

Boys and Girls Kangaroos

Head coach: Ruth Lovelace

Record: 15-3

Player to watch: Mike Taylor

Outlook: Academy of the New Church is arguably the best Philadelphia has to offer this year. The Lions, which defeated Findlay Prep, 56-50, at the Tournament of Champions last month, have a massive Big East frontcourt of 6-foot-9 Rakeem Christmas (Syracuse), 6-foot-11 Malcolm Grant (Pittsburgh) and 6-foot-6 Savon Goodman (Villanova).

Boys and Girls already has one win against a Philadelphia powerhouse, defeating defending public school champion Imhotep Charter at the Villa Holiday Classic at the Palestra earlier this month. The Kangaroos will need their stars – Rutgers-bound shooting guard Mike Taylor, Hofstra recruit Malik Nichols and Leroy (Truck) Fludd – to be on their games to have a shot.