When Chris Brickley sat down to review his inaugural high school All-America showcase and plan Year 2, one glaring omission immediately stood out.
The event needed a girls game.
“I kind of felt off,” Brickley said. “Like, I worked with Breanna Stewart really closely all summer this year. I’ve worked with Azzi Fudd. I’ve worked with Paige (Bueckers). I’ve worked with A’ja Wilson. So it’s only right that I do girls and guys (events) as we build it. It can’t be built if we don’t have both sides.”
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Brickley, who has over 3 million Instagram followers, is among the most famous basketball trainers in the world. LeBron James, Kevin Durant, Carmelo Anthony, Stewart, Wilson and rappers Drake and J. Cole, among many other basketball superstars and celebrities, have played in his famous Black Ops Basketball runs and trained with him in New York. He has his own signature shoe with Puma and more brand partnerships than most NBA stars.
Last year, he launched the Brickley Invitational, a high school All-America game held in Chicago featuring a hand-selected group of prospects. The primary difference between this event and other notable high school showcases is that players train with and learn from Brickley, both on and off the court.
This year, Brickley worked to identify the right boys and girls high school prospects to participate, ultimately selecting 17 boys and 17 girls to travel to Chicago from May 10-12 to for individual and group workouts, film sessions and a five-on-five game in front of an intimate crowd that included Chicago Sky rookie Angel Reese, as well as projected 2024 NBA Draft first-round picks Matas Buzelis, Donovan Clingham and Bobi Klintman.
Brickley is meticulous in the selection process, ignoring conventional rankings and determining players he wants to highlight by watching hours of game film. He also speaks with coaches, parents and mentors, leaning on his vast network. Manager and 7x Media founder Alex Koblenz, as well as assistants Milo Magnani and Luca Magnani, play notable roles in identifying players and organizing the weekend. The relationships built from the weekend don’t stop there. Brickley estimates he’s worked or is scheduled to work with 80 to 90 percent of players from last year’s event in a one-on-one setting outside of the invitational.
To ensure the screening process for inaugural girls event would be as rigorous as the boys, Brickley relied on Katie Smrcka-Duffy Fudd, the mother of the UConn guard, to help find some of the country’s best high school girls players. Brickley began training Azzi Fudd in high school and they have formed a strong friendship over the years.
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Katie Fudd would text Brickley about different players, and he would watch at least one full game of each before making a decision. Brickley and Koblenz said Katie Fudd was “instrumental” in the success of the girls game and will be a staple of the Brickley Invitational for years to come.
The feedback from parents about the experience of the weekend — including former NBA star Zach Randolph, whose daughter, Macklenly Randolph, played in the game — confirmed that Brickley made the right decision.
“I had parents saying, ‘You guys are helping push the women’s game forward. You don’t realize it,'” Koblenz said.
The MVPs of the boys game were Jasper Johnson, the No. 8 prospect in the Class of 2025, and Robert Wright III, the No. 23 prospect in the Class of 2024. On the girls’ side, Isabella Ragone, the No. 12 prospect in the Class of 2026, and Mya Pauldo, the No. 8 prospect in the Class of 2025, shared honors.
Brickley’s social media presence is a strong draw for the showcase. Brickley and his team post clips and highlights from the workouts and scrimmages, exposing many of the players to a larger audience than many have established yet.
Among last year’s group, Cooper Flagg, who won MVP at the inaugural Brickley Invitational, has become the most notable standout, emerging as the potential No. 1 pick in the 2025 NBA Draft. Flagg didn’t play in this year’s game, but Brickley said the Duke commit recently thanked him for the exposure he received last year from the event.
“If I could be a platform to help players blow up, that’s the goal,” Brickley said.
Several of Brickley’s brand partners — Puma, Therabody, Lids, Wilson and BodyArmor — shaped the tenor of the weekend. There was a Bose lounge where players ate, hung out and relaxed, a Therabody recovery room, new Puma jerseys and sneakers, and unlimited BodyArmor drinks. Dr. Jason Wersland, the founder of Therabody, gave players a tutorial about how to use Theraguns, along with jet boots and cryotherapy. Players also toured the Wilson headquarters in Chicago, testing out new products and providing feedback.
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“These kids all want these brand deals,” Koblenz said. “There’s all this money flowing around. But a lot of these executives are so out of reach for them. And so we brought them to them, to the game, so they can learn about them not only on the court but as people and individuals and develop these relationships that over time, who knows, could lead to endorsement deals in the future.
“The game is changing on and off the court. Basketball is number one and the priority. But we wanted to come up with a unique experience for all the players and their parents to really learn about the intricacies off the court as well.”
That includes Brickley imparting his wisdom on navigating social media and building a personal brand that attracts fans and brands. Each player received customized photos for their individual social media accounts.
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“I talk to the players all the time about it,” Brickley said. “Like, ‘You should post more. You should post this.’ I try to really help them in building their brands. It’s something I take pride in.”
In the future, Brickley wants to expand the game to the public in a larger venue that fits around 4,000 to 6,000 people — enough to generate more energy while maintaining a level of exclusivity. He’d also like for it to eventually be streamed, mentioning Netflix, Hulu, the NBA app and ESPNU as possible partners. Just as important, he wants to shift the game from Saturday evening to Sunday afternoon, giving him more time to work individually with each player.
No matter how the weekend evolves, the core of the event of will remain the same: Highlighting the next generation of men’s and women’s basketball stars and providing them with the proper tools to brand themselves along their journeys.
“There’s a reason why no one’s ever missed a shot in Chris’ gym,” Koblenz said. “I think the focus has always been to not only show that these kids work hard, but to show them in a way that only helps them.”
(All photos via Kees2life / CB Invitational)
