Last weekend's Bob Gibbons Tournament of Champions boys basketball tournament provided a preview of sorts for this year's GlaxoSmithKline Invitational.

The annual December high school tournament features two eight-team fields for boys and a four-team girls event.

The Glaxo is scheduled for Dec. 26-27 and 29-30 at Broughton's Holliday Gym.

Four rising seniors ranked among the top 18 recruits in the country by Scout.com are expected to play in the Glaxo. All four played at the TOC.

* John Wall of Raleigh Word of God is the top-ranked point guard and is No. 3 on the Scout.com list. He was sensational at the TOC and is one of the most spectacular players in the country.

* Lorenzo Brown of Roswell (Ga.) Centennial is among the top guards and is No. 14. He played at N.C. State's Reynolds Coliseum on Friday night in the TOC and was impressive. He is one of the Wolfpack's primary recruiting targets.

* Duke recruit Mason Plumlee of Asheville Christ School is No. 15 on the list. The versatile forward demonstrated his skills during the TOC.

* Wing guard Nolan Dennis of Richland Hills, Texas, is No. 18 and is being recruited by North Carolina.

One of the hottest players in the country is Ravenscroft's 6-foot-11 Ryan Kelly, who is No. 29 on the Scout list. Recruiting analyst Bob Gibbons of All-Star Sports expects Kelly to break into his top 20.

One indication of Kelly's rising status is that he recently was offered by North Carolina, which already has commitments from three players of similar size.

Kelly also is considering Wake Forest, Virginia, Georgetown, Notre Dame, Vanderbilt, Stanford, N.C. State and Davidson.

The Glaxo field also includes shooting guard Omari Lawrence of Bronx St. Raymond's, who is ranked No. 43, and 6-5 Lakeem Jackson of Asheville Christ School, who is No. 54.

Among the top juniors expected are N.C. State commitment C.J. Leslie of Word of God and Reggie Bullock of state 3-A champion Kinston, who has already committed to North Carolina.

Completing the Glaxo field are Apex, Panther Creek, Middle Creek, Knightdale, Enloe, North Mecklenburg, Rocky Mount, Southern Lee and Toronto Henry Clay, the first international team to play in the tournament.

Broughton, Durham Hillside, Ravenscroft and Enloe will make up the girls bracket.

SHRINE FOOTBALL: Clayton coach Gary Fowler, the North Carolina coach for the Shrine Bowl of the Carolinas all-star football game, invited 121 players to a workout Saturday in Burlington.

Fowler has seen more than 900 players at one of the previous three workouts, but wanted a chance to work with some of the top players on an individual basis.

"The biggest thing I wanted to do was learn more about the kids," Fowler said.

"We know, to a degree, what they can do physically, but I want to have a couple of minutes with each player and to see how they interact with each other."

The bulk of the 44-man team that Fowler selects will come from among the final 121, but he expects other players to emerge during the summer and fall.

RAVENS' WALKER SIGNS: Beau Walker of Ravenscroft has signed to play football and baseball at Greensboro College.

Walker is a wide receiver/defensive back in football and played in the Shrine Bowl game for independent schools.

He is a pitcher/outfielder in baseball and was a three-time all-conference selection.

LEESVILLE'S LONG TO NORFOLK: Whitney Long of Leesville Road has signed to play basketball for Norfolk State.

She finished her high school career with 1,285 points and averaged 22.1 points, 3.1 assists, 3.0 rebounds and 3.1 steals during her senior season.