Indiana Commit Gabe Cupps To Play in The Throne National Championship

Gabe Cupps has another chance to play with his Centerville High School teammates before joining coach Mike Woodson and the Indiana Hoosiers.

Centerville lost 57-53 to Pickerington Central in the OHSAA state semifinals, but later accepted an invitation to play in The Throne National Championship at Morehouse College in Atlanta, Ga. from March 29 to April 1. OHSAA rules prohibit high school teams playing in this event, so six seniors and three underclassmen from Centerville will compete as a club team named "The 'Ville" in order to not break any rules. 

The 'Ville received the No. 13 seed in this 16-team tournament and will play against No. 4 seed Beaumont Elite from Texas in the first round. The game will tip off on March 29 at 3 p.m. ET and can be viewed on NBA TV. FOX Sports 1 and FOX will also broadcast games throughout the tournament. 

The Throne was co-founded by Darren Duncan, a former professional basketball player, and Danny Green, a three-time NBA champion and an NCAA Tournament champion with the North Carolina Tar Heels. NBA players Dwight Howard, Harrison Barnes, Rudy Gay and Fred VanVleet are board members for The Throne.

According to TheThroneHoops.com, Gold Level Sports & Entertainment and the National Basketball Players Association (NBPA) have teamed up to create, The Throne, a one-of-a-kind platform bringing a bracket-style basketball tournament to the high school ranks. As a four-day single-elimination basketball tournament, The Throne will bring together sixteen of the most prestigious boys basketball clubs to compete in a bracket-style format. By partnering with the NBPA and THINK450, the NBPA’s business development and innovation arm, The Throne will be curated with the support and expertise of current NBPA members, creating an event “for the players, by the players.”

Cupps averaged 15.4 points, 6.2 assists, 4.5 rebounds and 2.2 steals per game with a 40.8 3-point shooting percentage this season. After being named 2022 Ohio Mr. Basketball, Cupps was the runner-up in 2023 to Devin Royal, an Ohio State commit from Pickerington Central. On Saturday, however, Cupps was named Division I Player of the Year by the Ohio High School Basketball Coaches Association.

Other notable high school players competing in The Throne National Championship include Isaiah Collier, DJ Wagner, Cameron Boozer and Jared McCain. Collier is the nation's No. 1 recruit, and he's committed to USC in the class of 2023. Wagner is a consensus top-five recruit committed to Kentucky, and McCain is another five-star recruit committed to Duke. The son of NBA All-Star Carlos Boozer, Cameron is ranked No. 1 in the class of 2025 and recently won the Gatorade National Player of the Year Award as a sophomore. 

To read our Next Generation profile on Cupps, including exclusive interviews with Gabe, his father and Centerville coach Brook Cupps and Indiana assistant coach Brian Walsh, CLICK HERE.