When he isn’t taking classes at Syracuse, most of Alex Kline’s time is spent in the recruiting world judging prospects, tracking scholarship offers and visits, and speaking to college coaches and student athletes.
And though he is best known for breaking news about high-school players’ college commitments, today when the third annual Mary Kline Classic — an all-star basketball showcase for top high school basketball prospects to raise money for cancer research — returns is the day that matters most to the 19-year-old Rivals.com recruiting guru from New Jersey.
“The other days are what leads up to this,” said Kline, who has more than 30,000 followers on Twitter and started his own recruiting website, TheRecruitScoop.com, at the age of 15 he parlayed into a job with Rivals last summer. “This is my Super Bowl. That’s the way I look it. This is my day. It’s the most important thing to me.”
Kline, who has been featured in Sports Illustrated, USA Today, NBC’s “The Today Show” and ABC News, and was on Forbes’ “30 under 30” list of most influential figures in the sports world under 30 years of age, named the tournament after his mother Mary, who died when he was 10 after a long fight with brain cancer.
“Even though she hasn’t been with me the last eight years, every little accomplishment, everything I’ve done, she’s been my guardian angel,” he said. “If I was dealing with some adversity, she would get me through that. It’s all about her.”
The showcase features the nation’s top seniors, juniors and sophomores and includes a 3-point shootout and slam-dunk contest. Among the participants are local stars such as Cincinnati signee Jermaine Lawrence of Queens, Fordham-bound guard Jon Severe and Lincoln standout Isaiah Whitehead, one of the country’s top sophomores.
Already, Kline said, he has raised $17,000 and hopes to get to $30,000. He raised $7,300 his first year and $20,000 last year. Two-thirds of the proceeds go to the National Brain Tumor Society and the other third is sent to Thomas Jefferson University Hospital in Philadelphia, where his mother was treated.
He hopes to fill Philadelphia University’s Gallagher Center, which holds 2,500 people. As part of the festivities, 11-year-old Jailah Armstrong, who is winninmg her battle with brain cancer, will be a guest of honor. “I would’ve never expected in my wildest dreams to be where we are,” he said. “I definitely want to set a trend. I’m not really sure [how]. I’m really excited about the possibilities and the future of this.”
As part of the festivities, 11-year-old Jailah Armstrong, a brain cancer survivor, will be a guest of honor.“The thing I’ve noticed is cancer is really universal, everyone deals with it one way or another,” Kline said. “This is for my mother first and foremost,” Kline said, “but without a doubt it’s for everyone.”
Kline isn’t sure what he would like to see the event become down the road, other than to continue to raise money for cancer research. He hopes to get it televised in some form next year, but doesn’t see it becoming the McDonald’s All-American Game or Jordan Brand All-American Classic — the two trademark all-star games broadcast by ESPN.