The inaugural JAB Classic brought a bevy of basketball stars for a showcase to foster unity
Jared Armstrong, who founded the Classic and plays professionally in Israel, said the desire to play at Penn was to bring unity, citing the turmoil the conflict in that region has caused on campus.
Philadelphia natives Marcus Morris Sr. and Markieff Morris showed out in front of a home crowd on Sunday.
The Morris twins, who put together long careers in the NBA, starred for a team representing Chuck Ellis Workouts in the inaugural JAB Classic Championship — the culmination of a three-day pro-am basketball tournament at the Palestra.
The final saw their Philly-based team defeat Texas’s Trusted Vision, 106-77. Zid Powell, a former standout at Rocktop Academy while attending Overbrook High, was named the game’s most valuable player.
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After the final whistle, Chuck Ellis Workouts was awarded a $1 million championship bonus check.
“I already knew what time it was, man,” Marcus Morris Sr. said after being presented the check. “I already knew. Just show some love. Just show some respect, man. You know what time it is. I’m taking [the check] to the crib, and we know what it is — a million.”
In 2024, Marcus Morris, then a member of the Sixers, received a key to the city for his philanthropic work. Marcus and Markieff helped found the Family Over Everything Foundation, a program that provides assistance to local children in single-parent households and other underserved communities. For the Morris twins, playing in the JAB Classic was another way to give back to Philadelphia.
“It’s amazing to have people come out,” said Marcus Morris. “Been playing in the NBA for 15 years. And even when I’m not playing, they still come to show love, man. It’s always about Philly.”
Markieff Morris added: “Felt good, had the city come out. We need more of it.”
The JAB Classic was centered around fostering unity. JAB founder Jared Armstrong thought to bring the inaugural tournament to Penn after years of campus turmoil following the Hamas-led attacks on Israel on Oct. 7, 2023, and the ensuing war in Gaza, which has killed more than 70,000 people.
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Armstrong, who plays professionally in Israel, has helped fund the renovation of 17 total basketball courts between Israel and Philadelphia. The tournament, which ran from Friday through Sunday, will help fund a new court in the city. The location has yet to be announced.
“I just think [combating] the rise of hate [is the goal],” Armstrong told The Inquirer last week. “Whether it’s racism, antisemitism, Islamophobia — it’s going to start with the next generation and really educating them.”
The Morris twins were far from the only high-level talent that graced the Palestra’s court. In total, over 35 current and former NBA players were featured on the classic’s eight teams. Other notable names included 76ers forward Dominick Barlow, two-time NBA champion Quinn Cook, former NBA Sixth Man of the Year Montrezl Harrell, and former Villanova standout Omari Spellman.
On Friday, Philadelphia rapper Kur performed between Games 3 and 4. Then, during halftime of Sunday’s championship matchup, prominent Chicago emcee G Herbo performed a medley of his hits.
Despite the evident star power, the JAB Classic failed to pack the Palestra. Sunday’s championship round, the best attended of the tournament’s three days, filled roughly a quarter of the arena. Marcus Morris hopes to help bring in more fans if the event is held again.
“Next year we want to get [ahead] of it a little bit earlier,” he said. “So we can get more people to come out.”
Still, the fans who did show up on Sunday made themselves heard.
In the second half, when Chuck Ellis Workouts began to run away with the lead, a crowd formed on the baseline. One player that fed off the section was Chuck Ellis Workouts guard Josh Sharkey, a graduate of Archbishop Carroll.
“Man, they gave us a lot of energy today,” Sharkey said. “You know, we [were] trying to promote it and get people in here, and they gave us a lot of energy. So it was good to come out and give them a show in front of the city and to win the money here.”
“We [had] a very well put-together team,” added Sharkey, who also played in last week’s Danny Rumph Classic. “Shout-out to the [Morris] twins. Shout-out to Chuck [Ellis] for putting us together. And we had a goal, and we had no egos on the team.”
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