NEW YORK, Apr 05, 2010 (BUSINESS WIRE) --Jordan Brand, a division of NIKE, Inc. (NYSE: NKE), announced today that hip-hop legend Common will be the headline performer at this year's Jordan Brand Classic, presented by Foot Locker, at Madison Square Garden on Saturday, April 17. The event annually showcases the top high school basketball players in the world.

Common, a multi-platinum recording artist and actor, is also a two-time GRAMMY^(R) Award winner. He received his first GRAMMY^(R) Award in 2003 for Best R&B Song for "Love of My Life (An Ode to Hip-Hop)" with Erykah Badu and received his second in 2008 for Best Rap Performance by Duo or Group for "Southside" (featuring Kanye West). He has also appeared in such films as Smokin' Aces, Street Kings, American Gangster, Wanted and Terminator Salvation. This month, Common will be featured in the film Date Night starring Steve Carell and Tina Fey and on May 14, he will share the screen with Queen Latifah in the romantic comedy Just Wright.

Sponsored by Jordan Brand, the Jordan Brand Classic is annually attended by some of sport and entertainment's biggest stars, who have included Michael Jordan, Spike Lee, CC Sabathia, Chris Paul, LL Cool J, Warren Sapp, Terrell Owens, Floyd Mayweather, Kanye West, Mya, Boyz II Men, Fat Joe, Ludacris, Ahmad Rashad and Vince Carter.

This year's tripleheader will begin with the Regional Game at 3:30 p.m., followed by the International Game at 5:30 p.m., and the All-American Game at 8:00 p.m. televised live on ESPN2. Common will perform during the halftime show of the All-American Game.

The All-American Game of the Jordan Brand Classic will include the top 20 players in the country including the top-ten ranked ESPNU 100 prospects No. 1 Harrison Barnes (Ames, IA/North Carolina), No. 2 Jared Sullinger (Columbus, OH/Ohio State), No. 3 Brandon Knight (Coral Springs, FL/Undecided), No. 4 Kyrie Irving (West Orange, NJ/Duke), No. 5 Tobias Harris (Dix Hills, NY/Tennessee), No. 6 Will Barton (Baltimore, MD/Memphis), No. 7 Josh Selby (Baltimore, MD/Undecided), No. 8 C.J. Leslie (Holly Springs, NC/Undecided), No. 9 Perry Jones (Duncanville, TX/Baylor) and No. 10 Tristan Thompson (Brampton, ONT/Texas)

Recent Jordan Brand Classic All-Americans have included NBA stars Chris Paul, Carmelo Anthony, LeBron James, Amar'e Stoudemire, Dwight Howard, Kevin Durant and Derrick Rose as well as current NCAA standouts John Wall (Kentucky), DeMarcus Cousins (Kentucky), Xavier Henry (Kansas), Sherron Collins (Kansas), Derrick Favors (Georgia Tech), Greg Monroe (Georgetown), Willie Warren (Oklahoma) and Kyle Singler (Duke).

Tickets are now on sale at all Ticketmaster locations, the Madison Square Garden box office, online at ticketmaster.com or by calling 212-307-7171. For more information, please visit the official web site, www.JordanBrandClassic.com.

SOURCE: Jordan Brand

Jordan Brand
Trisha Burns, 503-671-2693
trisha.burns@nike.com
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Position Sports
Kevin Foley, 480-248-6645
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MSG Properties
Larry Torres, 212-631-5178
larry.torres@thegarden.com