The Apex, Broughton and Middle Creek boys basketball teams will face some of the nation's best players in the first round of the GlaxoSmithKline Invitational on Dec. 27.

The annual high school tournament at N.C. State's Reynolds Coliseum attracts some of the nation's top teams and players.

In the opening game of the boys national tournament, Kinston will play Durham Riverside at 12:40 p.m. Middle Creek gets a shot at Bronx (N.Y.) St. Raymond at 2:20 p.m.

Apex faces Woodland Hills (Calif.) Taft at 5:40 p.m., and Broughton plays Newark (N.J.) St. Benedict Prep, one of the country's premier teams, at 7:20.

In the four-team boys bracket, which begins play Dec. 28, Southern Durham plays Goldsboro at 4 p.m. and Knightdale faces Boonville Starmount at 5:40.

In the girls bracket, Wake Forest-Rolesville plays Sylva Smoky Mountain at 11 a.m. on Dec. 27 and Wakefield plays Apex at 4 p.m. Smoky Mountain is led by 5-foot-5 all-star Cetera DeGraffenreid, a UNC recruit.

In two showcase games outside the tournament brackets, Aston (Pa.) American Christian will play Durham Mount Zion at 9 p.m. Dec. 27 and will play Hope Christian at 7:20 p.m. Dec. 29.

The tournament is loaded with top recruiting targets, especially juniors. Three of the top six juniors ranked by Scout.com are expected to play. Leading the way are 6-4 Tyreke Evans of American Christian, 6-8 Samardo Samuels of St. Benedict and 5-11 Larry Drew of Taft.

Starmount's 6-8 Victor Davila and Kinston's 6-4 Donovan Ingram also are ranked among the top 100 juniors in the country.

Among the top seniors are Broughton's Brock Young (East Carolina), Southern Durham's Julian Gamble (Miami), Middle Creek's Marcus Kitts (William & Mary) and Mount Zion's Tracy Smith (N.C. State).

St. Benedict Prep is the tournament favorite. Coach Dan Hurley's club has 6-5 Corey Stokes (a Villanova recruit), 6-10 Jabari Edwards (George Washington), 6-5 Rashad Bishop (Cincinnati) and Samuels.

Broughton coach Jeff Ferrell said his team faces a huge challenge against St. Benedict.

"There a lot of coaches who are worried that their teams will lose confidence by playing somebody like St. Benedict," Ferrell said. "But when Shavlik [Randolph] was here, we played many of the best teams in the country and we got waxed some.

"The kids are much more resilient than the coaches. They bounce back quickly."

Ferrell said one of the best things about playing national teams comes years later.

"I know the kids like to watch these great players in college and in the NBA and say, 'I guarded him,' " Ferrell said.

"But I like it better when I think I've got the players that the other team is going to be watching in a few years and say, 'I guarded him.' "