Rodney Purvis will play basketball this season but his former high school won't.

Upper Room Christian Academy in Raleigh is eliminating its high school and middle school grades, the school's executive director John Amanchukwu said Tuesday.

Gatorade, in collaboration with ESPNHS, today announced guard Rodney Purvis of Upper Room Christian Academy as its Gatorade North Carolina boys basketball Player of the Year. Purvis is the first Player of the Year to be chosen from Upper Room. 

The award recognizes outstanding athletic excellence and high standards of academic achievement along with exemplary character demonstrated on and off the court. Purvis is also now a finalist for the National Player of the Year award to be announced later this month.

“It means a lot,” Purvis said. “It’s an honor to have my name on that award.”

Purvis, who is 6-foot-4 and 199-pound, led the Eagles to a 24-16 record and the Greater Carolina High School Athletic Association championship this past season.

“I’m just happy and proud for him,” coach Avie Lester said. “It’s nice that people acknowledge his work and effort.”

Rodney Purvis, one of the top high school basketball players in the country, plans to announce his college decision on Friday.

Upper Room Christian’s Rodney Purvis has been selected to play in the 2011 Boost Mobile Elite 24 in Los Angeles on August 26-27 at Venice Beach.

The Upper Room Christian Academy Annual Fund Tournament will be held at 8:30 a.m. June 4 at the Lonnie Poole Golf Course on N.C. State's Centennial Campus in Raleigh.

The entry fee is $85. Contact John Amanchukwu at 919-829-6199, or visit www.urcafund.org.

*** Find more golf tournaments and other charity events, plus summer camps and leagues, in the expanded online edition of the Play! Recreational Sports Calendar. ***

Upper Room Christian Academy junior is no longer committed to Louisville.

Rodney Purvis, one of the top high school basketball point guards in the Class of 2012, ended his college recruitment on Friday when he announced he will sign with the University of Louisville.

"My mind was made up about three weeks ago when I visited Louisville," Purvis said Saturday. "I just waited a while to make sure I didn't change my mind."

Rodney Purvis, one of the top high school point guards in the country, opens his season tonight at Raleigh Upper Room Christian Academy with a tip-off event.

Purvis, a freshman, shines against varsity competition.