McCallie ready to tip off eighth Dr Pepper Classic
Anthony Edwards, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Jaren Jackson Jr. and Jordan Poole are among the young stars in today’s NBA.
All four also share a connection to Chattanooga from their time as prep standouts.
McCallie has provided local fans an early glimpse of some of the country’s best basketball talent since 2016, when the Blue Tornado began their annual high school hoops event, the Dr Pepper Classic.
In that time, the teams competing in Chattanooga have included future NCAA champions and NBA draft picks, with Edwards — who played at McCallie’s event with Atlanta’s Holy Spirit Prep — taken No. 1 overall in 2020 by the Minnesota Timberwolves after one season at Georgia.
Poole won an NBA championship with the Golden State Warriors last summer, but six years ago in Chattanooga, he was the 3-point shootout champ as a member of Indiana’s La Lumiere School. The same year provided an overtime matchup between two Chattanooga programs as McCallie beat Gilgeous-Alexander’s Hamilton Heights Christian Academy.
Gilgeous-Alexander is an NBA All-Star this season, when he has averaged 30.8 points, 5.6 assists, 4.7 rebounds, 1.7 steals and 1.1 blocks per game for the Oklahoma City Thunder. He was also present for a moment of NBA history on Tuesday night in the Thunder’s 133-130 road win against the Los Angeles Lakers, whose LeBron James broke the league’s career scoring record in the third quarter of that game.
In addition to two nights of games, a 3-point shootout, slam dunk contest and free youth basketball clinic, the event has become notable for the luncheon held in conjunction, where the guest speakers have included Ernie Johnson of “NBA on TNT.”
The Dr Pepper Classic tradition will continue with an eighth go-around this weekend inside McCallie’s Student Athletic Center, where two of the top three teams from North Carolina will play.
Moravian Prep (25-4) is ranked second by MaxPreps. com and features freshman standout Isaac Ellis. The flashy left-handed guard has an offer from West Virginia already, and his brother Eli is a sophomore shooting guard for the City Reapers, who currently lead Atlanta’s professional Overtime Elite league.
Winston-Salem Christian School (31-3) is ranked third in the Tar Heel State and No. 24 nationally in ESPN’s most recent high school basketball poll. Alumni for the Lions include current Providence College freshman Quante Berry, who is from Cleveland, Tennessee, and began his prep career at Bradley Central.
Winston-Salem Christian’s Chol Machot is a 7-footer with massive potential, while 6-8 forward Torey Alston has signed with Sam Houston State. Other notable players for the Lions include Kany Tchanda, Lewis Walker and Isaiah Washington.
“We feel so fortunate to have Moravian Prep and WinstonSalem Christian coming here,” said Kenny Sholl, McCallie’s assistant head of school. “Having them continues the Dr Pepper tradition of having nationally known and respected programs.”
McCallie (8-13) will play Winston-Salem Christian at 6 p.m. Friday, followed by Hamilton Heights (11-13) facing Moravian Prep. Saturday features a tripleheader of games: Coffee County (15-8) versus Red Bank (16-12) at 4 p.m., followed by Hamilton Heights versus Winston-Salem, and finally McCallie versus Moravian Prep. The 3-point contest will precede the last game of the Dr Pepper Classic, while the dunk contest — with the Blue Tornado’s Kollin Claridy and Parker Robison the reigning champions — is at 11 a.m Friday, just before the luncheon that will feature Phil Ford as guest speaker.
Ford was a three-time AllAmerican point guard for North Carolina, the 1979 NBA rookie of the year with the Kansas City Kings and an Olympic gold medalist with the United States at the 1976 Montreal Games.
A basketball clinic for first through fifth graders will be held from 10 a.m. to noon Saturday, with instruction provided by coaches from McCallie, Hamilton Heights, Moravian Prep and Winston-Salem Christian. The clinic is free, but registration is required by visiting McCallie’s website, where game tickets are also available for purchase.
General admission is $20 per day.