McCallie, Howard cap Jamboree play

Friday, January 1, 1904

PREP BASKETBALLMonday, Nov. 14Jamboree at Chattanooga StateGirls' 12-minute quarter, followed by boysTyner vs. Notre Dame, 6Ooltewah vs. East Hamilton, 7Howard vs. GPS/McCallie, 8

Two of the highest-regarded area basketball programs weren't able to schedule a regular-season game with each other, but Chattanooga State coach Jay Price gave them what he considered the next best thing.

McCallie and Howard will be the featured matchup Monday in a basketball jamboree set up by Price at Chattanooga State. It will be the final game of the night.

Each set of schools will play a 12-minute girls' quarter, followed by the boys.

"Any time you get the chance to play the caliber of a team like Howard, it's not going to make you anything but better," McCallie coach Dan Wadley said. "They're always well-coached and have a bunch of athletes. We always like to play good teams, and I consider them one of them."

The event starts at 6 with Tyner against Notre Dame. Ooltewah and East Hamilton will begin play at 7, then GPS will face Howard's girls before the nightcap.

GPS's Bruisers won the Division II-AA state championship last season, and East Hamilton's girls reached a Class AA sectional and Tyner's were region semifinalists. Both fell to Class AA state champion McMinn Central.

Wadley's Blue Tornado were the Division II-AA state runners-up last year, while the Hustlin' Tigers were a Class AA state semifinalist. Tyner's boys advanced to the state sectional, while Ooltewah and Notre Dame advanced to the region tournament.

East Hamilton girls' coach Derek Morris said he's going to take advantage of the opportunity to get some looks at everybody on his team during the scrimmage period.

"In the past, my team has been bad about starting slow, or starting fast and ending slow," Morris said. "I hope we're able to build on this and play hard whenever they're in the game."

Wadley, who said his team will practice for an hour before the game, said he was "appreciative" of Price for putting together the jamboree.

"We hope that it's able to get bigger and bigger," Wadley said. "You have good teams that might not be able to play during the season, so even if it's just for a quarter, it's going to be worth it."