Waffle House MLK King of the Court
Presented by the Chattanooga Area Basketball ClubBoys’ featured players› Ryan Rhodes, Chattanooga Christian: A 6-foot senior with interest from Covenant, Sewanee, Bryan, Lee and Berry. Good shooter, high motor, excellent leader.› Caden Mills, Van Buren: A 6-4 junior with interest from Lipscomb, Austin Peay and others. Great ability to score.› Chapin Rierson, Calhoun: A 6-5 senior expected to be an NCAA Division II-level player. Has an offer from Lee.› Junior Clay, McCallie: A 5-11 junior with interest from Middle Tennessee State, Georgia Southern and UNC-Asheville. Has helped McCallie to 49 victories the last two seasons.Girls’ featured players› Madison Hayes, East Hamilton: A 5-foot-11 freshman with interest from the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga, Wake Forest, Penn State and Toledo. Plays inside and outside in high school.› Brooke McCurdy, GPS: A 5-7 junior with interest from North Carolina, Gardner-Webb, Radford and Belmont, along with some Division II and III schools. She is one of the best 3-point shooters in the area.
Martin Luther King Jr. had a dream. And so, too, did Daniel Gilbert - for Martin Luther King Day 2017.
Gilbert, a former Covenant College player and coach who spent time recently as a high school assistant coach, is in his first season as boys' varsity coach at Boyd-Buchanan. And he's the founder and executive director of the Chattanooga Area Basketball Club.
Gilbert is also a self-proclaimed basketball junkie who sees MLK Day as an opportunity to overdose on the sport. As a result, on Monday the CABC is presenting the Waffle House MLK King of the Court games at the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga's Maclellan gymnasium.
"The Roundhouse (UTC's McKenzie Arena) was way too expensive," said Gilbert, who spent a season as a Mocs assistant. "I graduated from UTC. I always heard that Big Mac (Maclellan) was one of the best places, as far as an atmosphere, for basketball. I've heard rumors of it. So I got in contact with a couple of people I know at UTC. Thankfully it worked out."
The first two of five games involve Chattanooga Christian. The girls play East Hamilton at 12:30 p.m. The Chargers take on Gilbert's Buccaneers at 2.
GPS is scheduled to play Van Buren County at 4. Then the competition closes with what Gilbert calls the two "showcase" games.
The first of those pits the Class AAA East Hamilton boys (12-5) against Van Buren (13-3), which was a Class A state semifinalist last year. Tipoff is set for 5:30.
"We are very excited about being a part of this inaugural MLK King of the Court event," Van Buren coach Dustin Sullivan said in an email sent by the CABC to the Times Free Press. "These events help bring exposure to basketball in our region. Our school jumped at the chance to play in this event. East Hamilton is very good and this will be a great chance for us to work against a team that really pressures defensively and tries to push in transition. It will be a battle of contrasting styles and a great challenge for us. It's the kind of game and atmosphere that we hope helps us when the postseason rolls around."
The nightcap at 7:30 has Georgia Class AAA power Calhoun (11-2) playing 2016 state semifinalist and current No. 1-ranked TSSAA Division II-AA team McCallie (17-2).
"We are thrilled to be participating in this event and playing a perennial powerhouse in Calhoun," McCallie coach John Shulman said in the email. "We appreciate CABC putting on this event and setting up a great opportunity for McCallie. I also appreciate the opportunity to do something special on such an important day and to honor an American hero."
Gilbert said the CABC is hoping to make this an annual event that gives local high school basketball fans the chance to see some of the area's top talent and college prospects.
"I love the city and I obviously love basketball," Gilbert said. "Our wish for this is to help grow the game in the Chattanooga area."
Contact Kelley Smiddie at ksmiddie@timesfreepress.com or 423-757-6653.