The Scenic City will be the epicenter of an earthquake of high school basketball talent this weekend as McCallie School hosts its 10th annual Dr Pepper Classic.
On the same stage where NBA superstar Shai Gilgeous-Alexander once competed for Chattanooga’s Hamilton Heights Christian Academy in a previous edition of the event, some of the best programs in Tennessee (and beyond) will look to put on a show for what is expected to be a standing-room-only crowd at times. The two-day event tips off with a pair of games Friday night, followed by seven more Saturday.
In the 15-team field, there are six TSSAA state-ranked squads and a pair of nationally renowned programs in Hamilton Heights and Moravian Prep, which is from North Carolina.
Here are ten of the top players to watch at this year’s Dr Pepper Classic.
1. Eli Ellis (Moravian Prep): Rated the nation’s No. 35 college recruit by HoopSeen, Ellis is headed to the University of South Carolina to play for Lamont Paris, who enjoyed a successful run at the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga from 2017-22 before being hired by the Gamecocks. Ellis recently had a 28-point fourth quarter in a 44-point performance, and he set a career high with 55 points (including nine 3-pointers) in an Overtime Elite game on Dec. 7, when he also had 11 assists and nine rebounds while making all 14 of his free throws. The pure shooter is the third-ranked prospect in North Carolina.