McCallie-Dr Pepper Classic will feature nation’s top-ranked boys’ basketball team

McCallie School senior center David Craig has played big games before in his Blue Tornado basketball career. He’ll no doubt play a few more with the TSSAA playoffs soon to begin.

But as important as the postseason is, next week’s game against Sunrise Christian Academy in the seventh annual McCallie-Dr. Pepper Classic stands on its own as a rare opportunity for Craig and his teammates.

“It’s not every day you have a chance to play the No. 1 team in the country,” said the 7-foot-1 Craig, a Mercer University signee. “We have nothing to lose, but we also have a chance to pull off a very big upset. We have an opportunity to test ourselves against some of the nation’s best players. I’m salivating over that opportunity.”

This is the first time in the history of McCallie’s two-day showcase that USA Today’s top-ranked high school boys’ basketball team has been in the field. Two games will be played each day next Friday and Saturday (Feb. 18-19) at McCallie’s Student Activities Center.

“I believe we’ve had a couple of teams come in here at No. 2,” Blue Tornado coach Dave Conrady said. “And we’ve had teams go on to win the GEICO national championship at the end of the year. But we’ve never had anyone ranked No. 1 at the time they played in the Dr Pepper.”

Sunrise Christian, a Kansas program from the Wichita area, does indeed have some of the best players in the country this season. Gradey Dick, a 6-6 sharpshooting wing, is headed to the University of Kansas. Fellow senior Mark Mitchell, a 6-8 small forward, has signed with Duke.

But as good as those players and the Buffaloes are, every team in the McCallie-Dr Pepper Classic field is pretty impressive. Knoxville Catholic counts Tennessee signee BJ Edwards and unsigned but highly recruited Blue Cain as its backcourt starters. Cain is being wooed by Georgetown, Georgia Tech, Syracuse and Virginia Tech, among others.

Hamilton Heights Christian Academy – the Chattanooga program has become a Classic regular – has its usual collection of future college stars, including Hawks junior guard Jordann Dumont and 6-11 sophomore center Somto Cyril.

As for the hosts, the Blue Tornado have a realistic chance to win the TSSAA Division II-AA state title next month.

The event’s Friday night matchups have Hamilton Heights facing Sunrise Christian at 6 and McCallie meeting Knoxville Catholic at 8. On Saturday, it’s Hamilton Heights versus Knoxville Catholic at 6 and McCallie taking on Sunrise Christian at 8.

“McCallie does a great job with this event,” Sunrise Christian coach Luke Barnwell said. “They treat you very well, and you get to play a couple of games in front of a big crowd, a true road game, which we don’t get to experience very often.”

Knoxville Catholic coach Mike Hutchens, whose Fighting Irish compete in the same DII-AA East Region as McCallie, is glad to be making the trip to Chattanooga next weekend.

“No. 1, you get to play quality teams,” he said of the Classic. “It also has great hospitality, press coverage, and they stream the games. We really appreciate McCallie having us.”

There’s also the yearly attraction of hearing an inspirational message at the Mountain View Auto Group Luncheon on the first day of the Classic. This year’s speaker, former Duke star Mike Gminski, was a three-time All-American who spent 14 seasons in the NBA.

“Gary Brackett was the speaker the last time we were there,” Barnwell said of the former Indianapolis Colts linebacker who was at the 2020 Classic. “He did a phenomenal job. That’s another thing that makes it so special.”

The basketball talent alone makes it special. A few of the past participants currently starring in the NBA include Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Nickeil Alexander-Walker, Jaren Jackson, former Georgia star Anthony Edwards and former Kentucky standout Keldon Johnson, who helped the United States win gold at the Tokyo Olympics this past summer.

But it’s always far more than the basketball talent and even the luncheon that make the weekend special. There’s a dunk contest and a 3-point contest, plus a free clinic for kids from 10 a.m. to noon on Saturday, though registration is strongly requested. Details on all of the Classic activities are available at mccallie.org/athletics/drpepper.

“One of the great things about this event is you get to see great teams with some of the best players in the country, guys you’re probably going to see in the NBA one day,” Conrady said. “But it’s so much more than that. We have teams every year reaching out to us to be a part of this. It’s one of those events where after you’ve done it, you think, ‘That was really something we’ve never been a part of before.'”

Kind of like getting to watch the No. 1 high school team in the country pay a visit to Chattanooga.

Contact Mark Wiedmer at mwiedmer@timesfreepress.com. Follow him on Twitter @TFPWeeds.