It was none other than Ernie Johnson Jr. who shared some words of wisdom before the start of the inaugural McCallie Dr Pepper Classic 10 years ago.
Johnson, the esteemed host of ESPN’s “Inside the NBA”, in a way was setting the stage for some of basketball’s greatest stars to put their talent on display for fans in Chattanooga to watch front and center.
Over the past decade, the home court of the Blue Tornado has been a stomping ground for 122 collegiate players and 16 NBA players who are Dr Pepper Classic alumni.
The first two years of the high school hoops event graced fans with the opportunity to watch cousins Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and Nickeil Alexander-Walker play for Chattanooga’s own Hamilton Heights Christian Academy. Gilgeous-Alexander is the NBA’s reigning MVP — both for the regular season and the Finals — after helping the Oklahoma City Thunder win the league championship last summer, while Alexander-Walker is averaging a career-best 20.3 points per game for the Atlanta Hawks this season.
A few years later, Anthony Edwards made quite an impression in the Dr Pepper Classic as the future Minnesota Timberwolves superstar scored 34 points for Atlanta’s Holy Spirit in a 72-68 loss to Hamilton Heights in 2019.
Gilgeous-Alexander and Edwards currently rank second and third in the NBA in points per game at 31.8 and 29.7, respectively.
Two other famous event alumni include Jarren Jackson Jr. and Jordan Poole, as the duo led La Lumiere to a national championship in 2017. Jackson was traded from the Memphis Grizzlies to the Utah Jazz on Tuesday, while Poole is a guard for the New Orleans Pelicans.
The stage is once again set as future college stars and potential NBA draft picks will play in this weekend’s 11th annual McCallie Dr Pepper Classic, which begins with a dunk contest at 11:15 a.m. Friday and concludes with McCallie taking on Tyner at 8:30 p.m. Saturday. In all, 10 teams will take part this weekend.
Five of Nike’s Elite Youth Basketball Scholastic League teams will be there: Spire Academy (Geneva, Ohio), La Lumiere (La Porte, Indiana), Montverde (Florida), Oak Hill Academy (Mouth of Wilson, Virginia), and St. James (Springfield, Virginia).
Spire is ranked as the No. 1 team in the country by SC Next Top 25 and Rivals, while Montverde and La Lumiere are ranked sixth and 16th, respectively, in the SC Next Top 25.
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There are 16 college signees/commitments set to take part this weekend: La Lumiere’s Gan-Erdene Solongo (Notre Dame), Rivers Knight (Purdue), Ferlandes Wright (Louisville commit), Gabe Weis (Western Kentucky), Jonathan Sanderson (Notre Dame) and Jacob Webber (Purdue); Oak Hill’s LJ Smith (Ohio State) and Ethan Mgbako (Vanderbilt); Montverde’s Jayden Hodge (Northwestern) and Dhani Miller (Kent State); Spire’s Dorian Rinaldo-Komlan (Iowa State), Aiden Derkack (Providence), Tarris Bouie (Alabama), Alex Constanza (Georgetown) and Collin Ross (VCU); and McCallie’s Ernas Valauskas (Dartmouth).
(READ MORE: Moravian Prep’s Eli Ellis tops list of Dr. Pepper Classic standouts)
Spire junior King Gibson is a five-star prospect and rated the No. 1 combo guard in the country by 247Sports.com. Gibson has per-game averages of 17.9 points, 4.3 assists, and two steals this season. He is receiving strong interest from Arkansas, Houston, Michigan, North Carolina State and Providence.
Oak Hill’s guard combination of Mgbako and Smith have averaged 35-plus points per game this season.
La Lumiere’s Sanderson was named Tennessee’s player of the year by Gatorade for the 2024-25 season, when he averaged 24 points per game for Ensworth. He is averaging nearly 14 points and more than five assists for the Lakers this season.
Jacoby Briscoe (St. James) averages 3.1 3-pointers per game, along with La Lumiere’s Webber and Oak Hill’s Smith.
Montverde’s Javion Tyndale averages more than six assists and had 14 in one game this season, while Spire’s trio of Darrell Davis, Bouie, and Derkack combine for nearly eight steals per game. La Lumiere’s Wright averages more than two blocks per game.
Spire is led by legendary high school basketball coach Kevin Boyle. The four-time Naismith coach of the year has coached four No. 1 NBA draft picks in Kyrie Irving, Cade Cunningham, Ben Simmons and Cooper Flagg. He also coached a pair of No. 2 picks in D’Angelo Russell and Michael Kidd-Gilchrist, along with two No. 3 picks in R.J. Barrett and Joel Embiid.
Tickets to the 11th annual Dr Pepper Classic can be purchased at https://gofan.co/app/school/TN15384, or fans can pay at the door, with daily admission $25.
Contact Patrick MacCoon at pmaccoon@timesfreepress.com.
11th ANNUAL MCCALLIE DR PEPPER CLASSIC
Friday, Feb. 6
Oracle Wealth Management Dunk Contest, 11:15 a.m.
McCallie Athletic Council Luncheon, 11:45 a.m.
Oak Hill Academy vs. St. James Academy, 5 p.m.
McCallie vs. La Lumiere, 7 p.m.
Montverde vs. Spire Academy, 9 p.m.
Saturday, Feb. 7
Pinnacle Financial Partners Youth Clinic, 8:30-10 a.m.
GPS vs. Boyd Buchanan, noon
La Lumiere vs. Oak Hill Academy, 2 p.m.
Montverde vs. Boyd Buchanan, 4 p.m.
Weigel’s Three-point contest, 6 p.m.
Spire Academy vs. St. James, 6:30 p.m.
McCallie vs. Tyner, 8:30 p.m.