Missouri high school boys basketball notebook: Bass Pro Tournament of Champions tips off in Springfield

McDonald's All-American Game nominees include 12 from Missouri

The Bass Pro Tournament of Champions is back again this weekend in Springfield and once again brings an impressive lineup of teams and players to Springfield.

The Tournament of Champions opens with four quarterfinal games on Thursday evening at Great Southern Bank Arena: Edmond North (Oklahoma) vs. Rainer Beach (Washington) at 4:30 p.m., Springfield Central vs. St. John Bosco (California) at 6 p.m., St. Paul VI (Virginia) vs. Glendale at 7:30 p.m. and McEachern (Georgia) vs. Vashon at 9 p.m.

The semifinals are set for 7:30 and 9:30 p.m. on Friday with the championship game scheduled for 9 p.m. on Saturday.

This year’s tournament includes three teams ranked in the latest SBLive/Sports Illustrated Power 25 national rankings.

St. Paul VI, out of Chantilly, Va., is ranked third. St. John Bosco, from Bellflower, Calif., is 23rd, and McEachern, from Powder Springs, Ga., is 25th.

St. Paul VI won the TOC in 2013 and 2022. McEachern won in 2019.

McEachern senior Airious “Ace” Bailey, a 6-foot-9 forward who signed with Rutgers, is ranked as the No. 2 overall prospect in the Class of 2024 by Rivals by On3 and the No. 3 overall prospect by 247Sports.

St. Paul VI features a pair of Duke signees in 6-11 senior center Patrick Ngongba (No. 20 in the 247Sports’ rankings for the Class of 2024) and 6-6 senior swingman Darrien Harris (No. 57 in 247Sports’ 2024 rankings) as well as 6-7 senior forward Isaiah Abraham (UConn signee) and 6-10 forward Garrett Sundra (Notre Dame signee). St. Paul VI sophomore Jordan Smith, a 6-3 shooting guard, is ranked as the No. 16 overall prospect in the Class of 2026 in the 247Sports Composite.

St. John Bosco sophomore Brandon McCoy, a 6-4 point guard, is ranked as the No. 2 prospect in the Class of 2026 247Sports Composite rankings.

It should be a fun weekend of basketball in Springfield.

How to watch 2024 Bass Pro Tournament of Champions

VIANNEY BOUNCES BACK

The Vianney basketball team went 29-29 combined the past two seasons, but the Griffins are off to a strong start this season and recently snapped a pair of long losing streaks to Metro Catholic Conference rivals CBC and Chaminade.

The Griffins improved to 10-2 after beating Chaminade 66-63 on Friday night on the road – snapping a 10-game losing streak to the Red Devils – and then came back to defeat Whitney Young out of Chicago the following day at the Highland Shootout.

“I thought our guys were super tough,” Vianney coach Kevin Walsh said on Saturday. I thought we kept our composure when we needed to when it got a little hectic. I thought we showed some maturity down the stretch, which is really good. Coming off a tough conference game last night and a quick turnaround, I thought our guys really played well, played together and showed some toughness that we were excited to see.”

Junior guard Luke Walsh, the coach’s son, took home the game’s most valuable player honors at Highland after scoring 26 points and knocking down three 3-pointers.

Sophomore Symon Ghai, a 7-3 center, scored 20 points and grabbed 15 rebounds against Whitney Young. Eddie Smajic, a 6-5 sophomore swingman, added 16 points.

Walsh, Ghai and Smajic all have Division I scholarship offers and that trio gives the Griffins a chance to win every time they take the floor. The wins on Friday and Saturday showed that this Vianney group will be a tough team to play the rest of the way.

“I think coaching high school basketball is kind of a rollercoaster ride,” Kevin Walsh said. “We were lower than low last week after a disappointing showing in a variety of ways at Coaches vs. Cancer. Our guys responded really well in practice this week and then to get those two wins this weekend, I think it tells us we’re on the right trajectory. We’ve got a long way to go but we’re on the right trajectory.”

Vote: Who should be SBLive's Missouri High School Athlete of the Week (1/8/2024)?

MCDONALD’S ALL-AMERICAN GAME NOMINEES ANNOUNCED

Nominees for the McDonald’s All-American Game were announced this week and 12 seniors from Missouri were nominated, including seven from Link Academy in Branson.

The 12 nominees were: T.O. Barrett (Link Academy), Brandon Benjamin (Link Academy), James Brown (Link Academy), NaShawn Davis (Cardinal Ritter), Jaxson Ford (Link Academy), Clayton Jackson (Cardinal Ritter), Tre Johnson (Link Academy), Labaron Philon (Link Academy), Iziah Purvey (Webster Groves), Derrick Rivers (Cardinal Ritter), Derek Rockett (Higbee) and Jalen Shelley (Link Academy).

Link Academy is once again loaded with talent after winning the GEICO national championship a year ago. The Lions, who did not return any players from last year’s title team, are once again one of the best squads in the country.

Johnson, a 6-6 shooting guard who signed with Texas, is the No. 4 overall prospect in the Class of 2024. Philon is a 6-4 point guard who signed with Kansas. Shelley is a bouncy 6-8 forward who signed with Arkansas. Brown, who is from Chicago, is a 6-9 center who signed with North Carolina. Barrett is a 6-4 combo guard who signed with Missouri.

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Cardinal Ritter’s trio of Jackson (Lindenwood signee), Davis and Rivers led the Lions to the Missouri Class 5 championship a year ago and a third-place finish in Class 5 in 2022.

Purvey, who has signed with the University of Missouri-St. Louis, led Webster Groves to the Class 5 title in 2022 as a sophomore.

Rockett, a high-scoring 6-1 guard, broke Higbee’s career scoring record a year ago as a junior.

The final rosters for the 2024 McDonald’s All-American Game will be announced on January 23. The game will be played in April in Houston.

Vianney - Whitney Young boys basketball

Photos by Nate Latsch

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- Nate Latsch | latsch@scorebooklive.com | @SBLiveMiz