PREP BASKETBALL: Arby's Classic field highlighted by newcomers

BRISTOL, Tenn. – The Arby’s Classic is the biggest boys basketball tournament in the Mountain Empire. This year, the tournament will have a little Big Apple feel.

New York’s New Rochelle High School will play the Sullivan East Patriots in the opening round of the event, which begins Dec. 26 at Viking Hall. The 3,000-student school is located two miles north of
New York City and features 6-foot-2 senior Antoine Mason, the son of former NBA star Anthony Mason.

“From the way [tournament director Richard Ensor] talked,” said East coach John Dyer. “Wow.”

That was the general consensus among coaches on Sunday afternoon when the pairings were announced for the 27th annual holiday tournament. Nine newcomers are in the 18-team event and it appears
to be one of the toughest fields in the history of the tradition-rich tournament.

“The field is just unreal with the good teams and the players we have from each team,” Ensor said.

While East is faced with a tough opponent in the first round, it doesn’t take away from the experience the players get from competing in the nationally-renowned tourney.

“We appreciate getting the invitation and we enjoy being in the Arby’s,” Dyer said. “The kids love it and they love to play in it. No matter who we play, we’re excited about going out and getting better and playing against the better competition.”

East is off to a 3-0 start this season and features talented junior guard Jordan Cross. Cross was the Big Nine Conference sophomore of the year last season and is averaging 17.7 points per game this season.

“We’re off to a good start,” Dyer said. “We have good experience and we just have to work hard and get better every day and that’s what we’re trying to do.”

Tennessee High got a favorable draw for its first-round game as the Vikings will play Fairdale High School of Louisville, Ky. on Dec. 26. It’s the second straight year THS will open the tourney against an opponent from the Bluegrass state.

Last year, the Vikings collected a 54-49 victory over Bryan Station in the opening round.

“We played a team from that area in the Arby’s [last year], so we got a feel for the kind of basketball they play,” said Tennessee High coach Roby Witcher. “They run and gun and play typical Louisville-style basketball.”

Witcher was already making plans to find out about his opponent in the event.

“It’s certainly one of the closest scouts,” Witcher said. “You don’t have to drive a whole lot of hours to get there, just drive up to Louisville. We’ve played in their tournament before and we’re familiar with the type of program they have. I’ve got some friends that live in Kentucky, so we should be able to figure out a little about them. We don’t know how many games they’ll play before Christmas, but if we get an opportunity to see them play, we’ll go look at them.”

Along with New Rochelle, Fayetteville (Ark.), Greater Atlanta Christian (Ga.), McEachern (Ga.), Melrose (Tenn.), Miami Palmetto (Fla.) and Siegel (Tenn.) are also among the newcomers in the event. So, who is the favorite?

“Melrose from Memphis has to be the one to beat,” Ensor said.

Melrose features some of the nation’s top recruits and are paced by 6-foot-7 junior Adonis Thomas, who averaged 18 points and 12 rebounds per contest a year ago and will lead his team against Science Hill in the first round.

Meanwhile, Fayetteville finished eighth in Sports Illustrated’s national rankings last year and Miami Palmetto features junior Tim Hardaway Jr., the son of former NBA superstar Tim Hardaway.

It should all equal another exciting tournament in Bristol.

“Phenomenal. It’s one of the toughest groups of teams coming in,” Witcher said. “The fact that they haven’t been here before, some of them, it will be very exciting for them and that ought to promote excitement for the rest of the field as well.”