Sports

Mitchell's Colton Smith, right, attacks the basket against DeLaSalle, Minnesota, at last season's Hoop City Classic in Mitchell.
(Rodney Haas / 605 Sports)

Hoop City Classic features 21 games over four days at the Corn Palace

Sep 27, 2024

By Ryan Deal

605 Sports

MITCHELL — The 2024 Hoop City Classic schedule is set.

The annual basketball event, which features South Dakota and non-South Dakota teams, is Dec. 27-30 at the Corn Palace in Mitchell.

The event, which was formerly known as the Mike Miller Classic, has been a staple in Mitchell since 2010. The 2024 event features 21 games, including boys and girls teams and one men’s college basketball game. It again includes South Dakota vs. South Dakota matchups, non-South Dakota teams vs. in-state teams and national powers facing each other.

The action tips off Friday, Dec. 27, with three games featuring out-of-state teams playing at the Corn Palace. Orlando Christian Prep (Florida) and St. George’s Independent School (Tennessee) will play at 5 p.m.

Orlando Christian Prep, which has a combined record of 50-9 the past two seasons, have won 10 of the last 15 Florida Class 2A state championships. The Warriors have the third-most basketball championships in the state of Florida. They finished as the state runner-ups last season.

The Warriors are led this season by Darius Washington, a 6-foot-5 senior combo guard with Division I scholarship offers from Coastal Carolina, Florida International University, Florida Gulf Coast, Kennesaw State and New Hampshire.

St. George’s Independent School, which last won a state championship in 2015, is under the direction of new coach Dee Wilkes, who comes from First Assembly Christian School. The Crusaders won two state titles in the last three seasons under Wilkes’ leadership.

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�" D1 Minnesota 2026 (16U) 3SSB (@D1MN2026) September 25, 2024

At 6:30 p.m., Minnesota’s Totino-Grace and Nevada’s Coronado will face off. Totino-Grace is coming off three straight Minnesota Class 3A state championships. The Eagles are again loaded with major college basketball prospects, including small forward Dothan Ijadimbola. A Class of 2026 prospect, the 6-foot-6 Ijadimbola holds scholarship offers from Iowa State, Oklahoma, Iowa, and Minnesota.

The Eagles also feature Chace Watley, a 6-foot-2 senior that is verbally committed to Division I Wofford. Tian Chatman, younger brother of current Ohio State guard Taison Chatman, is a 6-foot-3 junior with an offer from Division I Bryant.

Malachi Hill, a Class of 2027 prospect, holds an offer from Cal State-Riverside and Daniel Zoa, the No. 1 ranked freshman in Minnesota, are also headliners for Totino-Grace.

Coronado finished as the runner-up in Nevada Section 5A last season and have finished as the runner-up in 5A in three of the past five seasons. Coronado is headlined by a pair of three-star prospects in Lantz Stephenson and Jalen St. Clair. A 6-foot-6 small forward, Stephenson has Division I scholarship offers from UNLV, Manhattan, and Northern Arizona. A 5-foot-10 point guard, St. Clair has picked up Division I offers from San Jose State, Southern Utah and Long Island University.

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At 8:30 p.m., Orono (Minnesota) plays Houston (Tennessee) to cap off day one. Orono’s Nolan Groves, a 6-foot-4 senior shooting guard, is committed to Yale. Brady Wooley, a 6-foot-8 senior power forward, holds scholarship offers from Yale and North Dakota.

Houston is the same school that produced Mike Miller’s sons Mason and Mavrick Miller. Mason is a junior at Creighton University, while Mavrick is a freshman at High Point University in North Carolina.

Houston features a trio of Division I caliber players in Justin Frison, Jordan Myles and Keron Jackson. Frison, a Class of 2027 point guard, has scholarship offers from Tennessee State and Alabama State. Myles, a Class of 2027 small forward, has a scholarship offer from Bryant. Keron Jackson, a 6-foot-7 senior small forward, has scholarship offers from Arkansas State and Jacksonville State.

On Dec. 28, eight games featuring South Dakota and non-South Dakota teams will fill the schedule. Lower Brule plays St. George’s and Harrisburg plays Orlando Christian Prep, at 11:30 a.m. and 1 p.m., respectively.

White River, a Class B state boys basketball tourney regular, will play Freeman at 4 p.m., followed by Pine Ridge and Parkston at 5:30 p.m. Pine Ridge is powered by all-state junior point guard Marvin Richard III.

To cap off the night, Mitchell, last season’s South Dakota Class AA state champs, will play Orono at 7 p.m. Class A power Sioux Fall Christian will play Coronado at 8:30 p.m. Sioux Falls Christian is headlined by South Dakota State University commit Griffen Goodbary, a 6-foot-10 power forward.

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�" Griffen Goodbary (@GriffenGoodbary) August 10, 2024

On Dec. 29, the Dakota Wesleyan University and Jamestown University men’s basketball teams will play at 3 p.m., the lone game of the day.

On Dec. 30, the lineup features seven boys games and two girls games. Hamlin and Ethan, a pair of South Dakota girls basketball powerhouses, will play at 9 a.m. to start the day’s action.

Corsica-Stickney plays Potter County and Brandon Valley plays St. George’s at 10:30 a.m. and 12 p.m., respectively.

At 1:30 p.m., Pine Ridge plays Lennox in a matchup between two Class A contenders, followed by two Class B foes Bridgewater-Emery and Platte-Geddes at 3 p.m.

Gregory and Viborg-Hurley, two Class B state tournament teams, will play at 4:30 p.m. In girls action, Mitchell plays Sisseton in a matchup between two state tourney teams from last season.

Mitchell will play Orlando Christian Prep at 7:30 p.m., followed by Class A state champion Hamlin vs. Houston at 9 p.m. to close out the classic.

There will also be a 3rd-through-8th grade youth tournament on Dec. 27-28 at Dakota Wesleyan University.

Hoop City Classic Schedule

Dec. 27

5 p.m. — (Boys) Orlando Christian Prep (Florida) vs. St. George’s (Tenn.)

6:30 p.m. — (Boys) Totino-Grace (Minn.) vs. Coronado (Nevada)

8 p.m. — (Boys) Orono (Minn.) vs. Houston (Tenn.)

Dec. 28

10 a.m. — (Boys) Ethan vs. McCook Central/Montrose

11:30 a.m. — (Boys) Lower Brule vs. St. George’s (Tenn.)

1 p.m. — (Boys) Harrisburg vs. Orlando Christian Prep (Florida)

2:30 p.m. — (Boys) Houston (Tenn.) vs. Totino-Grace (Minn.)