Sports

Houston (Tenn.) boys basketball player Mavrick Miller dribbles the ball up the court at last season's Hoop City Classic.
(Rodney Haas / 605 Sports)

Mavrick Miller and Maddyn Greenway - children of South Dakota icons - to play at Hoop City Classic

Sep 23, 2022

By Ryan Deal

605 Sports

Miller and Greenway — two names synonymous with South Dakota sports — will have namesakes at this year’s Hoop City Classic.

The 2022 Hoop City Classic is Dec. 28-30 and it will include Mavrick Miller and Maddyn Greenway, a pair of basketball players with strong ties to South Dakota and the Mitchell area.

Miller, a 6-foot-5 senior shooting guard, is the son of Mitchell native and former NBA shooting guard Mike Miller. Greenway, a 5-foot-6 freshman guard, is the daughter of Mount Vernon native and former NFL linebacker Chad Greenway.

“It’s going to be amazing for the fans,” Hoop City Classic Director Ernie Kuyper said. “We are just blessed to have a Miller and a Greenway at the Palace. It’s going to be unbelievable to watch.”

Mavrick Miller and the Houston High School (Tenn.) boys basketball team will play three games at the event. The Mustangs will play Thunder Basin (Wyo.) on Dec. 28 at the Corn Palace, Brandon Valley on Dec. 29 at the Sanford Pentagon and Totino-Grace (Minn.) on Dec. 30 at the Corn Palace.

Miller is currently undecided on his college destination next season. Houston is also headlined by Brock Vice, a 6-foot-10 senior center committed to Saint Louis University.

“Houston has a great team,” Kuyper said. “They have Brock Vice, who is committed tocl Saint Louis and Mavrick is looking at all options. He’s working hard and he’s a great player.”

2026 guard Maddyn Greenway showed out at the @PGHMinnesota Freshman Showcase! @maddyngreenway

Full highlights: https://t.co/nP2ua3jC3P pic.twitter.com/hdgpQz7n6w
ï¿½" Fresh Coast Hoops (@FreshCoastHoops) September 21, 2022

Maddyn Greenway and the Providence Academy High School (Minn.) girls basketball team will play Brandon Valley on Dec. 29 at the Sanford Pentagon and Thunder Basin (Wyo.) on Dec. 30 at the Corn Palace.

Greenway, who has scored more than 1,000 career points as a freshman, guided Providence Academy to the Minnesota Class AA state championship last season. She’s received scholarship offers from Wisconsin, Iowa State, Michigan, Creighton, Minnesota and Iowa, where her parents played college athletics. Chad was an All-American linebacker at Iowa, while his wife Jenni was a track and field athlete for the Hawkeyes.

“I’ve heard Chad’s daughter is a very special player,” Kuyper said. “Mount Vernon will probably come over heavy to support. It will be great to watch.”

The three-day, 24-game Hoop City Classic will again usher in-state and out-of-state talent to the Corn Palace and the Sanford Pentagon. The Corn Palace will host nine games on Dec. 28, while the Pentagon will host eight games on Dec. 29. The event shifts back to Mitchell for seven games on Dec. 30.

“It’s just how it worked out for the arenas,” Kuyper said about the schedule. “We thought let’s make it happen and however we can make it happen so all the schools can experience, in my opinion, two of the greatest venues in all of high school sports.”

White River's Joe Sayler goes up for a basket at last season's Hoop City Classic. (Rodney Haas / 605 Sports)

The Dec. 28 slate will be headlined by six in-state boys basketball matchups, including three Class B contests to close the day. Waubay/Summit plays Canistota at 6 p.m., followed by Bridgwater-Emery vs. White River at 7:30 p.m. and Aberdeen Christian vs. Lower Brule at 9 p.m.

“It’s great to see the smaller schools and mid-sized schools play each other,” Kuyper said. “It’s great to see. It’s the tradition of the schools. It’s a big piece to the Classic to match up and play each other.”

Waubay/Summit, White River, Aberdeen Christian and Lower Brule were state tournament teams last season. White River is highlighted by all-state guard and South Dakota State University commit Joe Sayler.

The Dec. 29 action will feature a marquee matchup between Totino-Grace (Minn.) and Dream City Christian (Ariz.). Totino-Grace, which won last season’s Minnesota Class AAA state championship, is headlined by Ohio State commit Taison Chatman. The 6-foot-4 combo guard picked the Buckeyes over Kansas, Minnesota, Virginia and Xavier.

Mid-major prospects Tommy Humphries (Furman commit), C.J. O’Hara and Patrick Bath are also members of the Eagles.

Dream City Christian has a trio of major college basketball prospects in 2023 power forward David Tubek, along with 2024 forwards Jovan Milicevic and Klairus Amir. The Eagles played at the Hoophall Central at the Pentagon last season, rallying past eventual Class B state champion De Smet in the closing seconds.

Kuyper lined up Dream City Christian through Mike George, an NBA agent who has a son on the team and that got the ball rolling on bringing in the national power.

“He called and he’s like ‘We really want to be in the Hoop City Classic. We’ve heard nothing but great things about the Classic,’ ” Kuyper said. “We said ‘Let’s make it happen.’ ”

On Dec. 30, Dream City Christian plays DeLaSalle (Minn.) at the Corn Palace. DeLaSalle has been an event regular since its inception and it has won 24 Minnesota state boys basketball championships. The Islanders are paced by Nasir Whitlock, a 6-foot-2 senior guard committed to Lehigh University.

Totino-Grace and Houston will play later in the day, followed by the final two games featuring Mitchell basketball teams to close the event. The Kernel girls play Providence Academy and the Mitchell boys play Thunder Basin (Wyo.) to cap off the day.

The event will again also include a youth basketball tournament at the Pentagon.

Hoop City Classic Schedule

Wednesday, Dec. 28 at Corn Palace

Ethan vs. McCook Central/Montrose, 9 a.m.

Viborg-Hurley vs. Gregory, 10:30 a.m.

Howard vs. Hamlin, 12 p.m.

Mitchell vs. Campbell County (Wyo.) (Girls), 1:30 p.m.

Houston (Tenn.) vs. Thunder Basin (Wyo.), 3 p.m.

Mitchell vs. Campbell County, 4:30 p.m.

Waubay/Summit vs. Canistota, 6 p.m.

Bridgewater-Emery vs. White River, 7:30 p.m.

Aberdeen Christian vs. Lower Brule, 9 p.m.