By Stephen C. Smith Sr., Wichita Falls Times Record News
Special to MaxPreps.com
Wichita Falls Hirschi coach Donald Hedge and the organizers of the Texas-Oklahoma Basketball Shootout pride themselves on bringing together some of the best high school basketball talent in the country.
And this season, they’ve delivered once again.
Duncanville (Texas), which tops PrepNation.com’s national high school preseason poll, four-time defending Class 4A state champion Dallas South Oak Cliff and three-time defending Oklahoma state champion Bishop McGuiness are three examples of the elite basketball talent on display this Saturday – but far from the only ones.
“People in Wichita Falls get a chance to see some of the best basketball talent in the country,” Hedge said. “Some of these kids could be future NBA All-Stars. You don’t get to see that very often.”
Duncanville’s Shawn Williams (ranked No. 72 by ESPNU) and Roger Franklin (No. 79) are both staying in Big 12 country with verbal commitments to Texas and Oklahoma State, respectively.
And, believe it or not, that only scratches the surface.
Play opens at 10 a.m. with games at Hirschi Fieldhouse, Hirschi’s Auxiliary Gym and Kirby Junior High School in Wichita Falls. Tickets are $5 and the armband given out will grant fans access to any of three gyms.
Each team will play a total of eight scrimmage quarters against three different opponents that won’t appear on their regular season schedules.
“We introduced the Shootout when I got here four years ago,” Hedge said. “For the teams that come, they get a chance to play quality opponents. And then there’s the whole Texas vs. Oklahoma angle.
“For our team, it always gives us a good indication of what we have to work on.”
That mantra goes not only for an up-and-comer like Hedge’s Huskies, but also for a perennial state champion like Dallas South Oak Cliff.
“We’ve been very fortunate the past four years,” Mays said. “And this tournament gives us a lot of what’s needed to get us ready every year. We can’t get any better scrimmages anywhere else in the state. Teams from Oklahoma are generally more advanced at this point in the season than most teams in Texas, so we’ll get a true picture of what we need to work on.”
While agreeing with the value of a preseason scrimmage, Putnam City coach A.D. Burtschi still saw things a little differently.
“I guess it’s all in the eye of the beholder as to whether teams from Oklahoma are more advanced at this point,” Burtschi said. “Maybe we get the players a little earlier – I’m not really sure. But, you really don’t win any games the first two weeks of November, so I’m not sure if it really makes any difference.”
The Pirates are ranked No. 20 in the PrepNation.com poll but lost Xavier Henry, the nation’s top recruit according to ESPNU, until at least January due to injuries suffered in a car accident on October 22nd in Oklahoma City.
“We’re going to show up and play hard,” Burtschi said. “But, with the injury to Henry and the transfers we’ve had, I’m not really sure what to expect.”
Dallas South Oak Cliff and Oklahoma City Bishop McGuiness are just two of four defending state champions participating in the event along with Class 5A’s North Crowley (Texas) and Oklahoma Class 6A’s Tulsa Memorial.
“It’s always exciting to see how your team stacks up against upper-echelon talent,” Tulsa Memorial coach Eric Savage said. “We weren’t a consensus choice to win the state title last year. But now that we have, our expectations are different. This will be our first trip to the tournament and we’re excited to have our players match-up against other great players and get better because of it.”
Bishop McGuiness center Daniel Orton (ranked No. 10 by ESPNU), who heads off to the University of Kentucky next season, was lost to a season-ending knee injury last week and will miss the tournament.
But, the Irish will still open the tournament against Hirschi at 10 a.m. on the Huskies’ home floor.
“Daniel is a dominant player, but we’re a three-time defending state champion and have other players ready to step up,” Irish coach Tondrell Durham said. “This tournament will be an unbelievable challenge for us, but we still have very capable players on this team.”
The tournament is also a homecoming for former Wichitan and Rider High School graduate, Lubbock Estacado coach Tony Wagner, who brings his Matadors back with him to play in front of the homefolks. “That’s another big benefit to coming to this tournament,” Wagner said. “My son (point guard Kevin Wagner) gets to play in front of his grandparents and cousins when he normally wouldn’t get the chance.”
Wagner, whose team is ranked No. 4 in Class 3A by TexPreps Basketball Magazine, also isn’t worried about anyone getting a look at his team in the early-going.
“My thing is getting our team playing against the best teams possible early on,” Wagner said. “With all the technology available, if someone wants to see what you can do, they will. So, there’s no need to worry about anyone seeing anything they can use later. You just go out, play and let the chips fall where they may.”
Which, ultimately, each team will do in the long run – and it should be a lot of fun to watch.
Other state-ranked teams participating in the tournament include Texas Class 4A’s Dallas Lincoln and Lancaster along with Oklahoma City’s Capitol Hill and NW Classen.
Proceeds from the tournament go to support the Hirschi High School Athletic booster club.
Wichita Falls Times Record News sports writer Stephen C. Smith Sr. can be reached after 6:30 p.m. at 1-800-627-1646. Or you can e-mail him at stephencsmith1@yahoo.com