High school basketball: How to watch Bass Pro Shops Tournament of Champions featuring No. 4 Sierra Canyon, Bronny James

By Jordan Divens Jan 12, 2022, 1:30pm

Sierra Canyon, Milton, St. Paul VI and Whitney Young headline 37th annual tournament.

The Bass Pro Shops Tournament of Champions is annually considered one of the premier high school basketball events in the nation. The 37th installment will be played Jan. 13-15 at the JQH Arena in Springfield, Mo.

Sierra Canyon (Chatsworth, Calif.) (14-1) is the headliner in this year's field as the Trailblazers enter the event ranked No. 4 in MaxPreps Top 25. The California powerhouse is finally expected to be at full strength with Amari Bailey set to return on a minutes restriction after an ankle injury that has kept him out for the majority of the season. Isaiah Elohim and Jeremiah Nyarko are now eligible after sitting out until late December due to CIF transfer rules.

Bronny James is another player to watch as the 6-foot-3 guard has shown strong development in his junior year, averaging 10 points, 4.1 rebounds, 2.5 assists and 2.4 steals on the season.

Sierra Canyon will be matched up with local program Parkview (Springfield, Mo.) (8-3) in its first round matchup on Thursday.



The winner of Sierra Canyon-Parkview will meet the winner between New Madrid County Central (New Madrid, Mo.) (6-2) and Whitney Young (Chicago) (9-4) in the semifinals.

Whitney Young is one of the top teams out of the Midwest, featuring a strong lineup headlined by four-star Miami signee A.J. Casey and Northern Illinois pledge Xavier Amos in the frontcourt and under-the-radar juniors Dalen Davis and Marcus Pigram in the backcourt.

How to watch
When: Thursday, Jan. 13-Saturday, Jan. 15
Where: JHQ Arena/Springfield, Mo.
Online streaming: ESPN+

On the other side of the 8-team bracket, Milton (Ga.) (10-5) takes on Nixa (Mo.) (10-1) and St. Paul VI (Chantilly, Va.) (9-2) battles Springfield Catholic (Springfield, Mo.) (13-2) in first round showdowns.

Milton is the defending Georgia Class 7A state champions but has struggled to find its footing so far this season against a challenging national schedule. Led by senior Ohio State signee Bruce Thornton and five-star Stanford commit Kanaan Carlyle along with 2020-21 MaxPreps National Athlete of the Year Lebbeus Overton, the Eagles have the talent to capture the title this weekend.

St. Paul VI is another contender with senior Michigan signee Knasir "Dug" McDaniel, four-star junior Deshawn Harris-Smith and highly-touted sophomore sharpshooter Darren Harris. The Panthers lost in the championship game of the 'Iolani Classic to Sierra Canyon 52-49.



Both semifinal games Friday along with the third-place and championship games Saturday will be streamed on ESPN+.
Stanford commit Kanaan Carlyle of Milton skies for the layup at the City of Palms Classic.
Stanford commit Kanaan Carlyle of Milton skies for the layup at the City of Palms Classic.
Photo by Pete Wright