Irmo Yellow Jackets
Photo by Army National Guard
The MaxPreps Basketball Tour of Champions presented by the Army National Guard visited Columbia, S.C. on Tuesday, April 30, to honor the 4A state champion
Irmo boys basketball team. The Yellow Jackets completed a perfect 29-0 season, were recognized as the No. 52 ranked team in the nation in the MaxPreps Freeman rankings and won their fifth state tournament title.
A special school assembly began that day with an announcement for students to go to the gym for a signing ceremony for senior athletes and the MaxPreps Tour of Champions recognition. Over 1,000 students, teachers, parents and four media outlets were on hand for this special program.
The signing ceremony for Irmo's senior athletes included the dynamic backcourt duo of
Justin McKie and
Detrek Browning, who will be going to the University of South Carolina and Francis Marion University, respectively.
Following the signings, Dean Craig was introduced and shared the process of how MaxPreps ranks teams nationwide and honors only 10 teams out of a total of 20,000 high school boys teams. He reminded the audience of the Yellow Jackets' unblemished 29-0 record, and that they finished their fine season ranked No. 52 in the nation.
Craig then introduced Sergeant First Class Shaun Mills of the South Carolina Army National Guard, who shared how the character qualities of the Army National Guard were demonstrated by this special and hard-working team. He presented the "Minuteman" Trophy to head coach Tim Whipple, who shared the trophy with his team as they gathered around to celebrate the moment. Coach Whipple told the crowd what a special team this was and thanked the students for their faithful support.
The Yellow Jackets, who were also presented the Nationally Ranked banner, posed for pictures and conducted interviews for the media representatives who were present.
This celebration was a fitting recognition of the great accomplishments of the Irmo boys basketball team. Many of the parents and family members took individual pictures with the prestigious trophy and the banner for their own remembrances. The coaching staff, parents, and students were very excited to be honoring their undefeated state champion and nationally ranked team, and were very appreciative of MaxPreps and the Army National Guard for making this presentation possible.
