Tony Parker, Miller Grove
Katelyn Hill Photography
Three-time defending Georgia Class AAAA state champion
Miller Grove (Lithonia) will headline the 28th annual Bass Pro Shops Tournament of Champions next season.
The prestigious event – which has included stars like Alonzo Mourning, Lamar Odom, John Wall and Kyle Singler over the years – will be held Jan. 12-14, 2012 at the JQH Arena in Springfield, Mo.
Miller Grove is part of an out-of-state contingent that also includes six-time TOC champion
Christ the King (Middle Village, N.Y.),
Lincoln (San Diego, Calif.),
St. Rita (Chicago, Ill.),
Sylvan Hills (Sherwood, Ark.) and
Westbury Christian (Houston, Texas).
Four nationally-ranked players from MaxPreps.com's Class of 2012 Top 100 are included in that group – No. 6
Tony Parker of Miller Grove, No. 8
Archie Goodwin of Sylvan Hills, No. 27
L.J. Rose of Westbury Christian and No. 41
Omar Calhoun of Christ the King, who gave a verbal commitment to Connecticut on Friday.
Twins
Tyree and
Tyrell Robinson of Lincoln are top talents from the Class of 2013.
Local entrant
Hillcrest (Springfield) also brings a major attraction to the event in rising senior
Dorial Green-Beckham, the nation's No. 1 football prospect and arguably the best all-around teenage athlete in the country. Green-Beckham was MaxPreps.com's National Athlete of the Year as a sophomore and is in the running again this year.
Another Springfield school,
Glendale, rounds out the eight-team field. The Falcons are coming off a 23-4 season and return top scorer
Cameron Johnson.
The 2011 Bass Pro Shops Tournament of Champions was won by
Oak Ridge Military Academy (N.C.), who beat
Douglass (Oklahoma City, Okla.) in the final. A team from Missouri has not won the event since 2005 when
Kickapoo (Springfield) captured the title.
