2024 Bass Pro Tournament of Champions

The bracket for the 39th Annual Bass Pro Tournament of Champions has been revealed.

Next weekend, Springfield will host the 39th Annual Bass Pro Tournament of Champions. The 2024 ToC will again be stacked with many of the nation’s top high school boys’ teams.

Touted as the country's most highly attended high school basketball tournament, Great Southern Bank Arena at Missouri State will be rocking again this year, especially when the local squads take the floor.

This year, Glendale High and Central High will represent Springfield's prep scene. Central is just coming off a championship win at the Blue and Gold Tournament, which took place on this same court.

The full tournament bracket is below:

Image Credit: Springfield Public Schools

Maxpreps.com currently lists Paul VI as the top high school team in the nation. Edmond North is listed as 6th, McEachern as 13th, and ST. John Bosco at 33. McEachern’s Ace Bailey is lauded as one of the top prospects in the nation.

As usual, The Basketball Movement will have some media coverage of the tournament. Look for that over on our Instagram and Twitter.

Stay tuned!

Tournament of Champions - Championship Saturday

The 2023 Bass Pro Tournament of Champions enters the final day with a dunk contest and championship basketball on deck.

The 2023 Bass Pro Tournament of Champions will begin its third and final day in just a few short hours. Starting with the seventh-place game at 2:30 pm (CST), this will be another full day of some of the best high school hoops the area will see live this year.

The seventh-place game will feature the Bartlett Panthers (TN) against the hometown Kickapoo Chiefs. Trae Oetting has been effective getting into the paint for Kickapoo, who will need improved efficiency from their big men to put together a complete game and get a win. Bartlett has not shot the ball well in the tournament and needs to turn things around quickly.

Next will be Staley (Kansas City, MO) vs. St. Rita (IL) in the fifth-place game at 4:00 pm. Staley is coming off a big win against fellow Missouri Class 6 Kickapoo. Senior guard Kyan Evans shot perfectly from the field for Staley in that one going 9-9, including five threes and seven assists.

St. Rita defeated Bartlett last night, led by juniors Nojus Indrusaitus and Morez Johnson, who both eclipsed the 20-point mark, adding 16 rebounds between them.

Next tonight will be the Slam Dunk Contest, which typically features some area high school dunkers as well as talent from the teams of the tournament, should they choose to participate. Keep an eye on The Basketball Movement Instagram for highlights!

Duking it out in the third-place game will be the Calvary Christian Eagles and the Christ the King Royals at 7:00 pm.

Christ the King put up an excellent fight last night, holding Link Academy to 37 percent shooting from the field. The Royals went 7-15 from deep, led by senior Devin Vanterpool. For Calvary Christian, a balanced attack has been the name of the game, though they only managed 41 points against Sunrise Christian. Look for guards Jaylen Curry and Carl Cherenfont to continue their strong play.

As many anticipated ahead of the tournament, the championship game (9:00 pm start) will feature Link Academy (Branson, MO) and Sunrise Christian (KS). Two of the top 10 teams in the country will clash in this one, promising a great game with plenty on the line.

Link Academy did not shoot well last night but was still able to win with their insane defensive athleticism and fluid offense. If they can find their shooting stroke, they will be difficult to stop.

Sunrise Christian has been keeping one of the tighter rotations in the tournament. They faltered last night shooting the three-ball, though that appeared to be one of their better weapons night one. Triples will be a significant factor in this one if they are to pull off a win. The 7’2 John Bol had a double-double last night for the Buffaloes and will need to continue to use all that length against Link Academy, who has plenty of size of their own.

Remember to follow along as The Basketball Movement covers the tourney! We also have day 1 game highlights on our YouTube channel if you missed any of the impressive action. See you at the games!

2023 Bass Pro Tournament of Champions

The 2023 Bass Pro Tournament of Champions is finally here, and The Basketball Movement has your inside scoop.

One of the biggest high school tournaments in the country, the 2023 Bass Pro Tournament of Champions has tipped off. The action began last night, continues today, and concludes with the championship this Saturday, January 14th, at 9:00 pm.

A full tournament bracket can be found below:

Christ the King is a basketball program out of Queens, New York, that features 2025 guard Kiyan Anthony, son of NBA star Carmelo Anthony. Brandon Williams (2023) is a UCLA commit, Brandon Gardner (2023) is a St. Johns commit, and junior Dwayne Pierce holds offers from Mizzou, Florida State, and St. Johns.

Bartlett High is a relatively younger squad with an impressive junior class - Jack Shackelford, Christian Alston, and Rashad Williams all hold mid-major D1 offers, as does senior Javar Daniel. 2025 KJ Neville already holds multiple offers as well.

Link Academy (MO) is set to open the eyes of area basketball fans that have yet to see the squad in action. The team has too many impressive players to name, sporting commitments to UNC, Baylor, Memphis, LSU, Tennessee, and Oklahoma. So just come out and see for yourself as these players make their mark as one of the top prep programs in the nation.

St. Rita (IL) has another excellent crop of juniors with James Brown (not that James Brown, UNC commit), Morez Johnson (Illinois commit), and Nojust Indrusaitis (offers from Maryland, Marquette, Iowa State, and Ole Miss). In addition, senior Melvin Bell holds offers from Michigan, Mizzou, Iowa, and Illinois.

Sunrise Christian is another top-10 national program. Out of Bel-Aire, Kansas, they are coming off of a win against IMG Academy. With another lineup almost too impressive to break down here, it will feature Matas Buzelis (2023), who has committed to playing for the NBA G-League Ignite. Layden Blocker (Arkansas commit) and Scotty Middleton (Ohio State commit) are the other most notable seniors, while Mikel Brown Jr (2025) and 7’2 John Bol (2024) are players to watch as well.

Kickapoo is the lone Springfield, Missouri representative in the tournament this year. Sometimes those hometown fans can push the local guys enough to make some real noise, as we saw with Parkview last season. Kickapoo is led by seniors Brayden Shorter (Washburn commit) and Harrison Doennig (offer from Evangel).

Staley (Kansas City, MO) rounds out the Missouri teams and will lean on seniors Kayden Fish (Iowa State commit), Kyan Evans (Colorado State commit), and Cameron Manyawu (offers from Oral Roberts, Indiana State, Valpo, and more).

Calvary Christian Academy (FL) was a pre-season top-25 team nationally that will get a great chance here to prove itself. Memphis commit Carl Cherenfant (2023) is their top player. In addition, point guard Jaylen Curry (2023) holds offers from several big programs, and 6’10 junior Ethan Lathan is undoubtedly a player to watch.

Spotlight: Trevor Keels and Jeremy Roach

From the Bass Pro Tournament of Champions to playing meaningful minutes for an undefeated Duke squad, Keels and Roach are on the come-up.

Once a year, Southwest Missouri hosts the most heavily-attended high school basketball tournament in the country. The Bass Pro Tournament of Champions hosts some of the top squads from around the nation as well as local standouts. The Basketball Movement is always honored to cover the event, which also means getting to watch and assess the bright young stars.

A few standouts from Paul VI (Va.), Trevor Keels and Jeremy Roach have been able to translate their time in high school to playing big-time minutes for one of the most prominent D1 programs in the nation.

At Duke, Roach (6’2 sophomore guard) and Keels (6’5 freshman guard) are getting to experience legendary coach Mike Krzyzewski in what he has announced to be his final season. The young players are undoubtedly winning the coach’s favor, with strong play through Duke’s first four games.

Keels has games of 10, 18, and most impressively, 25 points against rival Kentucky. Roach now plenty removed from an ACL injury, has games with 10, 14, and 14 while chipping in with assists and excellent rebounding for his size.

Duke is a perennial contender and is looking to have a bounce-back season after uncharacteristically missing the Big Dance last season.

Jeremy Roach and Trevor Keels are looking like big pieces of the puzzle for Duke, and we are excited to see what these young men can do.

For more spotlights, NCAA news, and more, keep it locked to The Basketball Movement.

2020 Tournament of Champions: Final recap

Saturday wrapped up the final action of the 2020 Bass Pro Tournament of Champions - here is how it went down!

From start to finish, Saturday brought plenty of action with four good games and an impressive slam dunk contest. Thank you to everyone for sticking with The Basketball Movement through this action-packed weekend. We had nice showings from the local squads and played witness to impressive D-1 and likely NBA-level talent.

Things kicked off with Kickapoo taking on Greensboro Day School in the 7th place game. Kickapoo was coming off of two tightly contested contests and may have been a bit worn down, falling to Greensboro 67-57. Anton Brookshire impressed all weekend and finished this one with 18 for the Chiefs. Greensboro had a balanced attack with Hayes, Williams, Harris, and Bailey all in double figures.

In the fifth-place game, we got our first and only overtime of the tournament. With multiple lead changes, Christ the King came out on top 71-67 over Greenwood. Aminu Mohammed of Greenwood had a great tournament, setting the single-game rebounding record in this one with 23 to go with his 38 points. His 52 boards are a Tournament of Champions record and he is just the fourth player to score 100 points.

For Christ the King, Ryan Myers led his team with 23 as he had done in all three of their games. Sterling Jones stepped up in this one with 21 to help Christ the King claim fifth.

The Great Southern Dunk Contest was up next, which featured representatives from the tournament teams as well as a few local guys from area teams. We saw some flashy moves, but Oak Hill’s Darrick Jones Jr. was head-and-shoulders above the competition. Jones also won the contest in 2018. He went horizontal from the side à la Michael Jordan and then completely cleared his parents in a great moment.

Eyeing bronze, it was Vashon vs. Booker T Washington up next. It was a slow start offensively for both teams, but Vashon finally began to click in the second half. They would hold on to take third place, winning 62-51. Kentucky commit, Cam’Ron Fletcher continued his stellar play, finishing with 14 points and 15 boards for Vashon. His teammate Nicholas Kern had a team-high 20.

Booker T Washington’s Trey Phipps, an OU commit, had his best game of the tournament, going for 20 points. Teammate Jalen Breath had 10 and 11.

Saving best for last, the championship game featured Paul VI trying to hand Oak Hill their first loss of the season. Oak Hill managed to keep Paul VI at arm’s length throughout, shooting 55 percent from the field as a team. The final score was 72-57 with Oak Hill’s starters playing heavy minutes and being too much for Paul VI.

Jeremy Roach (Duke commit, 12 pts, 9 reb) and Trevor Keels (offers from Duke, UConn, Ohio State, and more, 18 pts) did some scoring as always but were too inefficient from the field to gain on Oak Hill. Sophomore “Dug” McDaniel chipped in 13.

All five of Oak Hill’s starters scored in double figures, but it was LSU commit, Cam Thomas’ 26 points and 8 boards that made the biggest impact. Thomas was a killer all tournament, never changing expressions as he attacked holes in defenses at every level and imposed his will. He was named the Bass Pro Tournament of Champions MVP.

Below are the selections for the All-Tournament team:

MVP - Cam Thomas - Oak Hill
Darius Maddox - Oak Hill
Trevor Keels - Paul VI
Jeremy Roach - Paul VI
Aminu Mohammed - Greenwood
Anton Brookshire - Kickapoo
Bryce Harris - Greensboro Day
Ryan Myers - Christ the King
Cam'ron Fletcher - Vashon
Bryce Thompson - Booker T. Washington

It was another exciting tournament this year and The Basketball Movement was honored to cover it. Players and fans, stay tuned to our social media channels, especially Rob Yanders’ Instagram as we continue to put out videos and high-definition images from the action. Feel free to share away!

2020 Tournament of Champions: Day two recap

Day two of the Bass Pro Tournament of Champions provided closer games in addition to a closer look at the talent.

Friday night brought the intensity up a few levels in the 36th annual Bass Pro Tournament of Champions. The consolation bracket and winners bracket alike had closer games and shown a light on the tournaments’ star athletes. Let’s break down what happened last night and make sure you are caught up before the biggest day of the tourney.

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The first game of the night between Kickapoo and Christ the King got things started nicely in the consolation bracket. Anton Brookshire of Kickapoo had another impressive showing with a 20/6/7 line and poise throughout. Cam Liggins had 16 and 9 for the Chiefs. It was Christ the King who would claim victory 71 to 66, led by the duo of Sterling Jones (23 points) and Ryan Myers (20 points).

Greensboro Day School and Greenwood Laboratory were up next on the consolation side. It was another good one, with the hometown Greenwood pulling out a 61 to 57 win. Bryce Harris was the only Greensboro player to finish with an efficient day, winding up with a 24 and 10 double-double. Greenwood only played five players in the game. Tommy Pinegar had 15 points and clutch 4th quarter free throws while Aminu Mohammed finished with a 31/13/6 line.

In the first semifinal game, Vashon kept up with Oak Hill throughout, despite shooting just 32 percent from the field. Kentucky commit, Cam’Ron Fletcher had more than half of Vashon’s points, finishing with 28 points, 13 boards, two blocks, and two steals. Oak Hill won the game 56 to 51, led by Cam Thomas’ 20 points and four steals. Their balanced attack lands them in the championship tonight, though Georgetown commit, Jamari Sibley exited yesterday’s contest and returned to the bench in a sling.

The night concluded with Booker T Washington and Paul VI in the final semifinal game. It was tight through the first half, but Paul VI pulled away to win 74-60 when the dust settled. Kansas commit, Bryce Thompson carried Booker T Washington again tonight, finishing with 25 points. As a team, 38 percent shooting would hold them back.

Paul VI advances to the championship game behind a big double-double from Trevor Keels (25 and 16). Keels holds offers from Duke, UConn, Ohio State, Maryland, G-Town, Bama, Butler, Miami, WVU, Marquette, Nova, Florida, and more. Duke commit, Jeremy Roach had a big second quarter and finished with 17 points.

Tonight should provide the best action yet, with Paul VI attempting to end Oak Hill’s undefeated season in the championship game. This evening also features the Great Southern Slam Dunk Contest, which is always a thrill for the players and fans alike. Here is the schedule:

2:30 (7th place) Kickapoo vs. Greensboro

4:00 (5th place) Christ the King vs. Greenwood

6:00 Great Southern Slam Dunk Contest

7:00 (3rd place) Vashon vs. Booker T Washington

9:00 (Championship) Oak Hill vs. Paul VI

Below is a look back at the 2019 dunk contest for an idea of what players of this caliber are capable of!

Once more, remember to follow the action on our Twitter and see it first by following The Basketball Movement’s Founder, Robert Yanders on Instagram. We’ll see you tonight!

2020 Tournament of Champions: Day one recap

Day one of the 2020 Bass Pro Tournament of Champions featured good games and impressive individual performances.

With night one in the books, fans have a good idea going forward of what these big-time hoopers are capable of. For the most part, players we had highlighted previously stood out as expected, but witnessed the potential of others as well.

In the opening game, Vashon beat down Christ the King in surprising fashion 69-33. Ryan Myers led CtK with 12 and struggled a bit with his shot. For Vashon, Phillip Russell stood out, scoring 20 with 6 of 9 shooting from deep. Cam’Ron Fletcher was as-advertised, flashing explosiveness at the rim and finishing with a 21 point, 13 rebound double-double.

The second game of the night was much closer throughout, but a big run to finish things out made the score appear lopsided. Oak Hill Academy, currently ranked number three in the nation, defeated the hometown Kickapoo Chiefs 78-63.

Oak Hill had a balanced attack, with efficient nights from Ezewiro, Sibley, Robinson, and Maddox. Cam Thomas was the high man with 26 points. For Kickapoo, Anton Brookshire was scoring at will, hitting 7 of 12 from deep and finishing with 33 points and seven boards.

The third game was entertaining if not always competitive. Paul VI downed Greenwood 80-54 behind 25 points from Duke commit, Jeremy Roach. Steals were the name of the game for Paul VI, as they amassed 19 on the night. Despite some timely long balls by Tommy Pinegar and nifty ball-handling by Grant Harper, it was the Aminu Mohammed show for Greenwood as usual. Mohammed had 31 points and 16 boards, but 11 turnovers to go with it.

Finally, Booker T Washington vs. Greensboro Day provided a close match start-to-finish. Both teams shot around 35 percent and bricked plenty of threes. Still, it was down to the wire with Booker T Washington finishing on top 54-50.

Kansas commit, Bryce Thompson was the driving force for Booker T Washington, scoring 31 big points to go with 10 boards. His teammate and Oklahoma commit, Trey Phipps shot just 1-13 on the night, so we are expecting a bounce-back performance this evening. Greensboro Day is was without Virginia signee, Carson McCorkle, who was recently injured. They leaned on Cam Hayes (14) and freshman Jaydon Young (15) to do the scoring in this one.

Tonight’s (Friday, Jan 17th) action will surely be thrilling once again and we can’t wait to break down the happenings for you.

4:30 Kickapoo vs. Christ the King

6:00 Greenwood vs. Greensboro Day

8:00 Vashon vs. Oak Hill

9:30 Paul VI vs. Booker T Washington

Remember to follow the action on our Twitter and see it first by following The Basketball Movement’s Founder, former pro, Robert Yanders on Instagram.

2020 Bass Pro Tournament of Champions

The 36th annual Bass Pro Tournament of Champions is January 16-18th - The Basketball Movement will have you covered!

It is time again for the annual Bass Pro Tournament of Champions - the most attended high school boys basketball tournament in the nation. As always, the tourney will be held on the campus of Missouri State University and will host a pair of strong Springfield teams in addition to top teams from around the country.

The 36th annual tournament will run from Thursday, January 16th to Saturday the 18th and will include a slam dunk contest as well.

Over 370 players that have participated in the tournament have gone on to play D1 hoops with at least 65 going pro. This is always one of the most impressive collections of talent that Southwest, MO gets to host, so you know we have to be there to soak it all up.

Once again this year, The Basketball Movement will be providing coverage of not only the tournament in general but of its top talent and performers. We will interview athletes, provide quality game highlights, and give shoutouts to the players that impress. Follow the action on our Twitter and see it first by following The Basketball Movement’s Founder, former pro, Robert Yanders on Instagram.

Rob has an eye for talent and runs the top basketball training facility in the Midwest. He takes hoops seriously and loves nothing more than to help others better themselves on and off the court. Players, do yourself a favor and get in touch with Coach Yanders!

Every year, the talent level of the Bass Pro ToC impresses. This year is no different. The Basketball Movement gym rat and Yanders Law AAU standout, Anton Brookshire (2021) will look to lead Kickapoo High to some upsets next weekend. The other Springfield school in the tourney is Greenwood Laboratory, which features Aminu Mohammad (2021), who just showed out at the last big Springfield tournament, the annual Blue & Gold.

One more Missouri team, Vashon High School out of St. Louis features a few familiar faces from The Basketball Movement Invitational Tournament a few months back. Cam’Ron Fletcher (2020) is a Kentucky commit, Phillip Russell (2020, seen in the below video) has committed to SEMO, and Kobe Clark (2020) has some nice offers on the table as well.

Oak Hill is back again and brings plenty of star power of their own. Five seniors, Cam Thomas, Darius Maddox, Bradley Ezewiro, Jamari Sibley, and KK Robinson have all committed to D1 universities. Thomas and Ezewiro will stay together next year at LSU.

Paul VI has a Duke commit in senior, Jeremy Roach. Trevor Keels (2021) has an offer from Duke in addition to multiple other big programs. One of the tournaments’ most touted 2022 players, Knasir “Dug” McDaniel already has several D1 offers on the table as well.

Christ the King’s Ryan Myers (2020) sports several nice offers and will be looking to raise his stock even further this tournament. Greensboro Day School’s Carson McCorkle (2020) will be playing at Virginia next year. McCorkle is joined by juniors Bryce Harris and Cam Hayes, who have committed to NC State.

Rounding out the field is Booker T. Washington, which has a trio of seniors that are sure to impress. Jalen Breath has an offer from UMKC, Bryce Thompson will be playing for Kansas, and Trey Phipps has committed to Oklahoma.

All the above are just a few of the players we have our eye on early. To all the others, feel free to use this as fuel. The Tournament of Champions is a big stage and we will happily help blast you out and raise your stock if you give us a good reason.

Last year’s MVP, Sharife Cooper of McEachern

This is an exciting collection of talent and we can’t wait for the opening tip! Again, be sure to check back here, follow us on Twitter and Instagram, and keep up with Rob Yanders, who will be the first to let you know what’s up. We’ll see you there!

2019 Tournament of Champions and Robert Yanders' Fab Five

Great news - It is time again for the annual Bass Pro Tournament of Champions taking place at JQH Arena at Missouri State University!

Year after year, Southwest Missouri is treated to the Bass Pro Tournament of Champions - the premier high school basketball tourney in this part of Missouri. Recognizable schools such as Oak Hill and Memphis travel to Springfield to take each other on as well as some of the best area schools such as Springfield Catholic.

The last couple of years, The Basketball Movement has incredible coverage of the tourney. Game highlights, interviews, and more made us the leader in covering this tournament. This year will be no different.

The Basketball Movement will be back again this year, coming at you with all the Tournament coverage we can squeeze in. The lineup for this year’s tournament is an impressive one, with multiple D-1 players and touted NBA prospects. The tourney runs from Jan. 17-19.

Last year, we highlighted some of the tournament’s top competitors in the form of Robert Yanders’ Fab Five. The Basketball Movement’s Founder, Rob Yanders selected and covered the top five participants in the tournament. We not only highlighted their play, but interviewed them to give the players a voice.

We will be doing the same this year. To keep track of the top performers, be sure to follow Robert Yanders’ Instagram account here. He will be blasting out the most noteworthy individual performances and you won’t want to miss it.'

Ahead of the big weekend, let’s highlight last year’s Fab Five to get us pumped for another big tournament!

Keyontae Johnson

If you were at the Bass Pro Tournament of Champions last year, you likely would have already known Keyontae Johnson would be on Rob’s list. Leading the tournament-winning Oak Hill team, Johnson was the MVP of the whole thing. The 6’5” forward is now a Florida Gator and is currently playing his way into heavier and heavier minutes as a freshman.

Darius Garland

Another All-Tournament player was Brentwood Academy’s Darius Garland. The Garland family is quite familiar with Missouri State, as Darius’ Father, Winston Garland was a Bear back in the day (when it was Southwest Missouri State). Winston Garland was an NBA draft selection and his son could certainly get to that point as well. Though currently injured, Darius is part of the Vanderbilt Commodores.

Isaiah Stewart

We won’t get a chance to see Isaiah Stewart at JQH Arena this year, but he is still doing big things for La Lumiere. Stewart is part of the 18u USA team and is a five-star recruit at 6’9” 245lbs. He was a force in last year’s tournament. He is currently uncommitted, but has been linked to Duke recently. That should be all you need to know about the budding star.

Tyger Campbell

A standout in last year’s tournament for his legit mop of hair alone, Tyger Campbell helped above teammate Isaiah Stewart to lead the talented La Lumiere squad. Listed at a generous 5’11”, Campbell is a magician with the basketball and has taken his talents to UCLA.

Courtney Ramey

A Missouri native, Courtney Ramey went to high school at Webster Groves and was silky-smooth at last year’s Tournament of Champions. He has put on a little size and is now 6’4”, but even before, he could get to the rim and absorb contact while getting buckets. He is now a Texas Longhorn.

Honorable mention: Monty Johal

Have to give a shoutout to our guy, Monty Johal. Glendale’s star last year helped his team hold its own against some of the top talent in the nation. We are fortunate to have had the opportunity to work with Monty, who is now playing at Tennessee State.

Who is next?

Another year, another stacked field at the most heavily attended basketball tournament in the nation per sps.org. Who will be Robert Yanders’ Fab Five for 2019?

If you were putting money on it… a smart bet would be James Wiseman of Memphis East. Already committed to Memphis University to play for Penny Hardaway, Wiseman is the number one recruit in the country. He is joined by fellow Memphis commit - teammate Malcolm Dandridge.

There are a few guys this year that a part of an NBA bloodline. Shadow Mountain’s Jalen House is the son of Eddie House and Ranier Beach has Jamon Kemp, son of legendary dunker Shawn Kemp. House is one of the top guards in the country and has a potential matchup with another one in Sharife Cooper of McEachern in the second round. If you are a fan of guard play - root for that matchup.

Belleville Illinois West has Ohio State commit, E.J. Liddell, who is a Missouri native out of St. Louis. Sunrise Christian boasts a host of impressive players in Grant Sherfield, Elijah Wood, and N’Faly Dante.

This weekend is a great opportunity to root for the local guys (shoutout to Catholic’s Zach Howell of Yanders Law and The Basketball Movement!), marvel at the nation’s top players, and see some incredible raw talent and athleticism. For the best coverage you can get, follow along with us here at The Basketball Movement. Again, be sure to follow Robert Yanders on Instagram to see his Fab Five picks for 2019. Let’s get it!