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 tips off in just a few hours. The action beings at 4:30 pm (CST) tonight (Thursday, 1/12) and concludes with the championship this Saturday, January 14th, at 9:00 pm.

A full tournament bracket can be found below:

Opening night action begins with Christ the King (NY) facing Bartlett (TN).

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.

The Bass Pro Tournament of Champions is one of the biggest events in high school hoops, and night one was covered, as always, by The Basketball Movement.

Unsurprisingly, night one of the Bass Pro Tournament of Champions did not disappoint. High flying dunks, local talent measuring up, and some of the nation’s most prominent names in prep hoops drew a bigger crowd than ever before.

Night one saw Whitney Young dismantle New Madrid Country Central 57-32. Matt Sommerville and A.J. Casey scored 13 apiece for the Whitney Young Dolphins. Casey is committed to playing for Miami next season.

The next game had JQH buzzing with anticipation. Bronny James was in the building with Sierra Canyon to face Parkview. Crowds were ready to rally behind Parkview, but seeing Bronny and hoping his Dad, LeBron James, might be in attendance kept them on the edge of their seats.

LeBron was a no-show, but the game was thrilling regardless. Parkview jumped out to a 16-8 lead and held a one-point advantage at halftime over the number four team in the country. However, Sierra Canyon eventually shook loose, winning 63-46. The Trailblazers got 16 apiece from 6 foot 9 Kijani Wright and Amari Bailey, one of the top players in the nation.

“(Bailey) showed everyone here what hoop-heads already know,” Yanders says. “He can ball. He has a great looking shot, but his ability to get to the rim, finish with either hand and absorb contact was the difference in the game tonight.”

Next, Nixa kept locals excited once more, hanging tough against Milton until the last shot. Bruce Thorton (Ohio State commit) crushed Nixa’s spirit with a buzzer-beater to bring his total up to 21 and advance his team to the semi-finals.

As usual, Nixa’s offense came from Kael Combs and Colin Ruffin. Ruffin had 21, and Combs had 12, but it was Combs’ defense that stood out to Yanders.

“I thought the way Kael competed on both sides of the ball is what kept Nixa in it,” Yanders says. “I know people around here wanted Nixa to get the win, but that was a hell of a performance either way.”

Paul VI is back again this year and opened up their first night with a bang. DeShawn Harris scored 18 for the Panthers, but he did not have the performance most fans will remember. In the loss, Zach Howell went off for 30, with the Yanders Law product draining multiple deep threes and getting his shot no-matter the opposition.

Howell is popping up on more radars all the time. Why it has taken this long is a mystery but count on more offers pouring in for Howell soon.

Check out The Basketball Movement exclusive recap of night two next!