5 things to watch for in this weekend’s MLK Bash high school basketball showcase
The fourth annual Crescent Construction MLK Bash high school basketball showcase takes place this weekend at Eau Claire High School.
The girls showcase is Saturday beginning at 11 a.m., while the boys start at 10:30 a.m. Monday. Here are five things to watch in this year’s event:
Gray Collegiate, Keenan to meet after all
Gray Collegiate and Keenan weren’t scheduled to play when the original MLK Bash schedule came out in October. With fans from the Midlands clamoring for a matchup between the Region 3-2A rivals, event organizer Carey Rich did some tweaks to the schedule and made it happen.
This will be the eighth meeting between the teams in the last three years. Keenan and Gray played each other in the last two Class 2A Upper State championships. Gray Collegiate leads the series 6-1 and won all four games last season.
State champs Spring Valley, North Augusta square off
Spring Valley and North Augusta have been two of the most dominant girls basketball programs and will meet in the final game Saturday.
Spring Valley is the defending Class 5A champion, while North Augusta has won the last two 4A championships and hasn’t lost to an in-state opponent since Sumter in the 2016 playoffs.
The teams have combined for a 30-4 record this season.
Tre Jackson vs. Trae Hannibal Part II
Two of the state’s best guards and Division I college signees square off for the second time when Tre Jackson and Trae Hannibal’s teams meet. Blythewood defeated Hartsville 83-65 in the Carolinas Showcase at the Chick-fil-A Classic on Dec. 27.
Hartsville’s Hannibal, a South Carolina signee, went for 38 points and Jackson, an Iowa State signee, poured in 22. Both players lead their teams in scoring at more than 20 points a game.
Stacked field
Of the 24 teams playing in the two-day event, 16 of them are ranked in this week’s S.C. Basketball Coaches Polls.
Both Cardinal Newman teams also will play in the event. The Cardinals are among the favorites to win SCISA 3A titles.
There will be more than a dozen players signed or committed to play Division I basketball playing in the showcases including three Top 100 recruits on the girls’ side. Swansea senior and Clemson signee Danae McNeal (No. 47) and Westwood guard and St. John’s signee Unique Drake (No. 47) are ranked in ESPN’s Top 100 for the class of 2019.
Wilson guard and North Carolina commit Loyal McQueen is ranked No. 23 in the class of 2020.
Honoring the past
In addition to the basketball, the MLK Bash is a great way to honor some of the past coaching greats in South Carolina.
This year, Mullins’ Fred Senter and Lee Central’s Dorothy Fortune will be honored during the girls’ games, while Gaffney’s Mark Huff and Riverside’s Louie Golden will be recognized during the boys’ games.
Fortune and Senter are two of the winningest coaches in the state and combined for eight state titles and 1,596 wins during their careers. Fortune and Senter’s relationship goes back to their high school days when Fortune played for him at Mullins.
Huff retired last spring after 37 years of coaching, the last 21 at Gaffney. He won 536 games and six state titles at Gaffney, Southside and JL Man combined. Golden won 699 games and six state titles at Southside and Riverside high schools.
James McCord and Eugene Koon, who combined to work more than 70 years in area parks and recreation, also will be honored.
Crescent Construction MLK Bash schedule
At Eau Claire High School
Girls Schedule
Saturday
Orangeburg-Wilkinson vs. Chapin, 11 a.m.
Lexington vs. Lower Richland, 12:30 p.m.
Swansea vs. Dreher, 2 p.m.
Wilson vs. Westwood, 3:30 p.m.
Cardinal Newman vs. Ridge View, 5 p.m.
North Augusta vs. Spring Valley, 6:30 p.m.
Boys Schedule
Monday
Newberry vs. AC Flora, 10:30 a.m.
Cheraw vs. Lower Richland, noon
Lakewood vs. Wilson, 1:30 p.m.
Hartsville vs. Blythewood, 3 p.m.
Cardinal Newman vs. Ridge View, 4:30 p.m.
Gray Collegiate vs. Keenan, 6 p.m.
Tickets: $7 for Saturday and $9 for Monday
This story was originally published January 17, 2019 at 2:18 PM.