Eagles boys and girls haven’t won the Classic in same year since 1987.
While Southern Boone High School athletics has a long history, perhaps no other single event compares with the Southern Boone Classic Basketball Tournament.
“The Classic brings in a lot of good area teams,” said for Eagles player and alum and basketball fanatic Bryce Arnold. “We don’t stack it like a lot of schools, there are a number of quality teams in the Classic.”
Not “stacking” it for the home team is quite obvious – the host Southern Boone has only won the boys and the girls championship once, back in 1987.
That dry spell could end this year as the Eagles boys and girls are the top seeds in the Classic, which begins its run on Monday.
Arnold says since the tournament’s inception in 1984, a number of future college stars, future professional athletes and future coaches have participated.
“Back in the mid-80, North Callaway’s Stacy Primus, who later played for MU, played in the Classic,” Arnold said. “You also had Sharon Bax from Fatima who played softball for the Tigers. Samantha Heck was another North Callaway player who later played Division 1 basketball at Evansville.”
“On the boys side, it’s easy to remember Michael and Jontay Porter the last two years, but some outstanding players such as Ryan Robertson, of Fatima, Matt Reeder in the Mid-90s who played for Missouri State and professional basketball in Australia, as well as Vince Rice and Pat Lacy in the 80s who played for the Eagles. There were also some great athletes like Joe Crede, who went on to play for the Chicago White Sox, who played in the Classic for Fatima.”
Arnold notes the competitiveness of the tournament and Eagles boys assistant coach and Activities Director Pat Lacy says that, besides inviting schools with good teams, it is because of the time of year.
“The Classic is about the last tournament before the districts start and most of the teams are working to play their best basketball of the season,” Lacy said.
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