Tennessee-commit DeWayne Brown II of Hoover zeroes in a free throw. Photo courtesy Garrett Tucker
The Alaska Airlines Classic has never lacked star power, especially of late.
In 2020, the high school boys basketball tournament featured future NBA player Dashien Nix. In 2022 and 2024, it was future McDonald’s All-American Tounde Yessoufou.
In January, it will be the nation’s 17th-ranked team, the Hoover Buccaneers. The two-time defending Alabama Class 7A state champions will headline Alaska’s premier prep hoops tournament, Jan. 23-25, 2025, at West High School.
Hoover returns 10 players from last season’s 30-3 squad while starters DeWayne Brown II, Salim London, Jarett Fairley and Seneca Robinson have racked up a 61-7 record over the last two seasons.
“We have a special group of guys and this trip will be one to remember for a lifetime,” said Hoover coach Scott Ware, who is entering his fifth season at the school. “The opportunity to bring a group of guys to a place that I am sure none of us have ever visited is exciting.”
Not only are the Bucs ranked in the MaxPreps Top 25, but they feature two ESPN top 100 ranked players in Brown and London.
Brown, a 6-foot-9, 250-pound power forward who has signed with the University of Tennessee, is ranked No. 78. The big man had a big season last year, averaging 15.5 points on 70.8% shooting to go with 9.5 rebounds and 2.6 blocked shots per game.
London, a 6-foot-5 combo guard who signed with the University of Alabama Birmingham, is ranked 89th. He put up 17.5 points, 6 rebounds, 4 assists and 2 steals per game last season.
The third member of Hoover’s Big 3 is Fairley, a 6-foot-2 combo guard with offers from Furman, Samford, Wofford and Tennessee Tech. He averaged 14 points, 3.5 rebounds and 2.9 assists a year ago.
Ware has compiled a 101-26 record at Hoover and could reach career win No. 300 by the time the Bucs arrive in Alaska.
Hoover won the Classic in 2013 under coach Charles Burkett after thumping Thunder Mountain 70-45 in the title game behind 10-of-18 shooting from 3-point range. Michael Wiesneth knocked down four of five from downtown and was one of four double-figure scorers.
In 2013, Hoover averaged ten 3-pointers per game en route to winning the Classic title.
“We wanted to come back to the Alaska Airlines Classic because the previous staff let us know how much fun and what an awesome experience it was the first time that Hoover participated in the tournament,” Ware said.
Top to bottom, the 2025 field is the strongest group of teams the Classic has had since the tournament’s heyday back in the 1990s.
- Hoover (AL)
- Heritage Christian (CA)
- Columbia (GA)
- East Anchorage
- Colony
- West Anchorage
- Service
- Ketchikan
Heritage Christian, of Northridge, Calif., returns several key players from last year’s 26-10 team that advanced to the California Division II state semifinals. San Diego State University signee Tae Simmons (19ppg, 11ppg) and Saint Mary’s College signee Dillan Shaw (21ppg, 8rpg) set the tone and were part of the team that reached the Classic championship game in 2023.
“Our favorite thing about Alaska was the weather and game atmosphere,” said coach Paul Tait, who owns a 204-94 record with six conference titles in 11 seasons. “The players still talk about both those things and how cool it was to have what felt like a whole town pack the gym and cheer against them and for them.”
Heritage’s Tae Simmons throws one down in the 2023 Classic title game. Photo by Grenel Sumabat
Columbia, of Decatur, Ga., is led by legendary coach Phil McCrary, who entered this season with a 723-244 career record. His team went 28-4 last season and 30-2 the year before that. In 2023, the DeKalb County Board of Commissioners proclaimed Nov. 28, as Dr. Phil McCrary Day and the school officially dedicated the court and gym in his honor.
McCrary guided Columbia to the 2018 Alaska Airlines Classic title after an 83-46 win over host West Anchorage behind Keondre Kennedy’s 25 points and tournament MVP Lorenzo McGhee’s 23.
The Eagles return four starters from last season’s playoff team in upperclassmen (Deontae Hill and Brandon Bigsly) and underclassmen (Jace Smith and Chance Reynolds).
“Alaska presents an opportunity for our players to experience the different effects of Alaska vs. Georgia, a southern state with little or no snow or ice each winter,” McCrary said. “While we read about Alaska’s weather, this gives them a chance of a lifetime to experience it.”
The East T-birds are two-time defending Alaska Class 4A state champions who have gone 52-6 in the last two seasons, including a 28-1 mark last season with the only blemish coming in the Classic title game against St. Joseph (CA), which was ranked top 40 nationally.
East’s Muhammed Sabally shoots over St. Joseph’s Tounde Yessoufou in the 2024 Classic title game. Photo by Stephanie Burgoon/Alaska Sports Report
East is led by two-time all-state senior Muhammed Sabally, a 6-foot-4 combo guard who will be a state player-of-the-year candidate this season. Sabally averaged 17 points in three state tournament games last year and is capable of scoring in a variety of ways: 3-pointers, off the dribble, post up, midrange, spin move off glass.
This year’s Classic will also feature four of the tournament’s most successful coaches in East’s Chuck Martin, West’s Josh Muehlenkamp, Service’s Antonio Wyche and Colony’s Tom Berg.
ALASKA AIRLINES CLASSIC
Most Coaching Wins (1989-2024)
26 – Chuck White, East & West
11 – Brad Lauwers, Three teams
11 – Chuck Martin, East & Colony
9 – Josh Muehlenkamp, West & East
8 – Gary DeCesare, St. Raymond (NY)
8 – Carlos Wilson, Life Christian (TX)
8 – Antonio Wyche, West
8 – Tom Berg, Colony
