Sports
Miller Grove to play in national basketball tournament
By Todd Holcomb
March 10, 2016Miller Grove's boys basketball team, crowned Georgia's Class AAAAA champion last week in Macon, will play in the Dick’s Sporting Goods High School Nationals Invitational beginning March 31 in New York.
This is the same tournament played controversially last year by Wheeler of Marietta. The GHSA originally denied Wheeler's request, citing its bylaws. Amid the threat of a lawsuit, the GHSA amended its rules to allow state champions to play in national events after the official end of the season in Georgia.
Miller Grove (30-2) is ranked No. 17 in the final USA Today Super 25 rankings. This eight-team
tournament sends invitations to the highest-ranked teams nationally and calls it a national championship, although only a half-dozen stats grant permission.
“I’m extremely excited for our guys to get this opportunity,” said Miller Grove coach Sharman White. “It is great to see them achieve a goal they set before the season, one that no one knew about but us. They’ve worked hard and earned this opportunity to play against some of the top teams in the country.”
Miller Grove will open against third-seeded Findlay Prep (28-1) from Henderson, Nev., at Christ the King High School in New York. The championship game will be played at Madison Square Garden.
Findlay Prep has won this tournament four times, most recently in 2012. Findlay has three major Division I committed players, including senior point guard Skylar Mays (LSU).
Miller Grove is an attractive team nationally because of McDonald's All-American guard Alterique Gilbert (20.3 ppg, 5.7 rpg, 5.8 apg, 4.3 spg). Gilbert has signed with Connecticut. The Wolverines also feature point guard Aaron Augustin (10.0 ppg, 8.1 apg, 4.0 spg) and power forward Raylon Richardson (9.7 ppg, 8.0 rpg, 3.1 bpg).
Only six states allow their schools to participate. They are Arizona, Florida, Utah, Georgia, North Carolina independent and South Carolina independent schools. Other teams allowed to participate include schools that are not associated with a state athletic association such as Oak Hill Academy (OH), Findlay Prep (NV), Montverde Academy (FL), and others.
The rest of the field includes No. 1 seed 25-1 Montverde Academy (Montverde, Fla.), the reigning three-time champion, No. 2 seed 41-1 Oak Hill Academy (Mouth of Wilson, Va.), No. 4 seed 31-1 St. Benedict’s Prep ( Newark, N.J.), No. 5 seed 24-3 La Lumiere (LaPorte, Ind.), No. 7 seed 29-3 Wasatch Academy (Mt. Pleasant, Utah) and No. 8 seed 30-3 Providence Day (Charlotte, N.C.).
The opening round games all televised on ESPNU include St. Benedict’s vs. La Lumiere (noon), Oak Hill vs. Wasatch Academy (2 pm), Montverde vs. Providence Day (4 pm) and Miller Grove vs. Findlay Prep (6 pm).
The semifinal games are also at Christ the King and on ESPNU at 3 p.m. and 5 pm on April 1 with the championship game set for 12:00 pm at Madison Square Garden and televised by ESPN.
“The opportunity to play more basketball together and all the educational opportunities for them in New York is a great reward for this group of players,” White said. “They get to see a different part of the country and see how different it is to where they grew up.”
