A 48-hour-long high school basketball showcase is coming to Springfield. Here's who's playing.
A new high school basketball showcase is coming to Springfield and it will feature 48 hours of non-stop basketball at Greenwood Laboratory School.
The inaugural "48 Hours of Basketball" showcase will be played Friday through Sunday and will feature the likes of Link Academy, the two Link Year programs, The Skill Factory and a handful of highly-touted local teams including the Republic girls, Strafford boys and Central boys.
The event is run by the Missouri Basketball Coaches Association which also runs the Norm Stewart Classic that takes place annually in Columbia. The new Springfield event is one of the first branches off of the Norm Stewart Classic and will begin on a Friday night at 6 p.m. with the final game between Link Year Prep's national team and The Skill Factory on Sunday at 2 p.m. Twenty-one games are scheduled to be played over the 48-hour span.
Link Academy makes second appearance in Springfield this week
Also playing in the Ozark Mountain Shootout, the Link Academy Lions will be the showcase game at Greenwood this week with a showdown against The Skill Factory out of Georgia.
Link Academy is coming off a runner-up finish at the GEICO Nationals last season which was the program's inaugural year. The program will also be the showcase team at next month's Bass Pro Tournament of Champions.
Link Academy features a handful of the top basketball players in the nation with Ja'Kobe Walker (2023, Baylor commit) and Elliot Cadeau (2024, five-star) perhaps being the two main attractions. Those are just two of a roster full of Power 5 commits. For more in-depth information on the Lions' roster, go to News-Leader.com and search "Link Academy" for a breakdown.
The Lions will play Missouri Class 6 Hickman which was unranked entering Wednesday.
Republic girls play Helias Catholic in a state-ranked matchup
Two of the best teams in the state will square off at 8 p.m. on Friday with Republic (No. 6 in Class 6) and Helias Catholic (No. 4 in Class 5).
Republic, of course, features star senior Kaemyn Bekemeier along with a talented group that shouldn't go under the radar because it has one of the better players to come through the area in recent years.
Helias Catholic is led by junior star Adalyn Koelling who was once committed to Missouri State but has since withdrawn following the departure of Amaka Agugua-Hamilton. She was an all-state selection last season and is being pursued by other Missouri Valley Conference programs including Murray State, Bradley and Evansville.
The Skill Factory features top talent
A Top 25 high school basketball program will make a stop in Springfield this weekend to play the Link Year prep and national teams.
The elite team will make two appearances and will play both Link Year Prep teams.
TSF features 2023 small forward Kaden Cooper who is 6-foot-5 and is ranked as the No. 41 player in the country. He signed with Oklahoma over schools including Kansas, LSU, Alabama, UConn and others.
The team also features 6-foot-3 guard Desmond White who was previously an all-state guard at Helias Catholic. He is George Mason-bound.
Link Year Prep's national team features former Nixa standout Colin Ruffin
One of the best players to come through the Ozarks over the last few seasons will make an appearance with the Lions' national prep school team this weekend.
Ruffin is a former Nixa standout who was the team's starting point guard for its state runner-up finish last season. He opted to go to the prep school to develop and hopefully attract more college attention.
Ruffin has since landed an offer from Lindenwood which made the jump to Division I this past season. He's averaged double-digit points this season and over five assists and rebounds per game.
Friday, Dec. 9
6 p.m. — School of the Osage vs. South Iron (boys)
8 p.m. — Republic vs. Helias (girls)
10 p.m. — Central vs. Warrensburg (boys)
Saturday, Dec. 10
Midnight — South Iron vs. Eldon (girls)
4 a.m. — Kauffman vs. Laquey (girls)
6 a.m. — Paseo vs. School of the Osage (boys)
8 a.m. — Whitehaven vs. Kauffman (boys)
10 a.m. — Boys and Girls Club/Special Olympics
Noon — Greenwood vs. Summit Christian (girls)
2 p.m. — Ozark vs. Park Hills Central (girls)
4 p.m. — Lebanon vs. Central (girls)
6 p.m. — The Skill Factory (Georgia) vs. Link Year Prep Regional (boys)
8 p.m. — Link Academy vs. Hickman (boys)
10 p.m. — Strafford vs. Mexico (boys)
Sunday, Dec. 11
Midnight — Central vs. Whitehaven, Tennessee (boys)
4 a.m. — Lincoln College Prep vs. West County (girls)
6 a.m. — Rosati-Kain vs. Bishop DuBourg (girls)
8 a.m. — Crane vs. St. Elizabeth (girls)
10 a.m. — Crane vs. St. Elizabeth (boys)
Noon — Hillcrest vs. Mexico (girls)
2 p.m. — Link Year Prep National vs. The Skill Factory (boys)
Wyatt D. Wheeler is a reporter and columnist with the Springfield News-Leader. You can contact him at 417-371-6987, by email at wwheeler@news-leader.com or Twitter at @WyattWheeler_NL. He's also the co-host of Sports Talk on Jock Radio weekdays from 4-6 p.m.
This article originally appeared on Springfield News-Leader: 48 Hours of Basketball: What to know about Springfield showcase
