Ernie Johnson
One of the most recognizable personalities and voices associated with the National Basketball Association will be the featured speaker Feb. 5 at the Mountain View Auto Group Luncheon at McCallie School. The event tips off the two-day McCallie Dr Pepper TEN Classic high school basketball event.
Sportscaster Ernie Johnson Jr., who hosts the popular show “Inside the NBA” on TNT, will speak to the four basketball teams participating in the McCallie Dr Pepper TEN Classic — Central, Hamilton Heights, Oak Hill Academy and McCallie — as well as other luncheon guests.
“We are extremely excited and fortunate to have Ernie Johnson Jr. kick off this annual basketball event,” McCallie Head Coach John Shulman said. “He is a special person, not only in the world’s basketball community, but as a husband, father and human being.”
The luncheon is at noon on the McCallie campus and open to the public. Tickets for the luncheon are $25 and include a meal, remarks by Mr. Johnson as well as admission to the teams’ dunk contest at 2 p.m. Tickets for the games are $25 per day and $50 per day for courtside seats. Tickets for the luncheon as well as the two nights of basketball doubleheaders can be purchased online at mccallie.org/drpepper10classic.
Mr. Johnson is a sportscaster for the Turner Sports Network as well as CBS Sports and serves as a studio host for the NCAA Division I Men’s Basketball Tournament coverage as well as Major League Baseball on TBS and the PGA Championship on TNT.
On “Inside the NBA,” Mr. Johnson leads the discussion and analysis about the night’s NBA action while also having the responsibility of maintaining order between the other three analysts, former NBA stars Charles Barkley, Kenny Smith and Shaquille O’Neal.
The McCallie Dr Pepper TEN Classic will take place on the McCallie campus over two days Feb 5-6. The Lamp Post Group Dunk Contest will follow the Feb. 5 luncheon at 2 p.m. At 6 p.m., the basketball action begins with two local powers as Central and Hamilton Heights square off. McCallie faces nationally-ranked Oak Hill Academy at8:00 p.m.
A free youth clinic will be held Feb. 6 at 10 a.m. at McCallie, and registration also is available at mccallie.org/drpepper10classic. At 6 p.m., McCallie will host Central followed by the Oak Hill-Hamilton Heights game. The Platinum Financial Funding Three-Point Shooting Contest will take place at about 7:30 p.m. between games
Oak Hill Academy, located in Mouth of Wilson, Virginia, is considered one of the best basketball programs in the nation and was runner-up this past season in a prep national championship tournament. Over 160 former Oak Hill players have signed NCAA Division I basketball scholarships, and 25 former players have been drafted by an NBA team since 1981.
NBA stars Rajon Rondo, Kevin Durant, Jerry Stackhouse and Josh Smith are among the notable former players at Oak Hill Academy.
For more information on the Dr Pepper TEN Classic, visit themccallie.org/drpepper10classic or call the McCallie Athletics office at 423-493-5539.