Hamilton Heights Christian Academy released its 2016-17 varsity boys’ basketball schedule on Thursday.
The Hawks will participate in 13 events around the country, including the prestigious Chick-Fil-A Classic in Columbus, S.C., the Marshall County Hoopfest in Ky., and the Flyin’ To The Hoops Classic in Dayton, Ohio.
Locally, the Hamilton Heights squad will host their own classic on November 18-19, which will include The Rock from Gainesville, Fla., Central Park from Birmingham, Ala., and Charlotte Hoops Academy from Charlotte, N.C. They will also participate again in the Dr. Pepper 10 Classic at McCallie. The Hawks will host seven home games on their 38-game schedule.
They will conclude their season at the National Association of Christian Athletes (NACA) National Tournament in Dayton, Tenn., and the USA National Prep Tournament in Myrtle Beach, S.C.
The Hawks begin the season with seven players holding NCAA Division 1 scholarship offers. Three starters return from last year’s 28-3 team: Virginia Tech commit, Nickeil Alexander-Walker (ranked No. 29 in the latest ESPN top 100 2017 rankings), Florida commit, Shai Alexander-Gilgeous (ranked No. 44 in ESPN top 100 2017 rankings), and Therren Shelton-Szmidt, who currently holds eight NCAA Division 1 offers, including Old Dominion and Middle Tennessee State University.
Other returning players are senior C.J. Massengill, who has garnered a lot of attention from NCAA Division II schools and 6-foot-7 sophomore Issa Samake, who recently picked up an offer from Iowa State. Sophomore 6-10 Jason Jitoboh continues his improvement and looks to help the Hawks inside presence.
The Hawks have added senior 6-9 forward Mark Tikhonenko, who has picked up offers from Iowa State and Arkansas State while getting strong attention from Missouri, Georgia Tech, and several other high major schools. Six-foot-9 Kaosi Ezauga, a junior from Canada, is currently ranked No. 7 in the 2018 Canadian class and has an offer from St. Bonaventure.
Sophomore 6-9 Mahamadou Diawara, joined the Hawks in August and immediately picked up an offer from Will Wade at VCU.
Three other sophomore additions bring depth to the Hawks, as Tre Edwards (ranked No. 11 in 2019 Canadian rankings) and Wheza Panzo (ranked No. 9 in the 2019 Canadian rankings) add real depth to the program as both are being watched by several NCAA Division 1 programs. Rounding out the Hawks 2017 varsity team is 6-0 guard Jordan Rawls, who transferred locally to the Hawks in the middle of the last season. Jordan spent the summer playing on the Nike EYBL Arkansas Wings and has brought an excellent shooting touch with him.
The Hawks are coached by Zach Ferrell, now in his fourth season with the program. He is assisted by Tre High, and Chris Walker. The Hawks have once again been designated a Nike Elite High School.
Hamilton Heights Lady Hawks schedule will be published Friday.
The 2016-17 Schedule
Nov. 18 – Charlotte Basketball Academy, 7:30 p.m.
Nov. 19 – The Rock, 2:30
Nov. 22 – Knoxville Christian School
Nov. 25-26 – At Lighthouse Christian Thanksgiving Classic at Corinth, Miss.
Dec. 1 – At Memphis East at Southwind High School
Dec. 2 – At Marshall County Hoopfest
Dec. 6 – Covenant Ministries, 7:30
Dec. 9 – Prolific Prep North
Dec. 21-22-23 – At Chick-fil-A Classic, Ridgeland Northeast High School
Dec. 27-28-29 – At Phenom Brogden Invitational, New Hanover High School
Jan. 4 – At Brentwood Academy, 7 p.m.
Jan. 6-7 – Penny Hardaway Hoopfest, Memphis, Tenn.
Jan. 10 – Vs. Knoxville Christian School at Knoxville Webb
Jan. 13 – At Flyin’ To The Hoop Classic, Trent Arena
Jan. 15-16 – At Music City Classic, Whites Creek High School
Jan. 20 – Central Park, 7:30
Jan. 21 – Legacy Charter, 7:30
Jan. 24 – At Covenant Ministries, 7:30
Jan. 27 – At Central Park, 8:30
Jan. 28 – At Hotbed Classic, New Albany High School
Jan. 31 – Vision Prep, 7
Feb. 3-4 – Dr. Pepper 10 Classic, McCallie School
Feb. 10 – At Legacy Charter
Feb. 11 – at Charlotte Basketball Academy, Greenville, S.C.
Feb. 22-24 – NACA National Championship, Fort Bluff
March 9-11 – USA National Prep Tournament, Myrtle Beach, S.C.