Neosho Holiday Classic is known for drawing some of the nation's top talent
Dec. 26—In addition to watching local players and teams, the Neosho Holiday Classic is known for bringing in some of the best prep talent in the nation.
Past performers in the tournament include NBA and University of Kentucky star Malik Monk and NBA and Oklahoma great Buddy Held, as well as NFL quarterback Josh Freeman.
This year is no exception.
After a 50-point performance Dec. 19, Memphis (Tennessee) Hillcrest senior guard Jordan Allen led the nation in scoring. He currently has the third-best point production among high schoolers in the country at 36.3 points per game. Allen is a scoring threat whenever he touches the ball. He is a scoring machine whose 3-point range extends well beyond the arc.
Kirby High School, in Memphis, Tennessee, is led by Courtland Muldrew. The junior guard is averaging more than 29 ppg and has already received offers from Missouri and Ole Miss.
Among the teams contending for the coveted Gold bracket title this year will be Springdale Har-Ber (11-1,) currently the second-ranked Class 6 team in Arkansas. Last year's Missouri Class 4 third-place team, St. Joseph Lafayette, will also be looking to make its mark in the tourney.
Rounding out the Gold bracket are Kirby, Memphis Hillcrest, Conway, Arkansas, Morrilton, Arkansas, which won the Black Division in 2013, Bentonville West (Arkansas) and LD Bell (Texas).
Local teams competing for the top spot in the Boys Black Bracket are host team Neosho, which won the division in 2021, McDonald County and Seneca. They will be joined by defending champion Crooked Oak (Oklahoma), Huntsville (Arkansas), Memphis Westwood, Benton (Arkansas) and the Bentonville West junior varsity squad.
In the girls bracket, host team Neosho, which last captured the title in 2014 in the girls black division, will welcome Seneca; Memphis Whitehaven, the 2019 champs in the girls division; Huntsville, Arkansas; St. Joseph Lafayette; Crooked Oak; Memphis Hillcrest and Memphis Bluff City. The girls have played in one division beginning in 2015.
