Wheeling, W.Va – Officials were on hand Thursday at Wheeling Hospital to announce plans for the seventh playing of the Cancer Research Classic (CRC), set for Jan. 3-4 on the campus of Wheeling Jesuit University.
CRC Director Dr. Gregory Merrick, executive director of the Schiffler Cancer Center, Urologic Research Institute and Men’s Health Center, all at Wheeling Hospital, said, “We wanted to use the celebrity of basketball to increase the awareness of men’s health. The CRC provides an opportunity for men not only to witness a day of great high school basketball, but also, obtain free health screenings.”
Fans from 16 different states, as well as Canada, came to the Classic. Major media outlets such as; Sports Illustrated, U.S.A. Today, Chicago Tribune, the Washington Post, The New York Post, CBS Sports, Rivals, Scout, Max Preps, and ESPN covered last year’s event and they are looking for an even bigger turnout this time around.
Preseason top 20 ranked high school basketball programs participating in this year’s event include: Bishop Gorman, Gonzaga, Montverde Academy, Neumann-Goretti, Prime Prep Academy, St. Benedict’s Prep, Simeon, Wheeler, and Whitney Young. Local teams participating are Wheeling Central and Wheeling Park.
More than 300 players who have played in the CRC have gone on to play college basketball throughout the U.S., including in such prominent programs as Villanova, Temple, Pitt, Rutgers, Seton Hall, Syracuse, Maryland, North Carolina, Duke, Wake Forest, Miami, Louisville, Memphis, Tennessee, Kansas State, Texas, and Arizona. Three alumni of the event now play in the NBA and the number could be 8 to 10 after tonight’s NBA draft.
The weekend begins on Thursday, Jan. 2nd with a kick-off dinner at Oglebay Resort & Conference Center (Glessner Auditorium) with a speaker TBA. Merrick did say, although, that there is someone lined up and should be available, “This year’s speaker is 99% on board, I can’t announce exactly who he is, but what I can tell you is he is a very prominent college and NBA coach, he will give a remarkable talk, but he has to wait until his wife gets back from Italy to make sure the 2nd works for him.”
Friday kicks off the basketball portion with three games (times TBA). A fourth game could be added to the lineup within the coming weeks.
— Wheeling Park vs. Seton-La Salle (Pittsburgh)
— Montverde Academy (Montverde, FL) vs. St. Benedict’s Prep (Newark, NJ)
(These two teams played for the ESPN National Championship in April with Montverde winning on a last-second shot.)
— Prime Prep Academy (Dallas) vs. Villa Angela-St. Joseph (Cleveland)
(St. Joseph is the defending Ohio Div. 4 State Champions)
Saturday will feature five more games (times TBA) with one to two being on ESPN.
— Wheeling Central vs. St. Josephs Prep (Philadelphia)
— Neumann-Goretti (Philadelphia) vs. Simeon (Chicago)
— Gonzaga (Washington D.C.) vs. Bishop Gorman (Las Vegas)
(Gonzaga has been to the Classic every year and is undefeated here)
— Montverde Academy vs. Wheeler (Marietta, GA)
— Prime Prep (Dallas) vs. Whitney Young (Chicago)
If you wonder if the first teams in the last two games are typos, they’re not. Both Montverde and Prime Prep will play on both days of the Classic. Merrick mentioned teams not being part of their state’s association in these decisions. “Montverde and Prime Prep are not in their state associations, so they’re not limited to the number of games they can play. Teams like Montverde, teams like Prime Prep – they want to come here to play their absolute best. They don’t want to come here to win by 40, they’re not interested in that.”
Proceeds of the CRC support Wheeling Hospital’s men’s health programs and undergraduate cancer research.
“My dream was to make this a national event.” Said Merrick, “To be able to highlight our valley, our people, our institutions, and to make this something bigger than just a high school event and I think we’ve done that.”
