Giant killers: Harpoonerettes of Point Hope bag big game on and off court

By Van Williams Classic Media Director Don’t be fooled by the small-schools tag for Tikigaq. The Harpoonerettes of Point Hope will steal your hoop dreams. Just ask the Durango Trailblazers, a Class 4A team out of Las Vegas, Nevada, where Tikigaq beat them 65-51 in a tournament. Durango has an enrollment of 2,600. Tikigaq has

2023 Classic brackets unveiled; tournament to have shot clock, 3 Lower 48 teams

By Van Williams Classic Media Director January is right around the corner and you know what that means: the Alaska Airlines Classic. The state’s premier high school basketball tournament tips off in less than a month, with Lower 48 schools Heritage Christian (CA), Higley (AZ) and Ronan (MT) joining the Alaska teams at West Anchorage

Classic Rewind: 1991 title game vs. Oak Hill put East’s Langdon on national map

By Van Williams Classic Media Director Three decades have passed since he played in the game, but for former East High great Trajan Langdon it sometimes seems like yesterday when he faced mighty Oak Hill Academy of Virginia. The 1991 Alaska Airlines Classic championship game was the most significant high school basketball moment in the

Classic Rewind: West’s Da’Zhon Wyche reflects on record 49-point game in 2016

By Van Williams Classic Media Director Since 1989, the Alaska Airlines Classic has featured 11 McDonald’s All-Americans, a dozen NCAA All-Americans and eight NBA players. Yet it’s a 5-foot-9 guard from Anchorage who owns the single-game scoring record. West’s Da’Zhon Wyche torched Planet Athlete (AZ) for a career-high 49 points in the 2016 semifinals. “I

2020 Title Game: Nix turns it on late as Trinity (NV) overcomes 42 from Moses

By Van Williams Classic Media Director In middle school, Daishen Nix and Isaiah Moses spent endless hours on basketball courts in Anchorage helping each other work on their game. Then they went different directions in high school and figured they’d probably never face off in a high school game. But they got their wish in

Classic Rewind: Schultz breaks gender barrier, first woman to coach in boys tournament

By Van Williams Classic Media Director When the Chugiak Mustangs made a head coaching change in 2019, school officials wanted to keep it in-house and hired first-year assistant Josi Schultz. It was just like any other coaching hire. Except it wasn’t. Schultz became the first woman to be named head coach of a boys basketball

2019 Title Game: Colony gives Alaska its first Classic championship since 2010

By Van Williams Classic Media Director Colony’s Sullivan Menard outscored the opposition by himself in the first half of the Alaska Airlines Classic championship game in a near-perfect performance. His only hiccup was a missed dunk. It didn’t matter, though. He had already slammed home the point that he was the best player in the

2018 Title Game: MVP McGhee drives Columbia (GA) over West Anchorage

By Van Williams Classic Media Director The more games Lorenzo McGhee played in the Alaska Airlines Classic, the more game we saw from the Columbia guard. The 6-foot-5 senior increased his point total in all four games, culminating with a 23-point performance to lead the Eagles of Decatur, Georgia, to an 83-46 victory over host

2017 Title Game: Whitely takes flight as Riverview (FL) glides to championship

By Van Williams Classic Media Director Brion Whitely took flight with a thunderous jam to slam home the point that he was the best player during the Alaska Airlines Classic. The 6-foot-5 senior guard led the Riverview Rams of Sarasota, Florida, to an 86-54 victory over West Anchorage in the championship game his 18-point, 5-rebound

2016 Title Game: Planet Athlete (AZ) beats East despite Miller’s 39 points

By Van Williams Classic Media Director The Alaska Airlines Classic championship game ended up being the highest-scoring game of the three-day tournament at West High. Planet Athlete, a team from Phoenix, held on to beat East 94-89 and claim the crown. Jachai Taylor of Planet Athlete earned tournament MVP honors after scoring 21 points and