Scott Brown Classic shifts date, location to accommodate Tshiebwe, McBride

MORGANTOWN, W.Va. — Basketball fans in Morgantown won’t have to wait long to watch West Virginia recruits Oscar Tshiebwe and Miles McBride team up.

The 30th annual Scott Brown Little General Classic is moving from Beckley to University High on April 14.

The Beckley Convention Center still will host an all-star game between the state’s Class A seniors and the Class AA seniors on April 13, but director Bob Bolen has a couple of compelling reasons to stage the second game in Morgantown.

Tshiebwe and McBride both have prior commitments that would prevent them from playing Saturday in Beckley, so their game was moved to Sunday at UHS.

“To be honest, having Oscar and Miles teaming up in Morgantown sounded like a good idea,” Bolen said.

Tshiebwe, a five-star recruit from Kennedy Catholic (Pa.) is participating in the Nike Hoop Summit in Portland, Ore., on April 12, while McBride is playing in the Ohio-Kentucky All-Star Game the same day.

“Oscar isn’t flying back to Pennsylvania until that Saturday and Miles isn’t getting home from his game until that Saturday,” Bolen said. “Both kids are going to drive to West Virginia on Sunday, and it’s easier for them to drive to Morgantown.”

Tshiebwe, a 6-foot-9 power forward, averaged 23.5 points and 15 rebounds as a senior and recently recorded a double-double in the McDonald’s All-American game. Kennedy Catholic won the Pennsylvania Class 6A state title this season.

McBride, a three-star 6-1 point guard, helped Moeller win the Ohio Division I state championship the past two seasons. He averaged 14 points and 4.1 assists as a senior.

They will be coached by University High’s Joe Schmidle, who will be on the sideline for the third consecutive year. He previously coached WVU recruits Jordan McCabe, Trey Doomes, Derek Culver and Teddy Allen in those games.

“For me, I think a lot of the fun is getting to know those guys and to get to know what kind of kid they are,” Schmidle said. “I always tried to figure out how they’ll fit in at West Virginia.

“Jordan was an absolutely fantastic kid, and Derek was great, too. Trey was a really great kid, but things just didn’t work out for him. I’ve heard nothing but great things about Oscar, so I’m excited to see him and I’m sure the people of Morgantown will be excited to see him, too.”

Tshiebwe and McBride will be joined by several local players, including Morgantown High’s Cam Selders, University’s Rodney Bucklew and Joel Robertson of Trinity.

Fairmont Senior coach David Retton will coach the opposing team that will include three standouts from Huntington Prep, including Louisville signee Quinn Slazinski, as well as Morehead State commit Anderson Mirambeaux of  Teays Valley Christian.

“Oscar is one of the few five-star guys West Virginia has been able to bring in,” said Bolen, who was an assistant at East Tennessee State for two seasons and the former head coach at Mountain State College in Beckley, where he won the 2004 NAIA national championship. “I think the people in this state deserve a chance to see him play before he gets to college.”

The game is preceded by a dunk contest and 3-point shootout at 2 p.m..

Tickets are $8 and will be available only at the door the day of the game, according to University High athletics director Jeff Bailey.

ROSTERS

Employers’ Innovative Network
Coach: Joe Schmidle, University High
Players
Oscar Tshiebwe, Kennedy Catholic, Pa. (West Virginia signee)
Miles McBride, Moeller-Cincinnati (West Virginia signee)
Rodney Bucklew, University High
Bunky Brown, George Washington
Keandra King, Wheeling Park
Cam Selders, Morgantown
Seth Fallon, Parkersburg South
Devin Collins, Chapmanville
Greg Zummo, Notre Dame
Joel Robertson, Trinity
Tanner Kennedy, Robert C. Byrd

Midstate Automotive
Coach: David Retton, Fairmont Senior
Players
Quinn Slazinski, Huntington Prep (Louisville signee)
Alex Dutranoy, Huntington Prep
Greg Tribble, Huntington Prep
Harry Morrice, Beckley Prep
Anderson Mirambeaux,  Teays Valley Christian (Morehead State commit)
Mason Shiflett, Teays Valley Christian
Steven Verplanken, Teays Valley Christian
Bryce Radford, Woodrow Wilson
Danny Bickey, Woodrow Wilson
Joe Muto, Hurricane
Cavonte Duncan, Capital
Dasalis Jones, Fairmont Senior

Miles McBride led Cincinnati Moeller to back-to-back state championships in Ohio.