Champions of Character Classic Set For Next Saturday

Eric Gardner

December 10, 2019 @ 11:43 AM

We are now under two weeks out from the annual Champions of Character Classic at Grace College. It is set for next Saturday, December 21st and will get started at 1:30 PM ET.

This year, is a big one for myself as I have been working with Scott Moore and Grace College trying to turn this event into a marquee stop for the best teams in Northern Indiana each and every year. In this, the first year in this format, we have 10 teams, 5 games with a number of talented players to watch.

For us, this is something we want to continue to build, bringing in more teams in future years, finding those players that are vying for All-Star considerations, teams looking to advance in the State Playoffs, and bring in the decision makers and people that can help in their journeys.

Putting everybody under one roof in a venue like the Manahan Orthopedic Capital Center on the campus of Grace College makes so much sense. Not only having the event run by a college who can do it in such a high-level capacity with a high-level venue but also allowing these high school players to get the opportunity to play in an environment of a college and have that experience.

For this year, we have some high-level teams coming in like Andrean, who is coming off of a 2A State Championship, Fort Wayne Snider who looks like a great team in 4A so far, Westview who is trying to make another big run in 2A, as well as others. Here are the matchups for the 2020 Champions of Character Classic.

1:30 PM ET - South Bend St. Joseph vs. Leo

3:00 PM ET - Chesterton vs. South Bend Washington

4:30 PM ET - Kokomo vs. Warsaw

6:00 PM ET - University vs. Westview

7:30 PM ET - Fort Wayne Snider vs. Andrean

Part of the allure of this event is not only the teams but also the players and we have some stellar ones. We feel confident that there will be a few DI players that come out of this event from guys like Charlie Yoder (Westview) to Kyle Ross (Andrean), to Michael Eley (Snider). We already have one in J.R. Konieczny who is committed to Notre Dame.

We also have one player in Jake Wadding from Chesterton who is already committed to Grace College and will get his first opportunity to play on his future home floor next Saturday.

However, these won't be the only players who we expect to go on and play in college. Here are just a few more that standout in this event:

2020:
Jake Wadding - 6’4 SF 2020 - Chesterton (IN) - Committed to Grace College
Isaac Farnsworth - 6’3 SF 2020 - Fort Wayne Snider (IN)
Dillon Duff - 6’5 SF 2020 - Fort Wayne Snider (IN)
DeMarcus Vaughn - 6’3 SG 2020 - South Bend Washington (IN)
Charlie Yoder - 6’4 SF 2020 - Westview (IN)

2021:
Kyle Ross - 6’7 PF 2021 - Andrean (IN)
Michael Eley - 6’4 SG 2021 - Fort Wayne Snider (IN)
Blake Davison - 6’0 PG 2021 - Leo (IN)
J.R. Konieczny - 6’7 SF 2021 - South Bend St. Joseph (IN) - Committed to Notre Dame
Adam O’Dell - 6’8 C 2021 - South Bend St. Joseph (IN)
Ben Jones - 6’2 SG 2021 - Andrean (IN)
Nick Flesher - 6’0 PG 2021 - Andrean (IN)
DeShon Burnett - 6’4 SF 2021 - Andrean (IN)

2022:
Travis Grayson - 5’11 PG 2022 - Chesterton (IN)
Bobby Wonnell - 6’2 SG 2022 - Kokomo (IN)
D.J. Allen - 6’5 PF 2022 - Leo (IN)
Ayden Ruble - 6’5 SF 2022 - Leo (IN)
Larry Pierce - 6’4 SF 2022 - University (IN)
Gabe Gillespie - 6’5 PF 2022 - Andrean (IN)

Tickets are $10 at the door for the day. No presale tickets so make sure you get there to find the best seat.