Four Indiana powerhouses will converge at Grace College, Winona Lake, Ind., on December 30 for the first annual boys’ basketball Champions of Character Classic.
Teams from Zionsville, Valparaiso, Warsaw, and Fishers high schools are the inaugural participants in the Champions of Character Classic, held at Grace’s Manahan Orthopaedic Capital Center.
The four-game, two-session event features all 4A schools including two teams currently ranked in the Associated Press.
No. 7 Zionsville is currently unbeaten at 5-0, and No. 11 Valparaiso is also unbeaten at 6-0. Zionsville’s marquee player Isaiah Thompson has received numerous offers, including Purdue, Butler, Kent State, Toledo and Miami (Ohio) among others. Valparaiso’s Brandon Newman has been offered by Fort Wayne, Toledo and North Dakota.
Local powerhouse Warsaw is currently 2-5 but has averaged 18 wins per season over the last nine years. Fishers (2-4), coached by former Lancer player and assistant coach Matt Moore, upset No. 14 Carmel on Dec. 9 and nearly handed No. 2 Hamilton Southeastern its first loss of the season in a 42-38 game.
Tickets are available at Grace College’s athletic office. Price is $10 per session. Session 1 features Fishers versus Valparaiso at 11 a.m. followed by Warsaw against Zionsville.
Session 2 starts with Zionsville versus Valparaiso at 6 p.m. followed by Warsaw against Fishers.
The four-game classic is broken into a morning and evening session, meaning each ticket is good for both games in a session.