Clarke Central High School girls varsity basketball point guard Kaiden Bradford, a senior, poses at the ODYSSEY Media Group 2024 Winter Media Day on Nov. 7 in the CCHS Competition Gym. The Billy Wade Classic basketball tournament began during the 2022-23 season as a tribute to former CCHS basketball coach Billy J. Wade and this year’s tournament will be held from Nov. 25 to Nov. 26. “(Boys varsity basketball head coach Dr. Stefan Smith), I and (CCHS Athletic Director Dr. Jon Ward) wanted to do something here at Clarke Central in honor of Coach Wade. So the three of us decided to start hosting a Thanksgiving tournament in honor of Coach Wade and all these years of service (he had) to the basketball community at Clarke Central,” girls varsity basketball head coach Carla Johnson said. Photo by Ma’Kiyah Thrasher
Clarke Central High School’s third-annual Billy Wade Classic will take place from Nov. 25 to Nov. 26.
Clarke Central High School will host its annual Billy J. Wade Classic on Nov. 25-26 in the CCHS Competition Gym and Crawford Gym. The event is a boys and girls varsity basketball tournament featuring teams from around Athens such as Cedar Shoals High School and Athens Academy.
An infographic displays the schedule for the 2024 Billy Wade Classic on Nov. 25 and 26 in the CCHS Competition Gym and Crawford Gym. The tournament started during the 2022-23 season and is named after former CCHS boys basketball coach Billy J. Wade who spent 32 years at CCHS, 25 of which he coached basketball. Graphic by Liya Taylor
The Classic has been a sanctioned event under the Georgia High School Association since the 2022-23 season and is named after former CCHS boys basketball coach Billy J. Wade who served 32 years at CCHS, 25 of which he spent coaching basketball. Varsity basketball guard Alexandra Ozuna, a junior, has been on the varsity team since her freshman year and this will be her third time participating in the tournament.
“I love the energy of the Billy Wade Classic. You get to come out and play some good competition,” Ozuna said. “You can watch some good games and get a look at or play some teams you might see later this season.”
Starting from its beginning, the classic has seen continuous growth. The first year attracted 11 teams and sold 704 tickets, while the second brought in 15 teams and sold 858 tickets, with the numbers expected to continue growing.
“I think it’s been a very successful event. A lot of teams want to come back every year (and) we’ve been able to add some new teams. So from my perspective, from the inaugural year to now, it’s going well,” Johnson said.
As the tournament has grown, so has its importance to the Athens community and its benefits for the team. With their first Region 8-AAAAA game on Dec. 13 against Jackson County High School – just two weeks after the Billy Wade Classic – Johnson is hoping to use the tournament to prepare her team.
“For the basketball community at large, they (get to) come in and see some basketball early on in the season. We tend to draw a good number of fans that come in. It’s just not just players, parents or whatever (it’s also) the community,” Johnson said. “For us, it’s helpful being (able) to play a couple games at home before we start our region schedule.”
