Since 1954, high school basketball squads have converged on Southwest Missouri to face off in the Neosho Holiday Classic. Over the years, the tournament has provided thrilling matchups, amazing upsets, nationally ranked teams and Division I collegiate talent. Branco, tournament sponsor since 1998, is proud to bring you another year of excellent high school basketball.
Branco underwrites the Neosho Holiday Classic basketball tournament and has been doing so since 1998. Branco has been a part of this community since 1933 and the tournament has taken place since 1954.
The tournament has survived for many decades due to the dedication of the tournament staff, unwavering community support, and the quality of play that is provided by our local talent as well as teams such as yours. We strive to bring in local, regional, and national talent and are never disappointed with the caliber of play that we see. Many scouts find their way to Neosho to observe that talent.
A few of the recent teams that have journeyed to Neosho are Travis from Fort Bend, Texas; Sunrise Christian from Wichita; South Atlanta; Central Park Christian from Birmingham, Alabama; Cypress Christian from Houston; Kansas City Ruskin; Morrilton, Arkansas; San Diego High; Marietta, Georgia; Thunderbird from Phoenix, Arizona; and others. We have had numerous D-1 athletes grace our tournament such as Buddy Hield (Oklahoma); Van Green (Columbia), Jamelle Horne (Arizona), Shekinna Stricklen (Tennessee Lady Vols), Biko Paris (Boston College), Jeremy Tyler (now playing for the Golden State Warriors), Josh Freeman (NFL quarterback), and first round NBA draft pick Hasheem Thabeet. Also, the 2011 edition of the tournament featured two of the top juniors in the country: the Harrison twins of Travis High School. These players' high school teams were contacted much in the same manner as you have been and "took a chance" of playing our tournament. They have all been consistently impressed with their experiences. Many of these schools have played in our tournament for multiple years.
For the teams that we bring in from outside the region, we cover all transportation costs, which include airfare and van rentals. We also cover all lodging costs. In addition, we provide player and coach hospitality rooms that provide meals all day long. In order to give the players warm home-cooked meals, many of the area churches provide hot meals during the evening sessions of the tournament.