MURFREESBORO, Tenn. — Chattanooga Prep can claim the throne as the king of TSSAA Class 1A boys’ basketball for the 2023-24 season.
The start of the Sentinels’ reign was also the end of more than a decade and a half of frustration for the Scenic City and the surrounding region.
For the first time since 2007, a Chattanooga-area boys’ basketball program has won a state title, with Chatt Prep defeating Frank Hughes 64-41 during Saturday’s BlueCross Basketball State Championships at Middle Tennessee State University’s Murphy Center.
The Sentinels (27-6), in just their third year of varsity competition and with the school yet to have a senior class — that will come next year — will bring a gold ball trophy back to their campus in Highland Park, the former home of Tennessee Temple Academy, which had been the area’s most recent state champ. The Crusaders won the Class 1A title in 2007, four years before the school closed.
Christian Collins took over the Chatt Prep basketball program this season, picking up where his twin brother Christoffer left off as head coach for the Sentinels' first two years of high school competition — including a semifinal run in 2023 during their first state tourney trip.
“With God, anything is possible,” Christian said. “This is a special moment for these young men, our school, families and for my twin brother and I. When I took over the job, I told him, 'I've got your back.' I have had his back since we were younger. For us to bring a gold ball back to Chattanooga and for us to complete the mission, man, it means the world.
“I dedicated this season to my twin brother. He has been with these young men since they were in fifth and sixth grade. Today is a special one that we will always remember. We have come through so much adversity to reach this point.”
(READ MORE: Chatt Prep’s remarkable season ends in Class 1A state semifinals)
Derrick Roberson, a 6-foot-6 sophomore guard, gave the Sentinels a sensational performance Saturday on his way being named state tournament MVP, scoring 25 points on 11-for-16 shooting, including a pair of 3-pointers on three attempts behind the arc. He produced 13 of his points during the third quarter, when Chatt Prep ran away with the game by outscoring the Lions 24-10 in the period.
“Coming out of halftime, we had to push the lead out and quit playing with our food,” said Roberson, who also scored his team’s first eight points of the game. “Just finish it. I came out ready to play and showed what I can do. I had to put my foot on their necks. We wanted this gold ball more than anybody.”
Roberson’s dunk late in the third quarter capped a 13-0 run to build a 45-24 lead. He finished the game with a double-double, collecting 11 rebounds to go with four blocks and three steals in 19 minutes of action.
“The first two state tournament games, D.J. was quiet,” Coach Collins said of Roberson. “But I said, 'You are going to have a breakout game today.' Once I saw those 3s go through the net for him, I pretty much knew right then and there it was over with. It wasn’t going to be close.”
Junior point guard Eli Gaines added 11 points — including a trio of 3-pointers — three assists and two steals for the Sentinels, who reached the title game by rallying from a halftime deficit Friday in a 62-51 win against Santa Fe.
“We came into Chatt Prep as sixth graders looking for a gold ball,” said Gaines, a team captain who made the all-tournament team after totaling 34 points while shooting 7-of-12 from 3-point range in Murfreesboro. “We have battled through a lot of obstacles and battled the whole way. We made it through and got this gold ball for the city. I am so proud of all of us.”
Joel Bulis, a 6-8 sophomore forward, also made the all-tournament team along with freshman teammate Austin Jones. Bulis scored 24 points in the tourney, including 17 in a quarterfinal blowout of Union City on Wednesday, and he had 15 rebounds with eight of those being offensive rebounds. Jones made six 3-pointers in the tournament, with four in the quarterfinals.
(READ MORE: Bulis return raises confidence level of title-hunting Chatt Prep boys)
Aiden Dicus scored 16 points to lead Frank Hughes (26-10) in Saturday's game, while Alex Ronchetti chipped in 12.
The Sentinels, who outscored their opposition by 240 points in nine total postseason games, became the area’s 18th boys’ basketball team to ever win a TSSAA state championship. One of the teams on that list is the 1991-92 Brainerd Panthers, who won that season's Class AAA title with a roster that included Stefan Carter — who is now a Chatt Prep assistant.
“This does a lot for Chattanooga Prep,” Collins said. “We made history. This is something they will be able to tell their kids, grandkids, family members and younger guys. They are state champions. This is so special. There is nothing I would take over this. We will enjoy this.”
Contact Patrick MacCoon at pmaccoon@timesfreepress.com.