The name may have changed, but the expectations haven't. Classic, and a talented field of 16 teams are set to compete in the 34th edition. The event also has new locations after being held at Huntsville High in recent years. The first two rounds will be played Dec. 26-27 at Mae Jemison, and the semifinals (Dec. 28) and championship (Dec. 29) will be at the Von Braun Center. RELATED: Recap from last year's Classic championshipJemison, led by reigning Mr. Basketball and Alabama signee John Petty, won the Classic the past two years as J.O. Johnson. This year's field also includes defending 3A state champion Madison Academy, reigning 6A state runner-up Muscle Shoals and 7A power Mountain Brook.In addition to Petty, this year's Classic will feature five-star sophomore forward Trendon Watford of Mountain Brook, four-star sophomore guard Kira Lewis of Hazel Green, and Troy signee Javan Johnson of Austin.Notably missing from the tournament lineup is five-time Classic champ Lee-Huntsville.

CLASSICMonday, Dec. 26 at Mae JemisonGame 1: Madison Academy vs. Grissom, 9 a.m.Game 2: Austin vs. La Vergne (Tenn.), 10:30 a.m.Game 3: Columbia vs. Sparkman, noonGame 4: Mountain Brook vs. Madison County, 1:30 p.m.Game 5: James Clemens vs. Muscle Shoals, 3 p.m.Game 6: Huntsville vs. St. John Paul II, 4:30 p.m.Game 7: Bob Jones vs. Hazel Green, 6 p.m.Game 8: Mae Jemison vs. Oxford, 7:30 p.m.Tuesday, Dec. 27 at Mae JemisonGame 1 vs. Game 2 winners, 3, p.m.Game 3 vs. Game 4 winners, 4:30 pm.Game 5 vs. Game 6 winners, 6 p.m.Game 7 vs. Game 8 winners, 7:30 p.m.Wednesday, Dec. 28 at Von Braun CenterSemifinals at 5:30 and 7 p.m.Thursday, Dec 29 at Von Braun CenterFifth-place game, 3:30 p.m.Third-place game, 5 p.m.Championship game, 7 p.m. Championship game results2015: Johnson over Lee 59-48 2014: Johnson over James Clemens 54-422013: Lee over Grissom 66-472012: Lee over Sparkman 71-612011: Bob Jones over Huntsville 49-432010: Butler over Bob Jones 59-572009: Lee over Sparkman 68-662008: Johnson over Butler 74-72 (4OT)2007: Butler over Johnson 65-542006: Butler over Bradley Central (Tenn.) 58-372005: Sparkman over Madison Academy 45-432004: Decatur over Sparkman 53-462003: Butler over Johnson 64-562002

: Bob Jones over Sparkman 64-572001: Bradley Central (Tenn.) over Butler 58-522000: Grissom over Decatur 52-491999: Lee over Bradley Central (Tenn.) 40-361998: Grissom over Butler 67-451997: Oakland (Tenn.) over Johnson 66-581996: Jonson over Grissom  59-461995: Oakland (Tenn.) over Huntsville 68-481994: Butler over Austin 80-661993: Lee over Johnson 71-611992: Butler over Athens 66-541991: Decatur over Columbia (Tenn.)1990: Butler over Lee1989: Butler over Johnson1988: Johnson over Huntsville1987: Grissom over Brainerd (Tenn.)1986: Brainerd (Tenn.) over Johnson1985: Huntsville over Johnson1984: Johnson over Huntsville1983: Decatur over Keith Daniel Boyette covers Huntsville-region high school sports for The Alabama Media Group and The Huntsville Times. BY CHRIS MCMANES — Notre Dame Coach Mike Brey is always welcomed at DeMatha Catholic High School. The 1977 graduate is the most successful college coach of Morgan Wootten’s former players. He also played a key role in the fundraising effort to build DeMatha’s modern arena.

Stags Coach Mike Jones has another reason he likes seeing Brey at the LT (SEAL) Brendan Looney ’99 Convocation Center: When Brey shows up, DeMatha senior and Notre Dame recruit D.J. Harvey turns his game up a notch. “Every time Mike is in the house, D.J. plays well,” Jones said after Harvey scored 24 points in Brey’s presence on Dec. 10. hieroglyphics hoodieHarvey’s play in the early season has helped the Stags (8-1) move from preseason No. 3 to the top of Top 20. arcanine hoodieThey are now second behind league rival Gonzaga.cheap tisa hoodies DeMatha will return to action against Bishop McNamara on Jan. 3 in Hyattsville. teure hoodies

The Stags will be looking to improve to 4-0 in the Washington Catholic Athletic Conference (WCAC). They won’t meet Gonzaga for the first time until Jan. 24. After DeMatha opened the season with a 95-29 domination of Cardozo, it went to Eleanor Roosevelt and fell behind by four at halftime before leaving Greenbelt with an eight-point win. clwr hoodiesNext up for the Stags was a date with Wheeler High in the 10th Annual National High School Hoops Festival at DeMatha. villain hoodie gapWheeler, from Marietta, Georgia, was ranked second in the preseason by MaxPreps.cyndaquil hoodie The Stags were clinging to a 58-55 lead with under a minute to play when center Josh Carlton took a pass from Harvey and hit a jump hook. Carlton added two free throws before Harvey brought the crowd to its feet with a steal and slam dunk.

His display of speed and power helped punctuate DeMatha’s 66-58 victory. Harvey was named game MVP after his 24-point performance. Brey attended the contest after his Fighting Irish fell to No. 1 Villanova outside Philadelphia. In a news release the day before, Brey commented on what he liked about the 6 foot-6-inch, 185-pound swingman from Bowie: “He is a big guard with a complete skill set,” Brey said. “He has a feel for the game and a great shooting stroke. Add in his athletic ability and high basketball IQ and we feel he will fit really well into our system. “He has been our No. 1 target for two years, and we are thrilled that he will be joining us.” Jerian Grant, the last Stag to play for Notre Dame, now plays for the Chicago Bulls. In 2014-15, he was a consensus All-American. Harvey moved to the area from Huntsville, Alabama. He became the first DeMatha player to start the first game of his freshman campaign since another former Stag, Adrian Dantley, did so in 1969-70.

Dantley was a two-time All-American at Notre Dame and was into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame. Harvey averaged 15.4 points, 7 rebounds and 4 assists as a junior last season. With All-American Markelle Fultz’ departure for the University of Washington, Harvey is the Stags’ go-to guy on the perimeter. In DeMatha’s 68-58 win over league rival St. John’s on Dec. 14, Harvey started slowly before finishing with 16 points. One of two Stags to play all 32 minutes, he at times looked like he was trying to do too much. “We need him to do that right now,” Jones said. “As we mature as a team, I think you’ll see less of him forcing [things]. But tonight we needed him to be that aggressive.” Point guard Ryan Allen, who has signed to play at Delaware next season, produced 17 points in the win over St. John’s. “He didn’t have a great first half [although] … he made some shots when we really needed him,” Jones said. “He was much better in the second half.”

DeMatha lost its first game on Dec. 29, falling to host Providence Day, 77-71, in the Hoodies House National High School Hoops Classic in Charlotte, North Carolina. The team rebounded to take third place the next day by defeating WCAC foe St. Mary’s Ryken 62-58 in overtime. DeMatha has used its exceptional skills and superior size to wear down most of its opponents. Senior John McCrae is 6 feet 7 inches tall, sophomore Jamel Melvin and freshman Paul Smith are 6 feet 8 inches tall, and sophomore Jordan Wilmore is 6 feet 10½ inches tall. “I think our size is going to be the difference in a lot of games this year,” Jones said. “We’ve got a luxury is having all that size.” Carlton, who has accepted a scholarship to play at Connecticut, checks in at 6 feet 9½ inches. He played at South Central High in Winterville, North Carolina, in 2014-15. “Josh was new to the program last year, and like a lot of other players, had to make some adjustments to playing against guys who were as good or better than him,” Jones said.