When the 37th Tournament of Champions field was released in January of 2021, nobody knew that the 2021-22 season was going to be Jay Osborne's last. 

It seemed fitting when the hall of fame coach announced his retirement that he would take part in the most attended high school basketball tournament in America.

Osborne was short when asked about being in the TOC in his final year. 

"It's special and neat," said Osborne.

Competition is as good as high school basketball gets, including four teams ranked inside Maxpreps National Top-50. The field includes: No. 4 Sierra Canyon (CA), No. 16 Paul VI (VA), No. 48 Whitney Young (IL), No. 50 Milton (GA), Springfield Catholic (MO), New Madrid County Central (MO), Nixa (MO), and Parkview (MO). 

At the bracket release, Nixa was paired with Milton High School from Alpharetta, Ga. Milton stars Bruce Thorton ('22), Kanaan Carlyle ('23) and Lebbeus Overton ('23) all return from last year's 7A State championship team. 

Thornton is the returning 7A Player of the Year, and committed to Ohio State his sophomore year. 

Carlyle is a five-star recruit and the No. 20 player in the country. He committed to Stanford over plenty of offers, including five SEC schools.

Overton is considered the top football prospect on the East Coast. The 6-foot-5, 265-pound defensive-end is the No. 3 player in the class of 2023, and doubles as a star inside the paint. 

Currently, Milton is 10-5 competing prominently on the national level.

During the 2020-21 season, Coach Allen Whitehart was named the National High School Sports Coaches Association (NHSCA) National Boys Basketball Coach of the Year for his team's 26-game winning streak. Milton was considered a top-eight team nationally, and was the only public school invited to the Geico National Championship at the end of the season.

Coach Osborne says with a little bit of good luck however, his ball club could still be very competitive.

It's difficult [to win] in this tournament you have to play really well and get some breaks," Osborne stated. "Hopefully, the ball bounces our way a few times, we get a few breaks, and we will have a pretty good chance." 

Nixa has their fair share of highly-touted athletes as well. Potential division-one basketball recruits Colin Ruffin and Kael Combs will have a good chance to show college coaches around the nation how they compare to the nation's best, and hopefully expand their DI visits. Ruffin, a senior, has visited Kansas State and Missouri State, and Combs, a junior, has visited Missouri State. Combs has also taken DI visits for football as well. 

Despite the opportunity, Osborne is quick to remind his athletes the importance of playing as a team.

"It's a chance for them to showcase their skills and ability in that respect. Also, it's a good chance to show how good of teammates they are by sharing the basketball too," he said. "I always tell them we want to get to a final four or state title type game, and this tournament will help with that. That is where you will get noticed. The better your team does, the more notice you will have."

Nixa enters the tournament on a three-game winning streak, with a 10-1 record.

Milton and Nixa are slotted for a 7:30 p.m. tip-off at JQH Arena, followed by the team's second-round pairings between Paul VI and Catholic.

The TOC bracket can be viewed here.