2004 The inaugural MLK Basketball Classic was held in 2004 with four girls high school games featuring eight teams 
from the 5A Conference. The games were held at Wells Fargo Arena on the campus of Arizona State University. Attendance was estimated at 2500 people. Cox7 Sports broadcast the last two games live. The games featured eventual state champion Phoenix St. Mary's (35-0), state-runner-up Phoenix Desert Vista, and state player of the year Sybil Dosty (Salpointe) who later played at Tennessee and Arizona State.
2005 With over 3000 fans in attendance, five boys games representing each region of the 5A Conference participated. Defending state champion Mesa High highlighted 
the field that also included Deer Valley High School with future NCAA stars Lawrence Hill (Stanford), Christian Polk (UTEP), and Joey Shaw (Nevada). A matchup between Mesa Dobson and Tucson Sahuaro brought together the McConnell family. Sahuaro Coach Dick McConnell (most wins in Arizona basketball history) went up against his son, Rick, as well as grandsons Matt (Metro State - baseball) and Mickey (St. Mary's - basketball) of Mesa Dobson. Cox TV continued to broadcast the final two games live.
2006 Attendance increased to 8500 in year three of the MLK Basketball Classic. T
he format changed to feature two girls games and three boys games. In the final girls game of the night, Mesa Red Mountain beat defending state champion Phoenix St. Mary's, 55-53. The Knights would later get revenge by winning the state championship game in a rematch of these same two teams. In the boys games, Mesa Mountain View avenged an earlier loss to Phoenix Desert Vista while Phoenix Brophy Prep edged arch-rival Phoenix St. Mary's 79-76 despite 49 points from future Arizona Wildcat and NBA lottery pick Jerryd Bayless (Portland Trail Blazers). Mesa Mountain View went on to win the state title. Future collegians include Marisa Stotler (Boise State), Dymond Simon (Arizona State), Gavin Edwards (UConn), and David Schneider (William and Mary). For the third year in a row, Cox TV broadcast the final two games live. Coverage and exposure of the event increased to an all-time high with an incredible environment throughout the day.
2007With over 10,000 fans in attendance, USA team members Jerryd Bayless (St. Phoenix Marys/UA) and Kayla Pedersen (Mesa Red Mountain/Stanford) led an all-star cast of performers. The University of Arizona hosted the inaugural Tucson MLK Basketball Classic at McKale Center with 3500 spectators in attendance. Tribune VarsityXtra signed on as a presenting sponsor while Cox TV continued to broadcast two games. "Overtime" was the word of the day as Glendale Cactus and Saguaro (girls) went into overtime at ASU as did the first three games at UA. For the first time, non-5A teams participated in the event as 2A rivals Scottsdale Christian and Chandler Valley Christianplayed. Mesa Mountain View lost to Phoenix Desert Vista but went on to 'three-peat' as state champions. The Mesa Mountain View girls team beat Mesa Red Mountain but similar to last year, the Mountain Lions then turned the tables and beat the Toros 
in the state championship. Along with Bayless and Pedersen, future collegians included Harper Kamp (MV/Cal), Kendall Wallace (MV/UNLV), Justin Wesolowski (MV/N. Colorado/Grand Canyon), Brendon Lavendar (MV/UA), Ty Abbott (DV/ASU), Mike Proctor (DV/N. Colorado), Becca Tobin (Cactus/ASU), Brooke Jackson (MV/MCC/UA), Bonnie Barbee (Red Mountain/Colorado State ) and Rachelle Federico (Tucson Flowing Wells/California).
2008 With five games at ASU and UA, junior college games were added to the schedule with two women's and two men's games at Mesa Community College. Cox TV broadcast games live from Tucson for the first time as Mesa Mountain View (featuring future Wildcat Brendon Lavendar) played Tucson High. Gilbert Highland won the first girls game and continued on to a state title. Top match up included Mesa High and state player of the year Aaron Fuller (Iowa) against Pinnacle with ASU recruit Taylor Rhode.
2009 - Monument Valley travelled from Northern Arizona to participate in the 6th edition of the MLK Basketball Classic - this year Powered by a Stoudemire. Both boys and girls teams participated but came up on the short end vs. Chandler Seton for the girls and Estrella Foothills for the boys. Private school powers Scottsdale Christian (57) and Northwest Christian (47) resumed their rivalry in the middle game of the day. With notable coaches Herb Sendek (ASU), Lon Kruger (UNLV), and Tom Crean (Indiana) in attendance, North beat Highland 58-51. In the final game of the night, city rivals Gilbert and Mesquite went into over-time before Gilbert prevailed 61-58. Chandler-Gilbert Community College swept Phoenix College in both the men's and women's games as did Mesa Community College with Yavapai. The University of Arizona continued to host the games at McKale Center with great games and tremendous fan support.
2010 - Turning into one of the elite basketball events in the country, the MLK Basketball Classic at Arizona State University didn't disappoint as ten schools represented themselves well in an intense and competitive atmosphere.
Game 1 featured a re-match of the 5A-II Girls State Final between Tolleson Union and Phoenix Pinnacle. The Wolverines defeated the Pioneers at Jobing.com Arena in March (59-57) and also prevailed at ASU with a resounding 80-50 win. University of Nebraska-bound Rebecca Woodberry (Tolleson) scorched Pinnacle for 25 points while Kalasia Green added 17. Aley Rhode, who's bound for the University of Arizona, scored 13 points for Pinnacle. Tolleson and Pinnacle hooked up again in March for the 5A-II state final. Again, the Wolverines proved victorious defeating Pinnacle, 52-43, for their second straight state championship.
Game 2 featured one of the fiercest rivalries in the state as the Knights of St. Mary's went up against the Gators of Xavier College Prep. With a team that features 6 freshman, 2 sophomores, 2 juniors, and 2 seniors, St. Mary's beat Xavier, 70-50. Head Coach Curtis Ekmark noted the Knights are extremely young and felt fortunate the coaching staff put together a great game plan. The Knights went on to finish #87 in the country losing to Mesa Dobson, 61-59, in overtime in the 5A-I State Final in March 2010.
The 3p game featured the first boys contest of the MLK Basketball Classic: Mesa Red Mountain vs. Scottsdale Chaparral. With Mountain Lions star Paul Newendyke coming off an injury suffered at the beginning of the season, the Firebirds, led by Head Coach Aaron Windler, ran away with a 60-48 win. 6-foot-1 seniror Jarrett Upchurch scored 17 points to lead Chaparral to victory. The Firebirds would later go on to the 5A-II state final losing to Anthem Boulder Creek.
The result of Game 4 was a huge upset as Tempe McClintock defeated Phoenix Sunnyslope, 70-52. The Chargers were led by 6-foot-5 Cameron Forte, who had a coming-out party with 34 points and 12 rebounds. University of Kansas bound Royce Woolridge didn't disappoint with a 29 point effort and THE PLAY OF THE GAME. The same two teams would meet in the 4A-I State Final in March at Jobing.com Arena. Once again, McClintock would come out on top and win their first state basketball title since 1986, 73-71.
The final game of the 5-game marathon would pit city rivals Mesa High vs. Mesa Mountain View. The Jackrabbits - behind 33 points from junior guard Jahii Carson - defeated the Toros, 54-52, in overtime. A defensive block at the end of the game by University of Tulsa-bound Blondy Baruti (6-foot-9) sealed the epic game for Mesa High. In the state tournament, the two were on path to meet, but Mesa High lost to Phoenix St. Mary's in a quarterfinal game, while Mountain View lost in the final four to Laveen Chavez.
In the end, the 2010 MLK Basketball Classic was prophetic regarding the state tournament as Tolleson and McClintock won state championships while St. Mary's, Chaparral, Pinnacle, and Sunnyslope were runners-up. Six of the ten teams who played made the state championship game? We'll see what happens in 2011!
As the MLK Basketball Classic looks to 2011, an impressive line-up of schools are on tap to provide, once again, another fantastic day of high school basketball.