Bowling Green guard Collin Jackson shoots during their 97-58 win over Elizabethtown on Tuesday, Dec. 6, 2016, at Bowling Green. (Austin Anthony / photo@bgdailynews.com)

When the Wes Strader Schoolboy Classic began last year, Bowling Green boys’ basketball coach D.G. Sherrill said he hoped it would grow into something that could be a premiere event in the area.

Round 2 looks to be better than the original, with a trio of games on Saturday, including the No. 1 Purples against Louisville Male and Chalmette (La.) High School — featuring McDonald’s All-American and Western Kentucky signee Mitchell Robinson — facing Louisville Ballard.

“I think it has been a great collaboration with a lot of people and we have been fortunate to be a small part of that,” Sherrill said. “I think it certainly has a history here. We’d like to see it grow into something really cool. We like to do it this time of year because everybody is getting fired up about tournament basketball. It gives everyone a good quality opponent late in the season, which sometimes is hard to find.”

Sherrill credited one of the event’s sponsors, David Jaggers from Leachman Buick, with having a big role in bringing Chalmette to Bowling Green. Jaggers suggested reaching out to the school and after several e-mails and phone calls, it became a reality.

“This young man will be a guy that maybe will have his jersey hanging in the rafters in Diddle Arena one day,” Sherrill said. “Why not get all the local fans and the Western fans out here to see this young man as a high school player. It was a win-win. I know there is a ton of buzz around it. I just hope that Western fans, high school basketball fans in general, will come out and support this thing.”

WKU coach Rick Stansbury said during his weekly news conference that it was exciting to have Robinson play in Bowling Green.

“It’s good that he’s up here and people will see him play,” Stansbury said. “I think they’re playing a really good Ballard team. You’ll see with Mitchell, Mitchell’s all about potential with his ability, his ability to run, his ability to jump. He’s at about as high of a level as you can get with those two things. Offensively around the block he’s got to get better but he’s got good skills, can face up and make shots.

“Then defensively around that rim he can alter a lot of things. His ability to get out and run, his athleticism is really special. It’ll be good to have him up here. I haven’t seen him in awhile. It’ll be good for him to watch us play.”

The event, which began last Saturday with the Lady Purples and a pair of boys’ games featuring Franklin-Simpson and Warren Central, will kick off at 11:30 a.m. on Saturday with Owensboro Catholic – coached by former Warren Central coach Tim Riley – facing state runner-up Louisville Doss.

Bowling Green will face Male at 1 p.m., with Chalmette and Ballard scheduled for 2:30 p.m.

Sherrill said those times were made with WKU fans in mind, allowing them the chance to see Robinson before the Hilltoppers host Marshall at 5 p.m. at Diddle Arena.

“We worked hard to schedule this thing to accommodate Western fans,” Sherrill said. “That is really important to us. I’m a Western fan and go to as many games as I can. Coach Stansbury has come in here and put a real buzz around this program, a real excitement. We want to support that as much as we can as a local high school.”

And he hopes that support is reciprocated with Saturday’s event.

“There are a lot of good storylines in Saturday’s games,” Sherrill said. “I just can’t say enough about the support of the sponsorship that we have gotten in making sure this is a first-class event. I’m really looking forward to it. It is going to be a lot of fun.”

— Follow prep sports reporter Micheal Compton on Twitter @mcompton428 or visit bgdailynews.com.