WHEELING – The Cancer Research Classic has become a rite of winter in the Ohio Valley.

The prep hoop extravaganza is the brainchild of Dr. Gregory Merrick. It has grown to national proportions as the event attracts the cream of the crop of prep hoop teams and players.

So much so, this year’s seven-game event will boast five of the top seven teams in the USA Today’s prep basketball poll.

Dr. Merrick is one of this country’s foremost authorities with men’s health and the treatment of prostate cancer. His work at Wheeling Hospital’s Schiffler Cancer Center has earned national acclaim.

The passion he boasts for his medical work is also reflected in basketball, and the CRC in particular. His knowledge of high school basketball is peerless.

So how did a physician of such high stature come to putting on the Cadillac of high school basketball events?

“It is kind of funny. I have to thank Jay DeFruscio (former Wheeling Jesuit athletic director) for making it happen,” Dr. Merrick said. “He and I talked about it for years. He kept saying that it cannot happen.

“Jay irritated me so much, I finally called him and said ‘it is on.’ That same summer, Jay left for a job with the Indiana Pacers,” he added. “But it was more than just basketball. Promoting men’s health was also a big piece of the puzzle.”

Men’s health is a cause Dr. Merrick and his staff champion year-long. The CRC is the pinnacle of those efforts.

“We want to use the celebrity of basketball as a vehicle to make men more aware of their health. We do health clinics up and down the river,” Dr. Merrick said. “The CRC is the showcase of what we try to do all year long. There is a lot of information and booths featured at the CRC.”

Dr. Merrick has a tough balancing act to perform – handling the massive time demands on his medical services combined with the voluminous planning the CRC requires. It is a challenge he handles adeptly.

“I don’t know a lot, but I do know a world about basketball as well as men’s health. I have an unbelievable staff and a super family who supports me,” Dr. Merrick said. “I like putting hours in on things I really like. So it is fun to be able to do both.”

What started out a decade ago as a running dialogue between a doctor and a future NBA coach has blossomed into everything Dr. Merrick had envisioned.

“My goal was to expose kids to the best event in the country. I also wanted to get exposure for our local players while getting more people on the Wheeling Jesuit campus and into the Ohio Valley,” Dr. Merrick said. “But we also wanted to promote men’s heath as much as we could. I think we have been successful across the board.”

UMASS STAR

Blake Frohnapfel has been awarded the Bulger Lowe Award. The award goes to the best Division I player in the New England region by the Gridiron Club of Greater Boston. He was also one of the 12 finalists for the Walter Camp QB of the Year Award.

Frohnapfel enjoyed another outstanding season as UMass quarterback. The 6-6, 238-pounder completed 266-of-472 tosses for 2,919 yards and 16 TDs this fall. He ended his two-year Minutemen stint with 6,650 career passing yards and 39 TDs.

Frohnapfel, who started his career at Marshall, will be playing in the East-West Shriners Game in St. Petersburg on Jan. 23. His father, Steve, was an all-Ohio gridder for St. John Central in 1978. They still have relatives in Colerain.

Kapral may be reached at bkapral@timesleaderonline.com