The first step of rebuilding Baltimore basketball? Bring the basketball back to Baltimore.

Amid the wintry bluster across the mid-Atlantic, A Very Melo Classic returns Saturday, and after a few years of being held outside of Baltimore proper, it is back in the city limits where organizers hoped it would be all along.

Carmelo Anthony, a Hall of Famer and 10-time NBA All-Star who first made his name as a basketball star at Towson Catholic, will attend as the namesake of the tournament. While St. Frances Academy is the official host, the tournament will be held at Morgan State University and feature five games with high-level schools along the coast.

Sam Brand, the former coach at Poly and the founder and CEO of The Sanctuary Collective, is among the organizers who brought the prep tournament in its fourth year to his alma mater.

“Having a high-level event where Carmelo partners with local high schools to bring national competition to the city has been a priority for years,” Brand said in a statement to The Banner. “Being able to host at Morgan State University brings this event back to the city where it belongs.”

Anthony’s foundation is a cosponsor for the tournament, capping off a year in which he has highlighted his Baltimore roots.

For the last three months, the Enoch Pratt Library hosted the “House of Melo” exhibit about Anthony’s life and influence. The Sanctuary Collective, which Anthony backed, officially opened last year with the intention of serving city kids and keeping high-level basketball players at local schools.

Even the visiting teams at the Classic have connections to Anthony’s past: Oak Hill Academy is the Virginia prep school where Anthony played his senior season, while Long Island Lutheran is where Anthony’s son Kiyan went to school before attending Syracuse.

St. Frances is the top-ranked team in the Baltimore Catholic League so far this season, with a 25-5 record as of Friday, and will have a game against D.C. private school St. John’s.

But some of the best local talent includes Mount St. Joe’s point guard B.J. Ranson, the son of former Terps assistant Bino Ranson. Point guard Kamauri Lawson will be returning to Baltimore for Oak Hill after transferring from St. Frances.

Anthony told The Banner last year at the Classic that he hoped to see the tournament back in the city to help local kids get exposure to high-level games.

“Baltimore — they don’t have nothing like this,” he said. “Baltimore used to be known for having a Super 50 tournament, Baltimore City Classic — like all of those kind of nostalgic things. This is what I’m trying to bring it back to.”

Game schedule (All at Morgan State University)

• Gonzaga (D.C) vs. Mount St. Joseph (Md.), 11 a.m.
• The St. James (Va.) vs. Bishop McNamara (Md.), 12:45 p.m.
• Sidwell Friends (D.C.) vs. Long Island Lutheran (N.Y.), 2:30 p.m.
• St. John’s (D.C.) vs. St. Frances Academy (Md.), 4:15 p.m.
• Oak Hill Academy (Va.) vs. Paul VI (Va.), 6:30 p.m.

Tickets are available online.