PREVIEW: Southern Bank/Mount Olive Pickle Winter Classic

By Rudy Coggins
Published in Sports on December 26, 2015 11:07 PM

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rcoggins@newsargus.com

MOUNT OLIVE -- Will Collins hasn't lost his ambition.

A highly-decorated cross country runner during his high school days, Collins always strived to find that one element -- that one minor detail -- that could push him to the next level as an athlete.

A knee injury eventually interrupted Collins' dreams.

So, he turned his focus to the ministry and helped develop the Greater Neuse Fellowship of Christian Athletes. The GNFCA branches out into the community sports programs in Wayne County and shares the influence of Christ, who should be present on every level of competition.

But Collins wanted to expand that message.

Three years ago, along with the help of Terry Jones and Brent Holland, Collins organized a basketball tournament. The two-day event included eight games -- four boys and four girls.

Collins took notes on the feedback. Last season, he invited four additional boys' teams to participate in the two-day Classic and eliminated the girls' portion of the event. The coaches liked the change.

They offered another suggestion -- make it a three-day tournament where a true team champion would be crowned. Collins immediately embraced the idea and now, here we are.

The third annual Southern Bank/Mount Olive Pickle Winter Classic begins Monday on the University of Mount Olive Campus.

Opening-day play tips off at 2:30 p.m. with unbeaten and high-scoring Goldsboro taking on Spring Creek, a third-round playoff participant this past winter. Southern Wayne faces Classic newcomer South Lenoir at 4 p.m.

The night session begins with a Rosewood-Parrott Academy matchup at 6 p.m. It's homecoming for Parrott head coach Wells Gulledge, who -- along with former teammate and current Goldsboro head coach Russell Stephens -- is enshrined in the UMO Athletics Hall of Fame.

Wayne Country Day, the 2014 Classic champ, faces Eastern Wayne in a rematch of last year's game won by the Chargers. Tip-off is approximately 7:30 p.m.

The three-day tournament continues through Wednesday.

Single-game admission is $10 and an all-day tournament pass is $20.

"(The bracket play) brings some excitement and I know the players will like it," Collins said. "When I presented it to Southern Bank and Mount Olive Pickle last year, they liked it. I'm glad to have their trust and investment in the tournament. I said it could be something big and here we are."

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While the coaches welcome the opportunity to see new competition, each seem to have the same goal -- build team chemistry and improve fundamentally as they enter play after the holiday break.

Eastern Wayne, Southern Wayne, Rosewood and Spring Creek started conference play the week before Christmas. Graduation hit the Eagles (1-6 overall) and the Gators (2-6), who combined to barely return a handful of starters from a year ago.

SC head coach Taylor Jones starts three freshmen and one sophomore, and has another sophomore among his top eight who comes off the bench.

"I feel like we have come a long ways, especially the last two weeks," said Jones, who lost nine seniors off of last year's team that claimed a share of the program's first-ever regular-season title in Carolina 1-A Conference play.

"Our guys are growing and learning how to play with toughness it takes to win at this level. This biggest thing that I would see us accomplish from this tournament is to learn how to compete for 32 minutes ... (get) prepared for the stretch run that is coming for us."

Rosewood dropped its first five games of the season, but snapped the skid with a conference-opening triumph over Hobbton. Like Taylor, veteran Eagles head coach Daniel Mitchell has seen his team show improvement and exhibit a strong work ethic.

However, RHS has yet to play four full quarters of basketball.

"We need to play more consistent on both ends of the floor for the entire 32 minutes," Mitchell said. "We feel like this tournament gives us an opportunity to play some non-conference games against some quality opponents (and) prepare us for the rest of our conference schedule when we start back the next week."

The "unknown" could be Wayne Country Day.

The Chargers (9-4) endured two key losses that have forced third-year head coach David Flowers to change his team's identity on the court. DJ Waters continues to nurse a foot injury, while Jamal King (broken left hand) isn't projected to return until February.

Those absences have depleted the Chargers' depth on the bench.

Over the last 10 days, Flowers has called upon Justin Lofton-Russell to show leadership on the court. Tony Townsend has become the team's general on the defensive end, while PJ Hill and Jamal Forde have understood the need to score the ball.

"I am happy with how we've responded missing two key starters," Flowers said. "Guys are having to play extra minutes and do more than they're used to (on the court). From this tournament, I'm just looking for us to play well and continue to improve heading into the second half of the season.

"There's no need to for us to 'prove' anything because these games don't affect our main goal, but it's always nice to win."

County and conference rivals Eastern Wayne (0-6) and Southern Wayne (1-9) are searching for their respective identities. The Warriors have shown the ability to rebound and score in transition, but have not displayed consistency in their halfcourt game.

Saints head coach Dwight Smith is slowing molding the youngest team in his career into a cohesive unit. The Saints can crash the boards and utilize their speed in half-court pressure schemes, but have trouble finishing around the basket.

Smooth-shooting Cole Atwood is the team's main perimeter threat who isn't afraid to jack up a 3-pointer from any area on the court.

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The question is, can anyone stop Goldsboro?

The Cougars (8-0) earned regular-season sweeps against the Warriors and Saints. They've scored 90 or more points in their last six outings, including three 100-point performances.

Senior point guard Myron Carmon has surpassed 1,000 points for his career. But Carmon's main weapon has been his ability to get his teammates more involved in the offense.

Goldsboro's strengths are its defense and window-cleaning (rebounding) abilities.

"I think we are playing hard right now," said Stephens, whose retired basketball jersey is displayed in Kornegay Arena.

"I want us to get better every day, continue to play hard, have good ball movement and play to win. I want our kids to really enjoy this tournament. It's good for our county having all of the local teams together."

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Collins relishes the local angle of the Classic.

Most of the players he knows through bible studies and other activities coordinated by the GNFCA. He's seen and been part of some success stories.

"The great thing about this tournament ministry-wise is you get better acquainted with the head coaches, share their enthusiasm and see them when they are the most passionate," said Collins.

"Then it's great to talk to them afterwards and meet their families."