Gary Griffin has been at Columbus High School long enough to know what it takes to put on an event like the annual Joe Horne Christmas Classic.
This year, Griffin has taken on a new level of responsibilities in his first season as the school’s boys basketball coach. Long regarded as one of the state’s premier holiday basketball tournament, Griffin has heard from plenty of people around town who are wondering if this year’s event — the 20th-annual Classic, named for the former Columbus High scorekeeper who died in 2003 — is going to be special.
Griffin is excited to announce the two-day, 16-game event featuring girls and boys games will feature some of the top teams in the state of Mississippi and in the Southeast.
“I wanted to make sure we made an adjustment to get the Classic back to where it was in previous years, which is why you will see teams like Ridgeway, out of Memphis (Tennessee) and you will see South Atlanta coming in,” Griffin said. “We also will have a good mixture of teams from the state of Mississippi, like Jackson Murrah, which is known as a powerhouse throughout the years, and Canton High School.”
The event will feature eight girls games and eight boys games. Tickets will be $8 both days. Griffin said the concession stand will be open and will feature plenty of good things to eat. He also said Columbus High merchandise will be on sale. He said there also will be a raffle for a special prize.
The Classic will kick off at 12:30 p.m. Friday, Dec. 16, with the New Hope High girls against West Lowndes. The New Hope boys will play Senatobia at 3:30 p.m. Dec. 16, followed by the Columbus girls against Raleigh Egypt High, from Memphis, Tennessee. The Starkville boys will play Murrah at 6:30 p.m. Dec. 16. The Columbus boys will wrap up the first night at 8 with a game against South Atlanta.
Action on Saturday, Dec. 17, will be in the new and old gyms. The Senatobia girls will face Raleigh Egypt at 10 a.m. in the first game of the day. Other games featuring local teams on the second day are: the Noxubee County boys vs. West Lowndes at 2:30 p.m., the Columbus girls vs. Ridgeway at 5:30 p.m., and the New Hope boys vs. Columbus at 8:30 p.m.
Griffin said it was important to keep the New Hope-Columbus boys game as the anchor game on the final evening.
“These kids are rivals, but they are also friends,” Griffin said. “They have known each for years and still play against each other in pickup basketball, so they look forward to this as well.”
The Murrah boys will take on Ridgeway at 7 p.m. Saturday, Dec. 16, in what is expected to be another marquee matchup.
Griffin, who has replaced Luther Riley as the head coach, learned a lot from former Columbus High boys basketball coach Sammy Smith in how to put a quality event together. He said Smith gave him plenty of things to do, so it wasn’t that big of a transition for him to take over scheduling and arranging all of the sponsorships and accommodations for the teams coming in from out of town.
Griffin said Columbus (4-4) is still trying to find its chemistry coming off the program’s first Mississippi High School Athletics Association (MHSAA) Class 6A State title last season. Led by junior Robert Woodard II, the only returning player with significant experience last season, Griffin said he is excited to see the Falcons mature and grow into roles after the team lost 10 seniors from the 2015-16 team. Griffin said he is looking for all players to step up, including Denijay Harris and transfers Dorian Brewer and Jaborris Frazier from Columbus Christian Academy to help bolster the starting lineup. Brewer and Frazier were part of a state championship team last season at the Mississippi Association of Independent Schools (MAIS) Class AA level.
“We are trying to get the kid to understand Robert Woodard can’t do it all by himself and that he needs help and that they are going to have to step up,” Griffin said. “It is stating to resonate with them, and they are starting to step their games up.”
Columbus will play host to Starkville in a girls/boys doubleheader at 6 and 7:30 p.m. Saturday.
Follow Dispatch sports editor Adam Minichino on Twitter @ctsportseditor
Twentieth-annual Joe Horne Christmas Classic
All games in main gym, unless noted
Friday, Dec. 16
New Hope (girls) vs. West Lowndes, 12:30 p.m.
Sipsey Valley (girls) vs. Senatobia, 2 p.m.
New Hope (boys) vs. Senatobia, 3:30 p.m.
Raleigh Egypt (girls) at Columbus, 5 p.m.
Starkville (boys) vs. Murrah, 6:30 p.m.
South Atlanta (boys) at Columbus, 8 p.m.
Saturday, Dec. 17
Senatobia (girls) vs. Raleigh Egypt, 10 a.m.
Kemper County (girls) vs. New Hope, 11 a.m. (old gym)
Canton (girls) vs. Sipsey Valley, 11:30 a.m.
Noxubee County (girls) vs. West Lowndes, 12:30 p.m. (old gym)
Canton (boys) vs. South Atlanta, 1 p.m.
Noxubee County (boys) vs. West Lowndes, 2:30 p.m.
Senatobia (boys) vs. Marion (Ark.), 4 p.m.
Ridgeway (girls) at Columbus, 5:30 p.m.
Murrah (boys) vs. Ridgeway, 7 p.m.
New Hope (boys) at Columbus, 8:30 p.m.
Adam Minichino is the former Sports Editor for The Commercial Dispatch.
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