Let’s get something straight right now. What happened at Livingstone College Thursday night between former players of North Rowan and Salisbury high schools was not an oldtimers game.
It was an alumni game.
There’s a difference, you know. An oldtimers game is for the guys with guts who shoot hook shots from the foul line. Alumni games are for ballplayers who can still do some mighty impressive things with the rock.
Want impressive?
Remember Jimmy Kesler helping North Rowan coach Bob Hundley to a 29-2 record and a state title in 1986? A total of 73 wins in his three seasons? He was there.
Remember Andre Godfrey? Tim and Andrew Mitchell?
Remember the Salisbury duo of Fred Campbell and Bryan Withers? Think about being a fan of the Hornets when they were going a combined 60-4 in two seasons. The duo of Bobby Lee (Jackson) and Bobby Joe (Phillips)? Think about being a Hornet fan in 1992 when they went 26-2.
They were all out there Thursday, battling for bragging rights, just like they did when they suited up in Cavalier green and Hornet gold.
When Salisbury’s 124-114 alumni victory was complete, the large gathering left thinking it had just watched a Hall-of-Fame game. It couldn’t have been a better way to wrap up the Bobby Jackson Basketball Camp.
“There has been a lot of trash talking this week,” laughed Andrew Mitchell, the women’s basketball coach at
Livingstone. “But we feel we’re putting the best people on the floor to represent Salisbury and North Rowan. Most of us are going from the court right back to work tomorrow and one of us is going to jump from the court right back into the pros.”
The pro, of course, is Jackson, the Sacramento King. Thursday night, though, he was just one of many of the greatest basketball players to ever grace a court in this county.
“I really don’t look at him (as a pro),” said Withers, a 1988 grad who helped lead the Hornets to great heights. “He’s Bob. He took advantage of a lot of things and we look up to him.”
“I saw him coming up when I was at Catawba,” said Godfrey, a Division II honorable mention All-American. “He was a hard-nosed kid. There was a will in him and I’m glad to see him make it. He’s a good person and a daggone good basketball player.”
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Campbell, a starter at Providence before Rick Barnes came in, said of the game, “I’m just out here to have some fun — and yeah, the rivalry is still there but we’re all buddies now.”
It was a night for guys to remember looking up to heroes. Like Phillips, a pro in Europe, who said his goal growing up was to be like James Henderson, North’s all-time leading scorer (1,654).
“I wish he could’ve been here,” Phillips said softly.
When Fred Lynn scooped home a layup, it was as if he were scoring for former coach Walt Baker. When Phillips rammed home a dunk, he slammed it for his coach, Sam Gealy.
And you wish Bobby Pharr had been in the building.
“Oh man, North and Salisbury ...” Kesler sighed afterwards.
“You couldn’t even take the ball out of bounds because there were people bumping into you,” recalled Withers of the packed gyms.
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While there may have been bigger names with bigger stats during their school days, no one was bigger on this night than Marvin Dixon.
The 6-foot-7 talent evoked memories of Marvin “The Human Eraser” Webster. To North, he evoked memories of Marvin “Bad News” Barnes. Because Dixon was definitely bad news for the former Cavaliers.
“Marvin’s been playing in a pro-am league in Charlotte so he’s got an advantage over us,” grinned Godfrey.
Once, a couple of fans even began the cheer, “Mar-vin!” Mar-vin!”
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It was hard to envision Salisbury not winning this game with a lineup of Phillips, Jackson, Dixon, Campbell and Robert Harris, a skywalker who would’ve won the “Most Dazzling” Award had it not been for Marvin.
The game got exciting midway through the third period, thanks to some lefty moves by Phillips. Salisbury led 82-59 but with three minutes left in the game, North was within 115-112. You could sense the crowd asking, “Will someone please give the ball to Marvin?”
Right on cue, layup. Thank you.
Marvin steals the ball. Two free throws. Thank you.
Marvin passes to Phillips for a slam dunk. Thank you and good night, North Rowan.
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You could tell which ones were the coaches. There were three of them, all former Cavs — Lynn (Class of ’71), Kelly Everhart (1983) and Mitchell (1984). They were the ones trying to take charges, knowing when to fake and when to pass. The 48-year-old Lynn, an assistant coach at Catawba, was the oldest player Thursday.
“We may be slow, but we’re smart,” Everhart laughed.
“We’ve still got it up here,” added Lynn, pointing to his temple.
Mitchell had even more of an advantage because it was his gym. So when he grabbed and held Jackson, there were no calls.
“One of the refs is a former player of mine and we paid the other one real well,” Mitchell joked. “I need something. I’m 36 years old.”
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Usually, the Jackson camp ends with a game between some former high school stars and a radio station. But Jackson came up with the idea of an alumni game.
“We started to go back to playing a radio station but Bobby said I was scared,” Mitchell said. “So the game was back on.”
And in the end, everything came off smooth as silk. The 65 campers watched in awe. The players relived some great memories.
And regarding that question about who has the best basketball tradition?
Who cares? They all can play. And better yet, they’re all buddies now.
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Contact Ronnie Gallagher at 704-797-4256 or rgallagher@salisburypost.com
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