A memorable basketball senior class gets a proper sendoff tonight while nodding toward a former icon in the athletic community.
Tonight will be the third Rowan Senior All-Star basketball game at North Rowan with one significant change. This is the Ronnie Gallagher Memorial Senior All-Star Game, with the name change a decision made by event coordinator and North Rowan boys basketball coach Andrew Mitchell.
Scheduled for to take place at North Rowan again, the event will tip at 6 p.m. with the girls game. The boys contest will follow around 7:30.
Tickets will be $5 with proceeds going to the family of Gallagher, the former Post sports editor who passed away suddenly last August.
“[Ronnie] was always good to all of us,” said Mitchell. “He had a love for all of the athletes in the county.”
There have been Rowan Senior All-Star doubleheaders for the past two seasons and both have been well-received with most of the county’s senior players participating. This year looks to be no exception.
With the collection of talent on the floor, there shouldn’t be any shortage of excitement.
In the boys game, the black team will be led by County Player of the Year Michael Connor of North Rowan. Other county Donte Means (East Rowan), Daisean Reddick (West Rowan), Shawn Spry (South Rowan), Kenyon Tatum (North), Najee Tucker (West), Tre Williams (Carson)
Orange teamers include Seth Martin (West) , Devin Parks (West), Aaron Lipscomb (Winston-Salem Prep), Mike Hughes (WSP), Michael Bowman (North), Josh Moses (East Rowan), Alex Billingsley (North), Dalton Nelson (North) and T’Vadis Graham-Wesley (South Rowan).
The girls game includes Carson’s Kate Cole and Meagan Gray, East’s Karleigh Wike, North’s Nycieko Dixon, Salisbury’s Nyasia Harris and Monifa Angle and West’s Quanice Miller and Berkley Alessandrini.
Carson big man Colton Laws will be wrapped up in the Cougars’ baseball tilt in the South Piedmont Conference championship.
North’s Brielle Blaire, a Virginia Tech signee, will try to play after tearing her ACL in January.
All players competing will autograph a ball for the Gallagher family to keep. It’ll carry the format of a regular prep game with 8-minute quarters. Mitchell says North senior Kasaun Coney will entertain with music and the North dance team will perform at one of the halftimes.
“All the kids are excited,” Mitchell said. “It’s one last chance to play without a lot of coaches screaming at them.”
Salisbury grad Shayla Fields, the leading scorer in county history, is back to leading the girls’ alumni team. Fields is joined by Christy Brooks, Tameka Smith, Lamika Davis, Shonice Pettaway, Jasmine Murray, Kelcyn Manners and Clintoria Bryant. Bryant, Manners and Davis are all Livingstone players. Brooks played at Winston-Salem State.