SALISBURY — The Dale’s Sporting Goods Sam Moir Christmas Basketball Classic starts Wednesday at Catawba’s Goodman Gym.
That name is a mouthful, incorporating both the the most generous tournament sponsor and the living legend for whom Catawba’s court is named.
The teenagers playing in this tournament may not have a clue who Sam Moir is, but it’s something they all should know.
Moir coached Catawba’s men’s team for quite a spell and for 546 victories. Dwight Eisenhower was still in charge of the country when Moir arrived at Catawba. Bill Clinton was the commander-in-chief when he stepped down. There were seven presidents in between Mr. Eisenhower and Mr. Clinton.
Moir is in lots of halls of fame for a reason. That’s national and state halls as well as the local one.
Most people refer to this event simply as the “Moir” or the “Christmas tournament,” but everyone knows what it is and where it is played. If you want to refer to it as the Dale’s Sporting Goods Sam Moir Christmas Basketball Classic, well, that’s certainly fine, too.
The roster of teams has been altered occasionally over the years. Mooresville was added recently as an eighth team, and that’s worked out pretty well. Mooresville is only about 30 minutes from Catawba, and the school has competitive teams and good people. Eight is the optimum number of teams for a basketball tournament. When you’ve got eight, no one gets a bye and no one gets a huge rest advantage, plus no one has to exit the tournament early. Everyone gets to play three times.
It’s still the most anticipated sporting event of the year in Rowan County, and that’s been the case for a long time. The only thing that could be compared to it locally is an American Legion state tournament at Newman Park.
They’ll play basketball all day for three days (Wednesday through Friday), eight games per day, with girls and boys alternating. They’ll start at 9 a.m. Yes, 9 a.m.
If all goes smoothly, they’ll finish around 9 p.m. That should be enough buckets for even the the most devoted hoops junkie.
Championship games will be played on Friday at 6 p.m. and 8 p.m., and this is a year when there’s no consensus of opinion as to whom will be playing in those games. It looks pretty wide open and many teams are optimistic, especially in the boys bracket. No one is undefeated — girls or boys.
Strange things have happened in the Moir tournament. Not so long ago, 2014 to be exact, the No. 5, No. 6, No. 7 and No. 8 boys seeds all won on the first day. East’s boys didn’t win the title, but they reached the championship game as a No. 7 seed.
A savvy adult can purchase a tournament pass for the whole thing — that’s 24 games — for the bargain price of $20. That’s roughly 84 cents per game. That’s a far more enticing deal than paying $26 for an upper deck seat to watch the Charlotte Hornets with binoculars and pumping the gas and battling the traffic to get there.
This tournament is older than most of the relatively young men and women who will be coaching in it. This will be the 45th for the boys. It’s the 41st holiday event for the girls, counting two in the 1990s that were played at Thanksgiving.
North Rowan’s squads are the defending champs for both genders, although things can change quickly in high school sports. North’s girls are winless and seeded eighth this year.
Both of Salisbury’s teams are No. 1 seeds, so maybe the Hornets are ready to get back to owning this event. From 2007-2010, it was unofficially the Salisbury Invitational. The Hornets posted four straight sweeps, with Darien Rankin and Shi-Heria Shipp taking home three MVP awards each.
Carson, which opened in 2006, has never had a champion crowned in this event — boys or girls. That could change. Both Carson teams are seeded second.

Boys
No. 1 Salisbury (5-2)
Championships: 14
Runner-up: 6
All-time Moir record: 57-50
Coach: Bryan Withers (2nd year, 23-7)
Top players: Big guy Tre Oats (15.9 points per game) has been producing double-doubles. Will Leckonby (12.7 ppg.) is one of the county’s best shooters. Guard Trell Baker (11.9 ppg.) distributes the ball and is one of the county’s quickest players.
Outlook: They’re obviously good — both losses were to talented 4A Greensboro Smith — but it’s been hard to gauge exactly how good. Their schedule has been challenging, but the only county team they’ve played is South Rowan, and that one didn’t reveal much. The Hornets prefer a furious pace and are averaging 75 points per game.

No. 2 Carson (7-3)
Championships: 0
Runner-up: 1
All-time Moir record: 13-15
Coach: Brian Perry (11th season, 121-147)
Top players: Start with leading scorer Jamarius Hairston (18.5 ppg.) and penetrating guard Jailen Williams (12.2 ppg.), but three other guys — Owen White, Brenden Westbrook and Cameron Prugh — have all scored 20 in a varsity game.
Outlook: The Cougars fire 3-pointers and will be tough to beat if they’re hot. Even if they don’t shoot well, they’re good enough at other things to have a chance. Weaknesses? They don’t have a traditional big man and they’re not deep.

No. 3 Davie County (5-3)
Championships: 5
Runner-up: 4
All-time Moir record: 43-46
Coach: Mike Absher (15th season, 3 Moir titles)
Top players: Cooper Wall is a great athlete. Owen McCormack is a tall youngster who can shoot. Heath Slabach, a guard who can really shoot, had a 39-point game last season. Cory Heiner, Dylan Shoffner and Michael Walton have had their moments in the early going.
Outlook: Davie was 5-0, then dropped three straight when Central Piedmont Conference action started. Still, Davie figures to have a chance against anyone in this tournament. The only Rowan team Davie has faced was West Rowan. Davie won it, but both teams were well below full strength without their football players.

No. 4 West Rowan (5-3)
Championships: 11
Runner-up: 5
All-time Moir record: 59-45
Coach: Mike Gurley (20th season at West, 378-159)
Top players: Junior Caleb Mauldin is closing in on 1,000 points. He has 989 and should wind up as one of West’s all-time scoring leaders. Guard Darius Kure missed West’s last pre-Christmas game with illness and a West team that hadn’t scored fewer than 62 points, scored 38 without him. Austin Love is a team guy and one of the county’s best rebounders. Kortez Weeks and Paris Hillie got last starts due to football, but they’re great athletes and potential difference-makers.
Outlook: West smashed Carson and has split two with North Rowan, so the Falcons have to be considered contenders.

No. 5 North Rowan (4-4)
Championships: 9
Runner-up: 6
All-time Moir record: 58-49
Coach: Andrew Mitchell (7th season at North, 143-32)
Top players: Besides being a deadly shooter, Henderson Lentz has a solid all-round game. He and fellow senior Joe Scott will lead the defending champs. Brevin Goodlett is counted on to rebound.
Outlook: Three of North’s losses were to 4A teams, so don’t count out the Cavaliers. North split with West, and they’ll tangle for the third time in the feature game of the first day.

No. 6 Mooresville (4-5)
Championships: 0
Runner-up: 1
All-time Moir record: 4-2
Coach: Michael Micklow
Top players: Noah Allen (14.4 ppg.), Seth Welch (11.9 ppg.) and 6-foot-5 Jay Davis (10.9 ppg.) are scoring in double figures. Welch tossed in 28 in a win against A.L. Brown. Allen scored 29 against North Rowan, while Davis had 24 against East Gaston.
Tay Davis, a former East Rowan, guard averages 9.5 ppg. for the Blue Devils.
Outlook: Mooresville has only played one Rowan team and lost early to North. The Blue Devils had their football players for that one, but they were just coming off the field. This is an athletic team that has played very well in the tournament the past two seasons.

No. 7 East Rowan (1-9)
Championships: 2
Runner-up: 8
All-time Moir record: 41-64
Coach: Kurt Misenheimer (2nd year, 7-27)
Top players: Sophomore big man Elton Hooper bears watching. He’s posted double-doubles. Lucas Morton is a feisty point guard with some skills. Paiton File is a tall 3-point threat.
Outlook: Despite its record, East has been toughened up by playing eight South Piedmont Conference games and could upset someone in the tournament.

No. 8 South Rowan (0-10)
Championships: 1
Runner-up: 10
All-time Moir record: 46-64
Coach: Andre McCain (2nd year, 0-34)
Top players: Bailey Graham (12.9 ppg.) can score, Dillon Kluttz is a competitive point guard, and several frontcourt players have potential.
Outlook: It won’t be easy for the Raiders to halt a 34-game skid in this tournament, but South nearly beat East in a consolation game last season, losing 62-59.

Girls
No. 1 Salisbury (6-1)
Championships: 10
Runner-up: 2
All-time Moir record: 43-52
Coach: Lakai Brice (4th year, 32-49)
Top players: Sophomore Bryanna Troutman and senior Tyzarea Alexander are the leading scorers, and they get a lot of help from junior Maria Capito and freshman Anayia
Outlook: They’re fast and they’re good. The only county team the Hornets have played is South. That one was tight for three quarters, but the Hornets dominated the fourth quarter at home. The only loss was to a strong Wesleyan Christian Academy team. Salisbury has won six straight since that setback.

No. 2 Carson (9-2)
Championships: 0
Runner-up: 3
All-time Moir record: 9-16
Coach: Brooke Misenheimer (11th season, 127-142)
Top players: Sophomore McKenzie Gadson averages 14.1 points and 7.9 rebounds. Junior point guard Olivia Gabriel averages 14.3 points and 5.2 assists.
Outlook: Carson has two exceptional players, but the Cougars are going to need at least three scorers to keep pace with the Hornets — if that’s the championship-game matchup. The Cougars have some candidates. Destiny Jackson, Anne Marie Turney and Kailie Ketchie are capable of a big game.

No. 3 West Rowan (6-2)
Championships: 4
Runner-up: 6
All-time Moir record: 51-50
Coach: Ashley Poole (4th season, 50-37)
Top players: Junior Egypt Alexander (16.3 ppg.) is a left-handed scoring machine. Sophomore guard Alison Sobataka (11.4 ppg.) has been in double figures her last four games. Abigail Wilson (12.0 ppg.) is an outstanding freshman and hits the boards.
Outlook: West is a 6-2 team with a loss by 50-plus points. That’s highly unusual.
West’s pre-Christmas record has benefited from a soft schedule, but the Falcons only lost to Carson, 62-58, so they can’t be counted out.

No. 4 Mooresville (6-3)
Championships: 0
Runner-up: 0
All-time Moir record: 2-4
Coach: Andy Sparks
Top players: Juniors Taylor Cullen (10.1 ppg.) and Logan Good (9.2 ppg.) are the leading scorers.
Outlook: This will be the best team Mooresville’s girls have brought to the tournament. There are some athletic freshmen on this team who represented Rowan County on the Junior League softball team (14-under) that qualified for the World Series.

No. 5 South Rowan (5-5)
Championships: 4
Runner-up: 5
All-time Moir record: 36-57
Coach: John Davis (2nd season with the South girls, 12-22)
Top players: Janiya Downs (18.0 ppg.) leads the team in rebounding, blocked shots and assists as well as scoring. Quick Tazah “Z” Hardin and shooter Riley Corriher lead the supporting cast.
Outlook: South is a dangerous team, way ahead of where it was at this point last season. The Raiders were 0-3 in last year’s tournament and will be looking to do a lot better.

No. 6 East Rowan (3-7)
Championships: 8
Runner-up: 13
All-time Moir record: 75-35
Coach: Kevin Holland (1st year)
Top players: Usually it’s freshman guard Adalie Harrison or senior post player Courtney Wagner.
Outlook: East has taken lopsided losses against good SPC teams and has scored under 20 points twice. Still, the Mustangs, who lost all five starters from last year, have managed to win three games.

No. 7 Davie County (1-7)
Championships: 6
Runner-up: 4
All-time Moir record: 55-42
Coach: Kevin Revels (1st season)
Top players: Emma Slabach played really well in last season’s tournament.
Outlook: Davie won twice in the tournament last season, but it’s in a rebuilding mode and has faced tough CPC opposition. Davie’s lone win was a one-point decision against A.L. Brown.

No. 8 North Rowan (0-7)
Championships: 5
Runner-up: 6
All-time Moir record: 41-56
Coach: Ron Bost (1st season)
Top players: Brianna White is an athletic inside player. If she’s healthy for this tournament, Aundrea Godfrey (knee) will give the Cavaliers a big boost. She was a big part of last season’s Moir title.
Outlook: A combination of a demanding schedule and inexperience have made things tough for the Cavaliers. North has scored more than 30 points only twice.