RED SPRINGS — For many years, Red Springs boys basketball coach Glenn Patterson has taken his teams to participate in showcase tournaments on Martin Luther King Jr. Day. But he’s always wanted to bring such an event to Robeson County.
Monday, for the first time, Patterson and Red Springs will host their own MLK Classic.
“We traveled to other people’s tournaments and supported them, and I wanted to be at home and have something here,” Patterson said. “I know they’re doing it all over the state — I’ve had three or four different invitations to participate in other people’s tournaments. We want to give homage to Dr. King for what he’s done for all of us, and we definitely want to honor him and his legacy, so this was an opportunity to do something and also give people something to do on Dr. King’s day.”
Four boys teams and four girls teams will come to Red Springs for games on the holiday, giving fans basketball throughout the day.
The Red Springs and Southern Lee girls will play at 12 p.m. The Southern Lee boys face Scotland at 2 p.m., the St. Pauls girls play Scotland at 4 p.m., and the Red Springs boys will host Richmond in the nightcap at 6 p.m.
Patterson says that he’s never been able to make the event a reality because his team’s schedule was fully booked, but when South Robeson closed last summer it gave him the opportunity to make the MLK Classic happen, the first such event ever in Robeson County.
“I’m hoping that we can get it to grow bigger, but for the first year we wanted to do something smaller, four games, and give the fans something — I think the competition is going to be really great,” Patterson said.
The St. Pauls girls team was the first visiting program to commit to the event.
“The Pattersons are like a second family to me since I’ve been in North Carolina,” St. Pauls coach Mike Moses said. “So that was a no-brainer because it’s their event. And then Dr. Martin Luther King, his legacy speaks for itself. Having this type of event in Robeson County, especially where African-Americans are the minority, it’s a no-brainer for me.
“I was asked to come to 4 or 5 MLK events, and when Glenn asked it was a no-brainer. I didn’t care who we played, I just wanted to be a part of it, because of them and what it stands for in this county.”
After the Bulldogs committed, Patterson asked around and quickly got commitments from the Richmond, Southern Lee and Scotland boys programs before the girls teams from Southern Lee and Scotland also committed to complete the four-game slate.
The Red Springs boys enters the event struggling, with four straight Three Rivers Conference losses entering Friday’s play, and will be hosting one of the top teams in the Sandhills Athletic Conference when they face the Raiders.
“We played them this summer, they beat us by nine,” Patterson said. “Richmond is a good team — we’ve got to play, our work is cut out for us. They’ve got length, they’ve got athletes; it’s going to be a tough matchup for us. We’re hoping we can find ourselves before Monday.”
St. Pauls’ matchup with Scotland highlights the girls portion of the event. The Scots are coached by former St. Pauls coach Mallarie Snow.
“Coach Snow coached at St. Pauls two years before I got here, so she knows the community well and I’m sure that’s why she also got involved in it,” Moses said. “Normally her teams are pretty physical, and she normally has a pretty good team, and she’s trying to build her program as well.”
Patterson has spent past Martin Luther King Jr. Days in Union County, Sampson County or Wilmington. But now he’s glad to be at home in Red Springs, honoring King through the game of basketball.
“I think it’s going to be a great tournament,” he said.