State sports briefs

HIGH SCHOOL BASKETBALL

All-Metro Classic set for today

The 19th annual All-Metro Basketball Classic will be held today at Pulaski Academy. The games feature the top senior basketball players from schools in Pulaski County. The girls game will tip off at 6 p.m. The boys game will start about 7:45 p.m.

Huntsville’s Stafford retires

Jim Stafford, one of the state’s most successful high school basketball coaches, is retiring. Stafford, who won more that 1,000 games over a 51-year coaching career, announced Monday that he is retiring as Huntsville’s boys basketball coach. Stafford began his coaching career in the late 1960s at Wonderview. He later made coaching stops in Palestine, Flippin, Morrilton, Lead Hill and Gentry before landing in Huntsville. Stafford, 72, posted a 528-228 record as the Eagles’ coach, winning a state championship in 2007 and four state runner-up teams. He leaves with 1,098 career victories, which rank fifth alltime in the state, according to the Arkansas Activities Association record book.