Ex-coach honored at Showcase
While the holiday high school basketball tournament season is in full swing, there’s one particular event set to take place that’s especially significant to many around Central Arkansas.
The Charles Ripley Showcase begins today with a three-game slate at Little Rock Southwest’s Gryphon Arena. The event, now in its third year, is held in honor of the long-time high school and college coach who died in June 2020 at the age of 74.
“It’s always special when you’re able to pay homage to Charles Ripley and everything he did for all the kids, especially around Central Arkansas,” Little Rock School District Athletic Director John Daniels said. “There’s no telling how many parents or grandparents went through his system and have been a part of who he was and what he generated his whole life. He gave his entire life to boys basketball, and that’s a big thing for us.
“We want to make sure that we keep his name alive, and everybody in Central Arkansas understands it. Basketball in this area would not be the same if it was not for him.”
Ripley was a part of the district for nearly three decades and piloted Little Rock Parkview’s boys to 10 conference titles and five state championships during his more than 20 years as the team’s head coach. He would later coach at the collegiate level at Westark Community College, which is now the University of Arkansas at Fort Smith, and at Arkansas Baptist.
There event will last through Saturday, but there are a few changes to the format. The previous two showcases were played as a tournament, but that won’t be the case this year. Also, nine programs will participate instead of eight.
“We had some teams that wanted to come in and play, but their schedule was basically full, and they didn’t have room to play a full tournament,” Daniels said. “For example, we wanted Little Rock Christian to come in because of the talent level they’ve got. We wanted Maumelle to come in because of the talent level they’ve got on their team, too. So we decided to make a small change, but the thing is, we’re not going to be tied to this.
“We may go back to a
tournament [format] next year, and then a showcase or classic the following year. We want to get the most fans that we can in the seats, and we feel like that’ll definitely happen this year, considering all the teams and the matchups that we have.”
Bryant and Maumelle will open things at 4:30 p.m., followed by Southwest and Mills at 6 p.m. Parkview and defending Class 5A champion Pine Bluff will end the first day at 7:30 p.m. Four games will be played on each of the final two days, with marquee littering each. Little Rock Christian, the reigning Class 4A champion, and Little Rock Central will cap the event at 6:30 p.m. on Saturday.