Virginia High's Landon Lee shoots a 3-pointer as Tennessee High's Jack Singleton stretches out to block in a game last month.
Tim Hayes
Landon Lee has long been among the legion of youngsters to partake in a local tradition - spending five days of the holiday break from school watching prep basketball teams compete in the annual tournament at Viking Hall.
"The Classic is what you do the week after Christmas," Lee said. "Our family is huge basketball fans and it's something we go to every year. Unless we've been out of town or I've had games myself, we don't miss a session."
A 6-foot-8 sophomore for the Virginia High Bearcats will get a whole new perspective this time around since he'll be playing in the event formerly known as the Arby's Classic.
VHS is in the tournament for the first time since the inaugural edition in 1983 and the Bearcats play the opening game on Thursday at 1 p.m. against the Webb School Spartans of Knoxville, Tennessee.
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"I was extremely excited when I found out," Lee said. "It's something me and my dad [C.J.] have been talking about for months. It is cool being the Virginia High team to get this opportunity."
VHS certainly earned the shot after going 23-6, repeating as Region 2D champions and finishing as VHSL Class 2 state runner-up a season ago.
It was the third consecutive state tourney trip for the Bearcats.
Virginia High appears to have the pieces in place to make another deep postseason run with Lee emerging as a college prospect, unflappable point guard Deonta Mozell running the offense and varsity veterans Te'ron Woolen and Keshawn Smith have delivered some clutch plays.
"Yes, we realize we have high expectations coming into this season, but our goals have not changed," Virginia High coach Julius Gallishaw said. "We are going to take our season one game at a time. And we want to improve every single day. And stay hungry."
VHS is currently 3-1 with its only loss coming Saturday, a 62-61 overtime setback to Unicoi County in the Coach Ballard Lee Invite in Bristol.
"Everyone has gotten more mature as players and we are a little deeper this year," Lee said. "Adding [Eli Dickens'] athleticism and length to what we have back from last year has really helped."
Gallishaw has more experience in The Classic than his players as he was the point guard for Hillcrest High School in 1992.
The team also featuring future Hall of Famer Ray Allen and Tee Morant (the father of Memphis Grizzlies star Ja Morant) went 2-2 in Bristol and lost to Statesboro of Georgia in the fifth-place game. Hillcrest went on to win the South Carolina High School League 4A state title.
"To be honest, I remember the talent level from top to bottom and the games we lost," Gallishaw said. "We lost two games in the Arby's Classic at that time. We lost four games total for the season. So, we were kind of upset about how we played. I never thought I would be here again, now as a coach. Absolutely awesome."
VHS went 1-2 in its only other trip to the tournament when it was referred to as the Mountain Empire Classic. The Bearcats lost to eventual champion Pulaski County - and superstar Michael Porter - in the first round and ended up placing sixth.
Virginia High beat the Hampton Bulldogs from Tennessee and lost to archrival Tennessee High in the fifth-place game.
"My main memory is playing Pulaski County and Michael Porter blocked my layup into the stands," said Kevin Jessee, the point guard on that Bearcats team. "Humbling."
Having played a nationally ranked powerhouse in last season's state finals (John Marshall) and won some pressure-packed postseason games, Virginia High's players don't figure there will be a case of stage fright.
"For sure," VHS senior Keshawn Smith said. "Especially playing in the state [finals] I feel like our nerves aren't gonna get to us. ... I am really hoping that we can get better from these games and learn more."
This could be the last appearance for the Bearcats in the tournament for a while too since Virginia High will host a holiday tournament of its own beginning in 2025 that will be sponsored by Arby's.
Regardless, Gallishaw hopes his team can put on a good showing. Webb is 13-1 this season and is in The Classic for the fifth time.
"We are so excited and grateful for this opportunity to showcase our talents in front of our hometown," Gallishaw said. "We know how good Knox Webb is but we are going to play as hard as we can and let the outcome take care of itself."
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