Under two young enthusiastic head coaches, both the St. Joe Fighting Irish and Greenville Christian Saints basketball teams have developed quit a cross town rivalry over the last half decade.
Logan Collins, Greenville Christians sideline general summed up the matchup on the court by saying, “whoever is predicted to win the game usually loses.”
James Hunter concurred by concluding that from just memory alone, he felt like the teams have each won about half of the games played between the two in Mississippi Class 2A Division 4 basketball.
As the action has resulted in a stalemate over the past few years, there might be a winner emerging in the contest that gets just as many spectators as the games themselves-the coaches’ fashion wars.
At a recent game home game, St. Joe administrator Craig Mandolini referred to Hunter as the school mascot because of his shamrock laden suit and shoes.
“My first year here, I ordered my outfits from a Company called Loudmouth. These were suits that the company normally sold for St. Patrick’s Day,” Hunter explained. “I started wearing the suits only for home games, but later just started wearing them more often. I have four or five different blazers and four or five different styles of pants that I wear on game nights.”
Collins’ movement towards high fashion on the sideline began around the same time. He said that he and his players were looking at different themes and occasions that shared the calendar with game dates.
“I remember one time, the team wanted me to dress to acknowledge Veteran’s Day,” Collins said. “So, I wore a white pants, a blue jacket and red shoes. I’ve also dressed in a white sports coat and camouflage pants with a bow tie for a Duck Dynasty theme and a sequin gingerbread jacket for Christmas.”
Both coaches see their annual home and home series to generate a little school spirit and have fun in the process as they often yell barbs in jest across the court during live action. Hunter conceded that on one night when Collins wore a sequin jacket that the Saints head coach took best dressed for that night. But the Fighting Irish won the game. “He might have one the game, but he will never be able to out dress me,” Collins said. “The bad part about it is that he’s married and I’m single and he has a hard time matching color. He wears two different shades of green and there is really no competition.”
The two will take to the court on Friday to face one another and there should be plenty of eyes on the players and coaches. “We’re good friends,” Hunter said. Our school are rivals, and this just adds to the games when we play them.”
