Last year’s King Cotton Holiday Classic runners-up are back looking for redemption as the 2024 tournament tips off Friday at the Pine Bluff Convention Center.
Following a Thursday afternoon practice in Pine Bluff, Westminster Academy in Fort Lauderdale, Fla., coach Ehren Wallhoff said the Lions are looking to leave as champions this year.
“King Cotton does a great job of celebrating their champions, and the environment is great,” Wallhoff said. “The competition is great, so for us, we’re excited for the challenge. That’s what we’re looking for.”
This year’s tournament begins at noon Friday with a matchup between Little Rock Hall and Germantown in Gluckstadt, Miss. Westminster’s opening game will be against Springdale at 9 p.m.
The Lions fell 76-72 to Gonzaga College High School in Washington, D.C., in the 2023 King Cotton championship game after opening the tournament with a 58-43 win against Little Rock Christian and a 62-49 win against Little Rock Central.
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Alex Lloyd, now a senior, was named second team all-tournament last year. He said he enjoyed the experience and is happy to be back.
“It’s a very great environment,” Lloyd said. “Very different for us, coming from Florida. Different weather. This tournament is set up well, and I feel like this year, I’m expecting to win the championship, nothing less. I expect no less from our team, as well.”
Springdale has played several out-of-state opponents already and is 6-1 in such games. The Bulldogs started the season 5-0 but have lost two of their past three games entering King Cotton, a 50-49 loss to fellow tournament participant Benton and a 50-46 loss to Marion.
Wallhoff said Springdale is like some other teams Westminster has already played.
“We’ve been playing some of the best teams in the country,” Wallhoff said. “Just finished playing No. 7 La Lumiere in La Porte, Ind. I think Sunrise in Wichita, Kan., was eighth in the country. Our first five opponents have been all top 25. Springdale’s the same. They got the kid going to Arkansas (Isaiah Sealy), really good player. We’re excited about the matchup, and I think it’s gonna be a great game.”
The winner of that matchup will face the winner between host Pine Bluff and Bellaire in Texas on Saturday at 7:30 p.m.
Those games are part of the championship bracket, which also includes first round matchups between Bryant and Waxahachie in Texas, and between Benton and Bishop Ireton in Alexandria, Va. The championship game is scheduled for 7 p.m. Monday.
Westminster is the only out-of-state team returning to King Cotton from last season. Walhoff said one of the reasons he likes bringing his players to Pine Bluff is to show them something different from south Florida.
“South Florida is a lot of tourists,” Wallhoff said. “Here, you can tell it’s a local community that works hard, and it’s exciting and fun to come. Last year, we came out to the game, and I think some of the games had 4 or 5,000 people at them, so for us, that’s a fun environment to be involved in.
“Just to see different aspects from being on the south Florida tourist spot to being in the middle of the country and just seeing how everything is different, it’s great for all of us to kind of experience, because again, there are so many great things we see here,” he said.