When Go Forward Pine Bluff held a ceremony in October to reveal the teams that would be competing in this year's King Cotton Holiday Classic, tournament organizer Sam Glover was so overcome with excitement that he found himself grinning from ear to ear for several moments before ever uttering a word after stepping to the podium to address those in attendance at the city's Main Street Plaza.
His exhilaration for the high school basketball showcase -- one that was cancelled last year because of health and safety concerns surrounding covid-19 -- would've been evident even if he hadn't said anything.
The same could've been said for both Magnolia Coach Ben Lindsey and White Hall Coach Josh Hayes, who were among the handful of coaches present at that news conference and were literally flashing those same grins Glover sported throughout that event.
Two months later, the two are just as thrilled now as they were on that morning in downtown Pine Bluff.
"I tell you what, I'm still happy about it," Lindsey said. "I kind of look at it from two ways. One, it's neat for Magnolia, a town of 11,000 people. We're not a suburb of an anywhere, we're our own little standalone community. And being able to play in the King Cotton, that's great for all of us.
"And as far as our actual team, it's even better. I'm sure physically, we're probably the smallest team in it by far. But that's great. The more size, height and athleticism we see, the better."
Lindsey will see all of that and more when the tournament gets underway Monday at the Pine Bluff Convention Center.
The King Cotton had been banished for almost two decades before Glover and the Go Forward Pine Bluff organization worked to resurrect the event in 2018. The tournament experienced a successful run for two years until a global pandemic caused it to be shut down in 2020. Organizers, though, vowed to make the 2021 edition bigger and better than the previous two.
Aside from having the boys' field expanded from 12 teams to 16 teams while using a two-bracket format, there will also be a girls' division for the first time in more than 25 years. That alone suggests the tournament could reach heights it hadn't seen since its heyday from 1983-1999.
Still, the high-level talent and competition has always been a staple of the event, and this year is no different.
Class 6A No. 1 North Little Rock, with Division I signees Nick Smith (University of Arkansas) and Kel'el Ware (Oregon), highlight a stacked lineup of teams. Little Rock Parkview, ranked No. 2 in Class 5A and one of only two programs from Arkansas to win the tournament, is back, and perennial out-of-state powers such as Cardinal (Mo.) Ritter Prep, Raymond (Miss.), Beaumont (Texas) United and Cane Ridge (Tenn.) are included.
But for first timers like Magnolia and White Hall, the King Cotton offers a chance for both to see how they measure up, at least after their initial wide-eyedness wear offs.
"We can't help but be excited," Hayes explained. "This is the first time White Hall has been in the King Cotton in school history so that's a big deal for us. We want to have a good showing, but to just be invited to play in it, that's big. These kids don't know how big of a tournament this used to be.
"It can possibly get back to that level if they continue to get good teams here and produce good games like they have been."
Production for White Hall has been up in Hayes' second season. A year after going 5-19, the Bulldogs (5-2) have held their own early. Their two losses have come against bigger schools (Little Rock Central and Fort Smith Northside), but White Hall had impressive stretches in both games. With an improved roster that includes standout freshman guard Jai'chaunn Hayes, the Bulldogs are expected to make a run in Class 5A, and Josh Hayes believes playing in an event of this caliber will only make them stronger.
"I think we're headed in the right direction," he said. "There's plenty of more work to do, of course, but I like where we are. Defense is something that we've been keying in on a lot, but the offensive side is our strongest asset right now. The crazy part about that is that's an area where we struggled last year.
"Last year, I had guys that didn't really play year-round, didn't have a lot of experience. We've got six new guys now, and that right there has changed the complexity of everything. Practices are competitive now, and they're bringing it every day. Shoot, we went bowling as a team, and even that got competitive."
Competition is precisely what Lindsey is expecting when his Panthers link up with Cardinal Ritter in their opener. Just don't expect Magnolia (6-0) to be intimidated.
The Panthers, led by University of Arkansas signee Derrian Ford and ranked No. 2 in Class 4A, have won 60 of their last 61 games, many of which were against larger programs. They already own victories over three teams in Class 5A (El Dorado, Lake Hamilton and Texarkana) this season.
"We're figuring out who we are, what we can do and what we can't do," Lindsey said. "The effort has been terrific, though. I feel like for our size, we guard you pretty well with our effort. That can take you a long way.
"The guys know who they are, and what their identities are for the most part. I've been really pleased with them so far."
The biggest impediment that Magnolia has dealt with has been its size, or a lack thereof. Forward Devonta Walker is the Panthers' tallest player, and when he's not on the floor, that puts them at a disadvantage inside. Having Ford does help alleviate a huge chunk of that, but Lindsey knows teams will try to attack them in the paint during the King Cotton.
However, he's not necessarily looking at that as a bad thing.
"Even if we go over there and don't win a game, go 0-3, we will come away with a better understanding of what we can and cannot do," he said. "We'll know what we'll have to work on to play against people with that kind of size. Whether it's against [fellow 4A-8 Conference foe] Watson Chapel or people in the state tournament, if we make it that far, we'll play against teams with size.
"We can't duplicate that during practice, but we'll at least have seen it repeatedly."
Those kinds of ordeals and the lessons teams learn from them are what helps make tournaments like the King Cotton so enticing.
"It's going to be great man," Hayes said. "We know we're going to be up against some really stiff competition, really good players. But we're definitely going to give it our best shot, and hopefully, we're playing well in doing so."