Brian Cal led Pine Bluff High School to a 5A boys basketball state championship in 2003, but the King Cotton Holiday Classic had long been put on ice by that time.
Now an assistant under Josh Hayes at White Hall, Cal is going to experience as a coach what he missed as a player -- three days with some of the nation's best teams and players in Pine Bluff. On a cloudless Wednesday midday at the Main Street Plaza, Go Forward Pine Bluff announced the 16 teams that will compete in its fourth renewal of King Cotton in the last five years. The original Classic was founded in 1982 and held through 1999.
"It almost feels like an AAU atmosphere," Cal said. "It's a whole lot of talent, loaded teams, talented players. You could see Division I players who could possibly go to the NBA. So, it's a big thing for us to have an opportunity to play in it and coach in it as well."
But first, it begins with helping Pine Bluff's 5A-South Conference arch rival continue to make an upward climb in its program. The Bulldogs won eight games last season, a three-game improvement from 2020-2021.
"I've been trying to get Brian Cal on my staff since I got this job," said Hayes, going into his third season with the Bulldogs. "For him to want to be a part of this and see the vision that I saw -- and of course he went to 'The High' and won a state championship, and his grassroots program is one of the best -- he just adds another dimension to what we need. Experience, high-level coaching and a guy who knows the game."
Pine Bluff, which reached the 5A semifinals last March, will be the host team again, while White Hall makes just its second King Cotton appearance. Two other traditional Arkansas powers, Mills University Studies and Jonesboro, will join the party, set for Dec. 27-29 at the Pine Bluff Convention Center.
"Every year, it's a challenge," tournament director Samuel Glover said. "When you get to this echelon of tournament play in the country, you are competing for the top teams and top players in the country.
Everybody wants everybody. Of course, they're hand-selected, and we go out and use our networking and things we need to connect and get these people to come out here."
White Hall went 0-3 at King Cotton last year, but Hayes said the Bulldogs learned a lot about playing this level of competition.
"Honestly, what we learned is, although there is some of the best talent around, it came down to basic fundamentals, which was toughness. The better teams displayed that in the winning moments. If we can learn anything, it's to apply that to what we're doing."
While this year's matchups won't be revealed until December, last year's setup included two eight-team brackets. Magnolia stunned 5A power Little Rock Parkview in one championship game on its way to an unbeaten record and 4A championship, while 6A titleholder North Little Rock knocked off Beaumont (Texas) United in the other.
Glover said his alma mater Pine Bluff (21-7 last season) could get a rematch of last season's 5A semifinal loss to eventual champ Jonesboro in one of the bracket finals.
"All teams from Arkansas will be on opposite ends of the bracket," Glover said, explaining a normal practice of the tournament to keep usual rivals from squaring off in the early rounds.
"This will be the first time we've given the matchups before the tournament. That adds to the elevation of the play because when you don't know who you're playing until the week before, it is what it is.
You have to bring your best coaching out. This year, we decided we'll give them a little preview before things happen."
Pine Bluff is awaiting junior guard Courtney Crutchfield and senior center Jordon Harris' return from football, but seventh-year Coach Billy Dixon is also touting the emergence of another guard in junior Braylen Hall, who he said has shown tremendous growth in summer games. One of Hall's teammates suggested to Dixon that he attend Wednesday's news conference.
"When one of your teammates says you should get to be a part of this conference, that's saying something," Dixon said.
Magnolia held off Mills in last year's 4A semifinal, but getting to play in King Cotton could pay off in the long run for Pulaski County's Comets.
United went on to win its second straight Texas 5A championship. The Timberwolves will bring back shooting guard Wesley Yates, a 6-foot-4 senior ranked the No. 2 shooting guard in the nation by 247Sports.com.
Yates is committed to the University of Washington.
United will bring along a southeast Texas rival in Silsbee, which went 32-7 last season and boasts 6-2 junior guard Jared Harris, who has fielded offers from Southeastern Conference foes Auburn and Louisiana State universities, as well as the University of Houston, Texas Christian and Kansas State universities.
The 2022 King Cotton will have a New York touch with Brooklyn's South Shore High, a three-time Public School Athletic League AA champion, and Washington, D.C.-area teams Bishop O'Connell (Arlington, Va.) and Sidwell Friends, the 13th-ranked team nationally according to MaxPreps.
Tickets will be sold starting Nov. 1 at KingCottonClassic.org.
2022 KING COTTON HOLIDAY CLASSIC TEAMS
• Beaumont (Texas) United High: Timberwolves are 2021 King Bracket runners-up; two-time 5A state champions; led by Wesley Yates, a 6-4 senior and No. 2-ranked shooting guard in nation
• Bishop O'Connell High, Arlington, Va.: Knights Coach Joe Wootten is son of hall-of-fame coach Morgan Wootten, the architect of DeMatha Catholic dynasty; led by Adam Oumiddoch, 6-5 freshman guard offered by University of Illinois
• Elkins High, Missouri City, Texas: Knights' Albert Thomas was National Association of Basketball Coaches Coach of the Year in 2018; 6-7 sophomore guard Dorian Hayes is son of 11-year NBA veteran Chuck Hayes
• Greenforest-McCalep Christian Academic Center, Decatur, Ga.: Atlanta-area Eagles won state championship to end season on 24-game winning streak; led by two 7-foot seniors, D.K. Manyiel (committed to Georgia State University) and Gai Chol (committed to Mississippi State University)
• Grissom High, Huntsville, Ala.: Tigers ranked No. 3 in class 3A; coach Jack Doss has won 10 state titles, most in Alabama history; 6-3 senior combo guard R.J. Johnson is committed to University of Alabama
• Jonesboro High: Golden Hurricane won 2022 5A state title; 6-8 senior wing Isaac Harrell is committed to Elon University
• McEachern High, Powder Springs, Ga.: Indians from Atlanta area are playing four teams ranked in the nation's public-school top 10 this season; led by 6-0 shooting guard Rhys Cotton
• Mills University Studies High, Little Rock: Comets went 22-8 and made 4A state semifinals; led by Jaylon Ento, Zaylin Rowland and Dylan Parks
• Newton High, Covington, Ga.: Rams went unbeaten in conference play; 6-7 senior guard Stephen Castle is No. 20 in 247Sports' Composite Rankings and committed to University of Connecticut
• Pine Bluff High: Zebras went 21-7, successfully defended 5A-South Conference title and made 5A state semifinals; led by 6-3 junior guard Courtney Crutchfield
• Sidwell Friends School, Washington, D.C.: Quakers Coach Eric Singletary is the 2021-2022 Winter All-Met Coach of the Year by The Washington Post and D.C. State Athletic Association AA Coach of the Year; team ranked No. 13 nationally by Post; 6-7 junior Caleb Williams is among nine returning players from 29-2 team
• Silsbee (Texas) High: Tigers went 32-7 overall and unbeaten in district play last season; 6-2 junior uguard Jared Harris offered by University of Houston, 2 Southeastern Conference and 2 Big 12 Conference programs
• St. John Bosco High, Bellflower, Calif.: Braves went 22-10 last season; 6-3 sophomore combo guard Elzie Harrington is ranked in top 10 of ESPN class of 2025 rankings; 6-4 junior guard Jack Turner offered by University of Nevada
• South Shore High, Brooklyn, N.Y.: Vikings are three-time Public School Athletic League AA champions; led by 6-5 senior wing Kyorne Alexander
• White Hall High: Bulldogs improved by three victories to 8-18 last season; 6-6 sophomore guard Jai'chaunn Hayes is ninth-ranked player in Arkansas
• Windermere (Fla.) High: Wolverines are ranked No. 4 in Florida's 7A District 5; town is recovering from effects of Hurricane Ian
A Pine Bluff High School cheerleader hoists a logo of Jonesboro High School, which will participate in the King Cotton Holiday Classic. Jonesboro defeated Pine Bluff in last season's 5A state semifinals (Pine Bluff Commercial/I.C. Murrell)
White Hall High School cheerleaders perform a routine to start Wednesday's King Cotton Holiday Classic news conference revealing the 16-team field. (Pine Bluff Commercial/I.C. Murrell)