A new craze popped up among Mississippi’s high school basketball teams this offseason. Call it “The Schedule Shuffle.”

A new Mississippi High School Activities Association rule went into effect in May limiting the number of games teams can play. But because most schools had already made their basketball schedules when the rule was passed, they had to drop several games to get under the limit. That set off a game of chicken, as teams waited to see who dropped them before they dropped any games.

“It’s been an unbelievable headache. All the coaches in the state that I’ve talked to felt like it wouldn’t be a problem if we knew in March,” Warren Central girls coach Donny Fuller said. “They were all scared that if they dropped team A, B and C, and then team D, E and F dropped them, then they’d be short.”

As the new season gets under way with the Vicksburg-Warren Classic this week, the effects are immediately obvious. One of the teams that had planned to play in the tournament, Greenwood, decided to drop out. That gave Vicksburg High a bye in the first round — as well as a chance to add a game to its schedule. The VHS boys will play Provine in the Martin Luther King Day Classic on Jan. 19.

“It was a tough game to do because you’re waiting on other folks to call you and drop you,” Vicksburg boys coach Dellie C. Robinson said of rearranging the schedule. “You don’t want to drop somebody and then three days later have somebody drop you.”

Although Greenwood opted not to play in the Vicksburg-Warren Classic, it remains a popular destination for other teams. Natchez, Port Gibson and Canton have all become regulars at the tournament and will return this year. Fuller said a chance to play several games in the first week of the season played a big part in its appeal.

“It’s always good. I always liked this tournament where you can get three games in that first week,” Fuller said. “We don’t play again until the following Saturday.”

When Warren Central’s boys play Lawrence County on Tuesday at 8:30 p.m., WC coach Jessie Johnson will be facing his mentor — and former boss at WC — Preston Wilson for the first time.

Wilson coached the Vikings from 2001 to 2003 and hired Johnson as an assistant. When Wilson left to coach at Woodlawn High School Shreveport, La., Johnson replaced him as WC’s head coach.

“I appreciate everything he did for me. We still use some of the same things,” Johnson said. “The kids might get confused because we call the same signals.”

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Contact Ernest Bowker at ebowker@vicksburgpost.com.

Vicksburg-Warren Classic

Tuesday’s Games

At Vicksburg High

6 p.m. – (G) Natchez vs. Port Gibson

7:30 p.m. – (B) Natchez vs. Port Gibson

At Warren Central

4 p.m. – (G) Warren Central vs. Wingfield

5:30 p.m. – (B) Canton vs. Wingfield

7 p.m. – (G) Canton vs. Lawrence County

8:30 p.m. – (B) Warren Central vs. Lawrence County