For many years, the Coca-Cola Classic tournament was a staple of the early-season basketball schedule in Warren County. Like many traditions it faded over time, but now Bruce Robinson is making an effort to revive its legacy.

Warren Central will host the inaugural River City Challenge on Monday. The five-game event will feature 10 boys basketball teams from around Mississippi, starting with Jim Hill vs. Northwest Rankin at 1 p.m. Robinson, the coach of Warren Central’s boys team, is hoping it becomes not just an annual event on the local level but a destination tournament for some of the state’s best teams.

“There are some other tournaments that bring in teams from all over the state and the south. We’re trying to get something like that here,” Robinson said. “That’s lofty goals, but we have a tournament that could rival some of the top tournaments in the state.”

Monday’s tournament will also serve as an unofficial tipoff to the 2017-18 season. Most teams are already four or five games in, but with the football playoffs still in full swing basketball often takes a backseat on the high school sports scene until after Thanksgiving.

Having the River City Challenge during a relatively slow holiday week lavishes some extra attention on it, Robinson said.

“Since Preston (Nailor) has been the athletic director, he’s been urging us to get something going with the Vicksburg Warren School District. I’ve been wanting to get something going with respect to our older tournament,” Robinson said. “Thanksgiving is a big basketball week, and we wanted to be one of the first big tournaments around.”

After Jim Hill and Brandon start things off, the tournament will continue well into Monday evening with four more games featuring a mix of top talent and top teams.
Yazoo City faces Brandon in the second game, and then Florence (6-0) takes on Riverside (2-1) at 4:15.

The latter is a matchup of two of Mississippi’s best players, with Florence’s Jaylen Forbes and Riverside’s E.J. Stewart.

Forbes, a junior, averaged 25.3 points and 10 rebounds per game last season. Stewart averaged 18.9 points and 9.7 rebounds last year and has signed with Mississippi State.

The River City Challenge will conclude with a bit more of a local flavor. Clinton plays Vicksburg High at 5:45 p.m., and then Pearl vs. Warren Central wraps things up at 7:15.

“We’re pretty satisfied with our teams. We’ve got Brandon, that’s one of the better teams of the last five years. And if I was going to pay to see a game, arguably two of the best players in the state are going to be in that third game,” Robinson said.

RIVER CITY CHALLENGE
Monday, at Warren Central
1 p.m. – Jim Hill vs. NW Rankin
2:45 p.m. – Yazoo City vs. Brandon
4:15 p.m. – Florence vs. Riverside
5:45 p.m. – Clinton vs. Vicksburg
7:15 p.m. – Pearl vs. Warren Central
Admission: $7