RALEIGH – Fans wait in mile-long lines for tickets, then feverishly fill every seat for every game, from morning to night. And it’s like this every single year.   

The 53rd annual John Wall Holiday Invitational hasn’t lost any luster. And in kind, Christ School basketball again proved to be worthy of the stage Friday and Saturday at Broughton High School, winning a bracket championship for the second consecutive year. 

Trevor Manhertz ’27 led three Greenies in double figures with 20 points (including five 3-pointers). Kingston Whitty ’26 (18 points, 10 rebounds, and three assists) earned MVP honors for Saturday's finals of the Rudy Watson bracket, a 74-50 win over coastal North Carolina public school Washington. 

Much like opening presents on Christmas morning, the buildup makes the payoff worth it.

Tuesday was quite a spectacle. Christ School’s student section came dressed in all kinds of holiday outfits, ranging from reserved to tacky as possible. The cast of inflatable characters set up by Director of Student Engagement Jim Goodrum P’29 was as impressive as ever. 

CHARLOTTE — Trailing 63-56 and with the fourth quarter winding down rather perilously, Christ School varsity basketball found another gear Saturday.

The Greenies closed out a 67-63 win over the Academy of Central Florida with an 11-0 scoring run to remain undefeated at 6-0.

Not enough to lose a first game. 

West Virginia University recruit Kingston Whitty ’26 stepped up with a game-high 22 points to lift the Greenies past Charlotte Providence Day, 69-53, on the first day of the George Lynch Invitational at Myers Park High School. 

DAVIDSON, N.C. – It must be said: There are levels to this. 

The quizzical lack of respect for North Carolina’s only Nike EYBL team and a three-time state champion in the largest NCISAA classification was compounded by the fact that Christ School varsity basketball beat the same opponent by 20 points last winter. 

Still somehow the consensus among pollsters and pundits was that the Greenies were an underdog Saturday night. 

CHARLOTTE - A viral dunk, career high at Christ School, and it’s only been three games.

Dacen Petty ‘26 was feeling it Friday with seven 3-pointers, part of a 36-point night in a 69-52 road win at Victory Christian.

WAYNESVILLE – The food always tastes better when it’s a victory dinner. 

Christ School swimmers refueled on the way home Friday after winning their first meet of the season, a five-team competition at the Waynesville Recreation Center. 

No scientific proof can back up the superstition that walking around with one shoe on brings bad luck. 

Dacen Petty ’26 gave Christ School varsity basketball a different kind of fortune Friday as well as an all-time Greenie Dome moment. And yes, in the immediate aftermath of a buzzer-beating putback dunk, Dacen lost a shoe but won a game – 66-64 over visiting Fayetteville Academy.

Congratulations to Kingston Whitty ’26 on his verbal commitment to play basketball for West Virginia University, announced Tuesday by the four-star guard on his social media. 

Every championship team needs one. 

An indispensable player willing to take on the duties that don’t often get clipped or shared on social media. 

A bold move for the basketball program comes with the mindfulness of staying true to the Christ School experience and its guiding mission to produce educated men of good character, prepared for both scholastic achievement in college and productive citizenship in adult society.

The Greenies have accepted an invitation to join the Nike Elite Youth Basketball League (EYBL) Scholastic Conference for the next two seasons.   

Returning to the Hive!

Congratulations to Mason Plumlee '09, who will play his 13th season of NBA basketball a couple hours away with the Charlotte Hornets.

Nine months later, every dollar and cent still counts in the Asheville area's continued recovery from Hurricane Helene. 

Mason Plumlee '09 considers this a second home as he led Christ School to state basketball championships as a sophomore, junior, and senior. Mason put his money where his heart is Wednesday, making a donation of $20,000 to ReGroup Western North Carolina, an organization that formed after Helene to help restore homes, provide essential supplies, and support families as they rebuild their lives. 

ASHEVILLE – A modern-day dynasty too great to deny. 

Months later, Christ School basketball’s third consecutive state championship season and ninth overall since 2005 is still being rewarded. 

Coaching awards invariably come back to accomplishments by the team. 

And this past season’s Greenies deserve to be in the conversation for the best group to ever represent Christ School basketball. 

The Asheville Citizen-Times announced its All-Western North Carolina team on Tuesday, with Josh Coley winning the WNC Coach of the Year award for the second time in three years. Seniors Mikey Wilkins ’25 and Madden Collins ’25 earned spots on the All-WNC team. 

Three state championships by the end of the ninth grade cannot be a coincidence.

Mason Collins ’28 bring poise and production to whatever team he plays for, traits that have earned the 6-foot-7 freshman from Columbia, S.C., his second invitation in six months to a USA Basketball Junior National Team minicamp. He is one of 65 players from the classes of 2026, 2027, and 2028 who will take part April 3-6 in San Antonio, the site of this year’s NCAA Final Four. 

RUTHERFORDTON - Rutherford County is more than just a stop between Christ School and Charlotte, a road trip that Greenies know all too well. 

Rutherford has given us Dacen Petty ’26 and before him, Mikey Wilkins ’25, who was named the Charlotte Observer Mr. Basketball State Player of the Year for North Carolina on Thursday. 

NORTH AUGUSTA, S.C. – Down by eight at halftime Saturday, there could have been a temptation to pack it in, settle for fourth place, and start daydreaming about Spring Break. 

The reigning three-time NCISAA 4-A state champions did not want to be remembered that way.  

NORTH AUGUSTA, S.C. - Mix a proven track record of coaching success with a once-proud basketball program that had become a sleeping giant?

Neither Josh Coley nor anyone at Christ School could have foreseen the marriage being this perfect back when he was hired in 2021. 

The Greenies gave Coach Coley his 100th win in four seasons Thursday at the Nike Invitational Postseason Tournament. 

Senior leadership goes a long way. Like all the way, for the third consecutive season. 

Madden Collins ’25 and Mikey Wilkins ’25 cemented themselves as all-time greats at Christ School with their individual production and team-first unselfishness, which trickled down to the rest of the 26-2 Greenies. Madden and Mikey were named to the NCISAA 4-A all-state team Friday, a first for Madden and repeat selection for Mikey.