Imagine teaming with a longtime friend and cross-town rival for the first time in high school. What should be a dream season has taken on a bittersweet quality for two Greenies. 

Dacen Petty ’26 and Mikey Wilkins ’25, both from Rutherford County (N.C.), are playing together at Christ School in revered memory of their late mentor, Larry Ross. He passed away in 2023 from medical complications that developed after a kidney transplant. 

Christ School athletics lost a legend with the recent passing of James Lewis Martin ’57, better known to his classmates as “Jim.”

Jim was a charter member of the Athletic Hall of Fame in 1997 and the first NFL player in school history. He briefly played with the Cleveland Browns before serving his country in the U.S. Army for three and a half years. 

RABUN GAP, Ga. - Thomas Vickery ’27 found his way into the starting lineup Thursday and was dialed in from the very beginning. 

The sophomore sank the first two of his six 3-pointers to make the score 6-0, and the outcome was never in doubt from there. 

Four games in six days will be a grind. 

Christ School varsity basketball is on the brink of a third consecutive 20-win season and another Carolinas Athletic Association championship after the first step of the gauntlet. 

Limiting the next-best team in the Carolinas Athletic Association to 34 points Thursday came down to a matter of “care” for Christ School basketball. 

The Greenies hounded the ball relentlessly in their first home game of 2025. Everything they caused with their defense turned into offense. 

Five players reached double figures and an 11-0 lead to start turned into an 85-34 blowout of Asheville Christian Academy. 

Going up!

A continual weekly climb through the MaxPreps national rankings for Christ School varsity basketball happened again Tuesday, with a bombshell reserved for New Year’s Eve. 

The latest rankings have the Greenies checking in at No. 10. Historically, it is only the second time a Christ School basketball team has achieved a top-10 national ranking (the 2008-09 team was fifth in the final listing put together by Rivals.com). 

RALEIGH – Mikey Wilkins ’25 was minding his business off the ball Saturday. 

A Grace Christian player who was in motion put two hands on Mikey’s chest, giving him a shove that was enough to startle the 6-foot-9, 243-pound senior. 

No foul was called, but a response was given, and in the best way. 

Koen Booker ’27 and the Greenies are knocking on the top-10 of the latest MaxPreps national basketball rankings. 

Christ School (10-0) moved up two spots to No. 11 this week. 

Christ School coach Josh Coley uses the adjective “spirited” a lot these days to describe workouts. 

He wasn’t sure how much energy his basketball team would have left for Wednesday’s Christmas in the Greenie Dome after a spirited round of conditioning the day before. And the intensity levels were where they needed to be Saturday after a spirited walkthrough for Davidson Day.  

Madden Collins ’25 saw a lot of familiar faces over the course of two days in Columbia, S.C., where he has grown up.  

One week out from Christmas in the Greenie Dome, all is merry and bright with Christ School basketball. 

CHARLOTTE - Lack of ego and an abundance of talent make for a potent mix. 

An unbeatable one through five games, in fact. 

A good weekend for Christ School basketball turned great on Sunday.  

Jo Ahart ’25 became the team’s third senior to make a college commitment. The 6-foot-9 forward from Greer, S.C., shared through his Instagram that he will play at the next level for his home state's Newberry College. 

DAVIDSON, N.C. – Saturday was an early statement game for Christ School varsity basketball. 

The Greenies left enough said at the Phenom Tip-Off Classic, drubbing Carmel Christian, 74-42.

Christ School varsity basketball is No. 30 in the season’s first national rankings from MaxPreps.

GREENVILLE, S.C. – Turnovers, a little foul trouble, and the idiosyncrasy of playing with a shot clock in the team’s first road game were stacked against Christ School varsity basketball on Tuesday. 

The Greenies overcame it all and more for a quality win over another Nike Elite program. Trailing 41-40 with 7:30 remaining, Christ School went on a 18-2 run to finish off a 58-43 win at Legacy Early College. 

Jumping out to a 14-0 lead was just the beginning for Christ School varsity basketball Friday night. The Greenies one-upped themselves by scoring the first 16 points of the second half, too. 

An opening night crowd was thrown into a tizzy and every player saw time at some point in a 64-24 home win over Covenant Day that couldn’t have been more thorough. 

Christ School basketball’s first state-championship season broke the levee in 2005. 

Since then, there has been a steady flow of ACC recruits from the program – 10 to be exact after Mikey Wilkins ’25 committed to N.C. State University this weekend. 

Mason Collins ‘28 gained the trust of the Christ School coaching staff last season, enough to start games as an eighth grader.  

USA Basketball has been watching. 

Mason is one of 83 high school players who have been invited to the Men’s Junior National Team October Minicamp next month in Colorado Springs, Colo. 

Congratulations to Young House Prefect Madden Collins ’25 on his verbal commitment to play basketball for American University!