A year ago, Campbell girls basketball coach Randy McClure was about to be out of a job despite his team’s 23-5 record and his more than 500 career victories.
Today, his team is in the final four.
Campbell beat Lowndes 58-56 in the Class 6A quarterfinals Tuesday night, confirming the outpouring of community support that won his job back in an unusual reversal that the relieved coach said “never happens.”
“I’d be lying if I said that didn’t give me a little extra juice this year,” McClure said of the firing and rehiring. “Maybe we get comfortable sometimes, and if anything, that made me very uncomfortable. I felt like nothing we had ever done mattered. So I’ve been acting like a new person starting all over and working my butt off to earn some respect.”
The story of Campbell’s season began 51 weeks ago when Campbell fired McClure and the boys basketball coach, James Gwyn. The coaches had 1,200 combined career victories. The Gwyn-McClure Gymnasium was named for them in 2018.
The school cited having fewer teaching slots this academic year for its decision to terminate coaches whose employment dated to the mid-1990s.
Six weeks later, after getting hundreds of petition signatures from parents, former players and others in the Campbell community, Cobb County Schools Superintendent Chris Ragsdale overruled the decision and gave McClure and Gwyn their jobs back.
Credit: Jason Getz / Jason.Getz@ajc.com
Credit: Jason Getz / Jason.Getz@ajc.com
Gwyn’s boys team had a good season too, finishing 16-10, with eight losses against teams still alive in the boys state tournament.
McClure’s girls, riding an 11-game winning streak, are 25-5 ranked No. 7 in the highest classification. The semifinal appearance will be the fourth under McClure.
“This ranks pretty high among teams we’ve had here that have done really well,” McClure said. “All are special, but this team coming back off all the stuff last year would’ve been special to me even if hadn’t won a game. But to do this well, it makes it even more special.’’
McClure’s team is one of his youngest with two sophomores and two freshmen in the starting lineup. There are six sophomores and six freshmen on the roster.
Sophomore twins Aleigha Parish and Gabrielle Parish had big games Tuesday. Aleigha had 18 points and 10 rebounds. Gabrielle had 19 points and five steals. Saniya Binion, the lone senior starter, scored 13 points. The freshmen starters are Ariel Brown and London Spivey.
Credit: Jason Getz / Jason.Getz@ajc.com
Credit: Jason Getz / Jason.Getz@ajc.com
The only other seniors are McKenzie Jenkins, a key reserve, and Kennedy Lee, who has not played because of a flag-football injury suffered last fall.
“It’s been a different kind of season with a lot of really young kids, but the three seniors have played critical parts, giving the team something to anchor to,” McClure said. “We had good players, and they’re finally learning how to be a team.”
Campbell will play No. 1-ranked North Paulding at Georgia State on Saturday.
“Rankings don’t matter now,” McClure said. “There’s nobody in the final four that’s not good. It’s all about executing. They’re a really good team. We hope to be competitive.”
Win or lose, it won’t be McClure’s final bow. If he wasn’t ready to step down last season, he’s not now.
“People have asked me how much longer,” McClure said. “God leads me on that. If I’m able to connect with kids and get things done, I’m going to do it. I’ll do this as long as I feel good about what I’m doing and I’m effective with the kids and having success.”
McClure was hesitant to call this team’s success his validation.
“I’ve moved past that part because I wasn’t happy about it, I was not in a good place, but I feel God has given me another chance to do he what called to do,” McClure said. “These kids have made that a joy to do again.”
Credit: Jason Getz / Jason.Getz@ajc.com
Credit: Jason Getz / Jason.Getz@ajc.com
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