By Haley Scarborough, Social Media Editor
When December rolls around on the Outer Banks, most folks know what time it is: Good Guys vs Cancer Basketball Showcase time. The four-day event combines amazing elite level basketball, an energetic environment, and most of all a tight-knit community standing up to support the fight against cancer.
The Good Guys vs Cancer event, which men’s basketball head coach and Athletic Director Chad Williams started in 2018, has become a household name across the region when it comes to high school sporting events. The showcase began as a way to honor Williams’ father, Guy, as he fought his battle with cancer and then spiraled into a massive showcase born right here at First Flight High School.
Good Guys is part of the Coaches vs. Cancer effort by the National Association of Basketball Coaches. It’s best known across the country for games played by high-profile college teams, but Williams brought the event here in a big way.
“There’s no event in eastern North Carolina, so I figured let’s do our own,” Williams said.
And while most tournaments are meant to show off elite athletes and bring exciting edge-of-your-seat games to people in the community, this was more than that.
“I wanted him to know he was important to me,” Williams said of Guy, who lost his fight with cancer just a few weeks after the first event.
While the event raises funds for the American Cancer Society, it also supports locals battling the disease. First Flight chorus teacher John Buford was diagnosed with cancer at the beginning of the 2023-24 school year. Students, staff and the community rallied around him in his fight to beat the disease, and the Good Guys event made a major contribution to him.
This year, with Buford back at school, the chorus will sing the national anthem.
“It was quite remarkable how people came together for me,” Buford said. “Good Guys was another way that the Outer Banks community shines bright.”
Recent First Flight graduate Gwen Botson, who lost her cancer battle earlier this year, also was part of the Good Guys story the last two years. This year’s event will feature a tribute to Botson and the beautiful light she brought to so many students and others in the community.
The Outer Banks community makes a major impact on the tournament weekend, with sponsors providing lodging, food and funding to help the event make a difference. Last year’s tournament raised more than $25,000 and Williams said the goal for this year is $30,000. None of the money goes to the school.
“None of this would be possible without sponsors that we have who helped this thing grow from six games to 24,” Williams said.
As far as basketball goes, the tournament keeps fans jumping the entire time: Where else can you see as many as 55 future D-I athletes in one gym? The four-day event opens with a local feel Wednesday at 4 with the First Flight women taking on Cape Hatteras and then the Cape Hatteras men’s team taking on Manteo.
“To be the first girls to play in it was an honor,” junior Abby Miles said of the Good Guys debut for Ray Richards’ team two years ago.
Nationally known teams also make an appearance as the competitive matchups come one after the other Thursday, Friday and Saturday. Members of the FFHS basketball team, who play Friday and Saturday at 9:30, look forward to this weekend for months.
“You see a bunch of great talent out there, and realize that we can compete against it, too,” junior Judah Carlyle said.
This year, more students than ever can expect to see more of the action with the chance to attend a game during their fourth block on Friday – with their teacher’s permission, of course. For the first time ever, the tournament will include games at 2 and 3:30 on Friday, expanding the Friday offering to six games from four.
“I think it’s going to be a really cool way to start off the weekend,” Williams said.
Junior Haley Scarborough can be reached at ScarboroughHa3391@daretolearn.org.
WEDNESDAY, DEC. 4
- FFHS Girls vs Cape Hatteras, 4
- Manteo vs Cape Hatteras, 5:30
- Hertford County vs Hargrave, 7
- Charlotte Performance vs Word of God, 8:30
THURSDAY, DEC. 5
- Hargrave vs Word of God, 4
- Camden vs Croatan, 5:30
- Currituck vs West Bladen, 7
- Blue Ridge vs Ambassador Christian, 8:30
FRIDAY, DEC. 6
- Ambassador Christian vs Peninsula Catholic, 2
- Greenfield vs Burlington School, 3:30
- Miller School vs New Hanover, 5
- JL Chambers vs St. Anne’s-Belfield, 6:30
- Davidson Day vs John Marshall, 8
- FFHS vs Millbrook, 9:30
SATURDAY, DEC. 7
- Croatan vs West Bladen, 8 a.m.
- Greenfield vs Peninsula Catholic, 9:30
- Burlington School vs Blue Ridge, 11
- Washington vs Northern Nash, 12:30 p.m.
- Green Level vs Miller School, 2
- Millbrook vs Farmville Central, 3:30
- New Hanover vs Lake Norman, 5
- JL Chambers vs Berean Baptist, 6:30
- St. Anne’s-Belfield vs Davidson Day, 8
- FFHS vs Kinston, 9:30
Good Guys vs Cancer Basketball Showcase sponsors: Outer Banks Visitors Bureau, Albemarle Landscapes and Tree Service, Atlantic Elevator, Outer Banks Boil Company, Atlantic Dentistry, Outer Banks Pest Control, Rose, Harrison, Gilreath and Powers, Masters Heating/Lennox, Currituck Fire Department, OBX Legacy Homes, OBX Chevy, Shipwrecks, Ripple Fiber, Island Xpertees, Four Season Realty, Good Measure Graphics, Dare County Schools, Dare County Sheriff’s Department
