An IL basketball team traveled 16 hours for the Holiday Classic. A Gulfport legend is coach.
If you happened to catch the slate of games at the 39th annual Gulfport Holiday Classic, you may have noticed something a bit out of place.
A tournament that regularly draws some of the Coast’s and Mississippi’s more talented teams featured a program that took a 16-hour bus drive to get there.
Those journeymen arrived from Metamora, Illinois and they’re led by former Gulfport basketball coach Danny Grieves.
One of a long line of successful hardwood leaders in the Admirals’ history, Grieves’ tenure was one of the winningest stretches in school history. Though it only lasted four seasons and he ranks fifth in school history in total wins, his win percentage of 85.2 leads all Admiral basketball coaches.
Even his JV teams were a force, compiling a 69-1 record under Grieves’ direction.
Grieves left an impact on the local basketball community that still resonates today, nearly two decades since his tenure. Ask around Bert Jenkins gym and every hoops figure will beam at the opportunity to talk about Grieves.
“I just thought a lot of him right off the bat,” former Gulfport athletic director and Grieves’ predecessor Bryan Caldwell said.
“Coaching with Danny was a great experience, I learned a lot from him,” Harrison Central coach and former Grieves assistant Boo Hardy added.
“He’s a very genuine person,” Southern Miss head coach Jay Ladner said of Grieves, who he refers to as a close friend.
Grieves last brought his Metamora team to Gulfport in 2015 when they won his fourth Holiday Classic and first since winning three consecutive from 2003-2005. His four event titles are second-most, behind only the legendary Bert Jenkins.
It was a meaningful set of games for his squad in ‘15 and a big reason why he brought his team back.
“It means everything (to be here),” Grieves said Wednesday. “What we got out of such a long road trip and playing this type of ball, which we see a lot of from the Chicago schools, it gave us some real experience and helped us be more polished down the road. Not only that, but it really brought our team together. We were really tight after we left this trip.”
It’s made even more special now that his son, who made sure to stop by the first day of the Classic, is the newest head basketball coach at St. Stanislaus.
Daniel, the younger Grieves, led the Rock-a-Chaws to a state title in 2011 as a player under Ladner before playing college ball for ULM and Southeastern Louisiana.
“I was an assistant with St. Stanislaus in 2011 with Jay and my son was a really good player,” Grieves said. “He’s a guy that loves to do things the right way... He got there a year ago when they had two wins. He’s trying to turn that program around and he’s done a good job of it. So I’m real proud to be able to come down here and see him participate as a coach. Obviously, as a dad, you’re really proud.”
There’s no doubt much of what the younger Grieves uses on the court comes from his father, but the elder became a successful head coach by learning from those around him.
“I have invented nothing,” Grieves said. “I steal everything I got from the best and I’ve stolen things from (Bryan) Caldwell, Jay (Ladner) and everybody else.”
Grieves was an assistant under Caldwell for a year before taking over as head coach at Gulfport in 2003. He won 119 games with the Admirals, including a season with Hardy that featured a 29-0 start and a No. 1 ranking across the state.
He’s carried that success to Illinois, where Grieves has a program in a town of less than 4,000 people contending for championships.
“I learned a lot of basketball from him when I was coaching against his teams and also when we had the two years at St. Stanislaus where we coached together,” Ladner said.
It’s clear Grieves’ time on the Coast was deeply influential to the basketball scene. In between games at the tournament, you’ll see Grieves caught in conversation with a litany of local basketball icons.
In between the lines, Grieves is off to a 1-0 start after beating Madison Central Wednesday. Metamora faces Pascagoula Thursday for a shot in the championship Friday.
