North Carolina is a state where public and private schools have generally gone their separate ways in athletics.
For generations, the two have largely been members of different athletic associations with their own governing policies.
Enter the fourth MLK Dream Jam, scheduled Saturday, Jan. 13, and Monday, Jan. 15, with men’s and women’s games at Terry Sanford High School matching public and private schools in basketball.
Karl Molnar has been on both sides of this fence, holding coaching positions at public and private schools. He created the Dream Jam four years ago because he’s aware of a common denominator.
“Every kid in public school has a friend at a private school, and vice versa,’’ he said.
That also applies to the sport of high school basketball, and Molnar said there’s no reason they shouldn’t be competing on the same court.
“The ultimate goal is to bring all of this talent into the same building on the same day so it’s easier access for college coaches to come watch them play,’’ Molnar said. “It’s all for exposure.’’
But it’s also for some bragging rights as Molnar annually invites all the Cumberland County public and private schools to compete.
There have been a few coaches who’ve voiced objections, but Molnar thinks most coaches accept that you take the talent the basketball gods give you and try to put together the best team you can, even when players are sometimes looking to move to another school.
As far as deciding who plays who in the event, Molnar always tells the invited teams that final pairings for the Dream Jam won’t be determined until December.
Until then, Molnar keeps track of who’s doing well and who’s having a difficult season, then tries to match everyone up accordingly.
As often as possible, he tries to match a county public school with a county private school, but at times there are holes in the schedule and he has to reach outside the county to find an opponent.
“We’ve been blessed to have pretty good matchups thus far,’’ he said.
Admission to this year’s Dream Jam is $15.
Here is the schedule:
Saturday | at Terry Sanford
11:30 a.m. - South View vs. Cape Fear Christian (women)
1 p.m. - Pine Forest vs. Freedom Christian
4 p.m. - Overhills vs. Berean Baptist
5:30 p.m. - Richmond Senior vs. Trinity Christian (women)
7 p.m. - Terry Sanford vs. Northwood Temple
Monday | at Terry Sanford
Noon - Gray’s Creek vs. Fayetteville Christian
2 p.m. - E.E. Smith vs. Harrells Christian
3:30 p.m. - South View vs. New Life
5:30 p.m. - Terry Sanford vs. Grace Christian (women)
7 p.m. - Westover vs. Trinity Christian
