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FULMER'S FANTASY NOW FACT
Published on: 12/22/2002
Section: SPORTS
Edition: FINAL
Page: C17
By OTIS R. TAYLOR, JR.
Staff Writer
Illustration: PHOTO: BW
Caption: Richland Northeast athletics director Gary Fulmer
relinquished his duties as boys basketball coach to spend more time
putting together the 12-team Chick-fil-A Classic. He said he hopes
the tournament becomes one of the area's premier tournaments, like
Myrtle Beach's nationally known Beach Ball Classic.
TODD BENNETT/THE STATE
Gary Fulmer thought it was time for Columbia to have a big-time high
school boys basketball tournament.
He had the vision and he was going to make it happen.
Fulmer went as far as stepping down from one of his jobs at Richland
Northeast High School to make his idea materialize.
The Chick-fil-A Classic is not a new sandwich - it is Fulmer's
vision that successfully concluded its inaugural year Saturday.
Now, he can get some rest.
"I'll probably skip Sunday school and I'll just go to the worship
service," Fulmer said. "When I come home from there, I plan on
sleeping for the rest of the day.
"Right now I'm just basically going on adrenaline, but it's been
worth it."
A 14-year coaching veteran at Lower Richland and Richland Northeast
high schools, Fulmer left his post with the Cavaliers to get the
Classic off the ground.
Fulmer remains the school's athletic director, but since February he
has been immersed in creating the tournament he had been thinking
about for four years.
Planning the budget, recruiting 12 teams and finding sponsorships
kept Fulmer on the phone for months. This past week, he has stayed
at Richland Northeast into the early morning hours making sure
things would run smoothly with his two cell phones ringing non-stop.
With the aid of primary sponsor Chick-fil-A, Fulmer said the
tournament turned out well and it was worth retiring from coaching.
"There was no way that I could coach and do something like this
right here," he said. "I knew when I retired that I would be
engrossed in something equally as fun to be involved with.
"It's every bit of a success as I hoped it would be."
Blue-chip prospects are what build tournaments, and the Classic had
its share of highly regarded in-state and out-of-state talent.
Competition is fierce to land top players for holiday tournaments,
and Fulmer was amazed by the response he got from coaches.
Chet Mebane chose the Classic for his Hillside High School team from
Durham, N.C., because of Fulmer's coaching reputation and Chick-fil-A's
backing. Fulmer wanted the Hornets to come because of their 6-8 star
Bobby Perry, who has committed to Kentucky.
"When he (Fulmer) invited me I said yes, because I knew it was going
to be first-class," Mebane said. "We've had great hospitality. We're
very pleased with it."
The Classic never had a dull moment. The featured entertainment
received almost as much attention from the crowd as the on-court
performances did.
Halftime activities ranged from shootouts to three-on-three games
and giveaways. Saturday's championship game between McEachern
(Powder Springs, Ga.) and Hillside featured a "million dollar shot"
and a Peach Bowl ticket giveaway.
Fulmer wants his vision to be more than a basketball tournament. He
wants it to be a basketball event and a premier attraction in the
Southeast that rivals others like the Beach Ball Classic in Myrtle
Beach.
Fulmer hopes the first Chick-fil-A Classic sparked enough interest
that it can become an annual tournament.
"You're never staying the same. You're either getting better or
getting worse," said Fulmer. "Our goal is look at things we did this
year and improve them for next year."
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