Kannapolis Komets lead the pack
Former Brown coach Doug Wilson takes team to another level

By Mike London
Kannapolis Citizen
J.N. Fries Middle School’s Alleson Briggs idolizes Ivory Latta and aspires to be a superstar for North Carolina’s women’s basketball program five years from now.
Dreams are fine, but dreams only come true for people who work at them.
Briggs, a power forward who gets every rebound and drills 3-pointers, may get where she wants to go. She could get that big-time college scholarship because she never stops working.
Even when she’s watching television, there’s a ball in her hands.

School ball has been over for quite a while, but Briggs is rarely off the court. Briggs is a Kannapolis Komet.
“Alleson is a phenom,” Komets coach Doug Wilson said. “You’re gonna hear a lot about her in the years to come.”
Kannapolis Komets sell doughnuts and barbecue to raise dollars, but mostly they play ball in highly competitive USBA, USSSA and YBOA tournaments.
Wilson, a lifelong Kannapolis resident who coached A.L. Brown’s girls for eight seasons, formed the Komets shortly after he resigned from Brown following the 2006 season.
Wilson’s job requires travel between Georgia and New Jersey, but he still finds time for hoops.
“When I left Brown we had three little honorary managers that wanted to play basketball,” Wilson explained. “Megan Shue, Sara Tuttle and Lynnsey Coffey. The Komets really started with them.”
From that original trio of gym-rat managers, the roster has steadily swelled. This spring there are more than 40 girls and three teams playing in the reversible black, green and white uniforms of the Komets.
Five coaches, including Wilson, are working with the girls, and there’s a support team behind the scenes, people such as Alisha Ryan and Kim Belk who manage the fundraisers and handle the business end.
Bill Middlebrook is the head coach of the 10-under Komets who debuted recently with a tournament championship.
Lennie Turner is the head coach of a 12-under unit.
Wilson guides a 14-under team that is mostly 13-year-olds.
Wilson’s original team in 2006 played 11-under and won the program’s first tournament in a USSSA event in Valdese. Those girls are now the core of his 14-under squad.
While the Komets originated in the Towel City and host tournaments at Kannapolis Middle School, the program has embraced budding athletes from Concord, Mount Pleasant and other neighbors. Hence, the change from the team’s original green and white color scheme to green, white and black.
“The highest priority has been the Kannapolis City School kids and the first focus is still Kannapolis, but we’ve brought in more kids from the area because it’s necessary if we’re going to compete at a very high level,” Wilson said.
Players such as Tuttle, who made seven 3-pointers in a game as an 11-year-old, and Briggs, who everyone has heard about, helped the Komets make a name for themselves last spring when the program fielded strong teams in the 12-under and 13-under divisions.
The 13s, with a roster that included Katie Belk, Paige Calloway, Haley Campbell, Katelyn Cline, Sigrun Kraehe, Scottie Lane, Jasmine Parker, Jessica Stafford, Katie Suther and Elizabeth Widenhouse won the 2007 USBA state championship in Stanly County and were ranked as high as second nationally.
The 12s, who had Briggs, Coffey, Shue, Tuttle, Kayla Crayton, Aria Lipscomb, Chartea Peay, Carlisle Sheridan, Aailyah Spears, Nesha Spears and Alison Wallace, won a bushel of USBA tournaments and were ranked No. 1 nationally at one point.
Wilson believes the Komets program is making a positive impact in local schools.
“All the Komets, as far as I know, made their middle school teams,” he said. “I think there were four Komets starting for the Kannapolis Middle seventh-graders, and they won their first championship since 1998.”
Wilson remembers the 1998 KMS team well because he coached it before moving over to the high school with a class that included Elise Stanback, Kesha Johnson and Joanna Hutchinson.
Wilson said the level of competition the Komets encounter is generally strong, significantly tougher than what the girls run into in a normal middle school game. More intensity, more talented players, more X’s and O’s — less trying to keep everyone content by playing everybody.
“Everyone at this level can play, and it’s all about ability and production determining playing time,” Wilson said. “It’s critical for girls to play this kind of basketball if they’re going to go on to a higher level.”
The Komets play often and have to be in shape. They might take on three opponents on a Saturday and two more on Sunday.
“The girls get better because we’re playing so many games against good competition,” Wilson said. “We’ve already played the equivalent of a middle school season this spring, and we’ve still got three or four tournaments to go. We probably play 25 games in the spring, and then we’ll play some in October.”
While coaches agree playing basketball for one of the area AAU programs is necessary in order for kids to stay competitive in school, expenses can be a drawback.
That’s another plus for the Komets, who create enough revenue through fundraisers to keep expenses lower than you’d expect.
“Some programs cost a kid $400, but the Komets might cost $125-$150, including the uniform,” Wilson said.
A $1 admission charge usually takes care of officials, and Wilson’s biggest economic concern is rising gas prices. With a $3.50 per gallon price at the pumps, the Komets avoid long trips — and hotel bills.
“That meant traveling to Clover, S.C., for an 8 a.m. game on a Sunday morning not long ago,” Wilson said. “That was a challenge, but there are so many good teams in Rowan, Stanly, Charlotte and Iredell, we usually don’t have to travel more than 50 or 60 miles.”
For Wilson, the Komets have been a breath of fresh air, and he’s had the satisfaction that comes with watching something grow.
Concord won a 3A state championship this spring to set the bar high, but if girls basketball in the area keeps getting stronger, the Komets, who will host a tournament at KMS on May 16-18, will be one reason.
“It’s been fun for everyone, and fun is what basketball should be,” Wilson said. “Beyond that, we’ve created an environment that’s going to help these girls go on and compete at a higher level.”
And maybe make a few dreams come true.
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Contact Mike London at mlondon@salisburypost.com.